Introducing Kings and Greek Art in the Fourth Century B.C

Whereas the artists of the 4th century BC received highest praise by ancient art criticism, their artworks were judged very negatively by Classical Archaeology. Nurtured by the ideology of idealism, it had bound the accomplishments of a Greek style in art to the political institution of the polis and to the Greek soil, whereas many of the artworks of the 4th century BC had been found outside Greece and commissioned by kings. The art of these 4th-century kings on the western fringes of the Persian empire is introduced in this contribution by surveys of its scholarship and its material record. As one example of the shift of the commissioning centres of Greek art away from the Greek poleis, the financial volume of architectural commissions will be considered. In the past, Classical Archaeology has often judged this change in patronage as leading to a downfall of Greek art. In a more balanced and less ideologically tainted view the 4th-century art can be understood as being rich in new media like theatre, tomb, and palace decoration as well as in new subjects like the royal lion hunt, the royal family group, or the royal banquet. In this framework the 4th century BC can be regarded as a creative and innovative period in the history of art, leading the way to the centuries to come.