The Judgment of Animals in Classical Greece: Animal Sculpture and ...

than himself.” In addition, the fact that the viewer is a shoemaker, who criticizes the
representation of a sandal, indicates that his detection of Apelles’ “fault” was drawn from
good knowledge of real sandals. This evidence, in turn, implies that thorough knowledge
of what an artist was trying to depict at first place was a qualifying prerequisite for good
judgment of works of art.
The texts considered so far define lifelikeness as strong likeness to the
representational subjects of works of art, in particular accurate representation of form but
also emotions as expressed on the face. They also hint at another aspect of lifelikeness:
the experience of the image as if it were alive. Overall, the picture that emerges from
these texts speaks of lifelikeness as an artistic quality of Classical Greek representations
in both sculpture and painting, and valued by contemporary philosophers, artists, and the
general public. Therefore, all viewers, regardless of their degree of sophistication, judged
images by their lifelikeness. This evidence suggests that both intellectual and popular
reaction to the lifelikeness of art was alike in Classical Greece.
b. Ancient Texts on Animals as Lifelike Images and Judges of Lifelike Art
Animals play an important role in the Classical Greek understanding of the
concept of lifelikeness in art. This role, as featured in the literary record, is twofold:
animals appear as lifelike subjects of works of art, and also as judges of lifelike art.
Through their employment, animals demonstrate the ancient perception of artistic
lifelikeness in connection with two distinct notions: aliveness and accurate
representation. The following section presents literary evidence that exemplifies the
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