Language of the Muses: The Dialogue between Roman and Greek Sculpture

Since the Renaissance, it has been a generally accepted thesis that almost all Roman sculptures depicting ideal figures, such as gods, personifications, and figures from myth, were copies of Greek originals. This book traces the origin of that thesis to the academic belief in the mythical perfection of now-lost Greek art, which contrasted with the reality of the "imperfection" of Roman works.
In a new take on long-held beliefs, Johann Joachim Winckelmann's role is found to be less import…