Victoria C. Gardner Coates

Jon L. Seydl

Victoria C. Coates Gardner

Victoria C.. Gardner Coates

'Antiquity Recovered' presents 13 diverse essays that trace how perceptions of the past have changed over the course of three centuries of excavations. They range in subject from a reassessment of the contents of the library at Herculaneum's Villa of the Papyri, to the symbolic appearance of the ancient world in classic films.

The Legacy of Pompeii and Herculaneum

Antiquity Recovered

J. Paul Getty Museum

Cleveland Museum of Art

Kenneth D. S. Lapatin

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec

This publication is issued on the occasion of the exhibition The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection, on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa in Malibu, from September 12, 2012, to January 7, 2013; at the Cleveland Museum of Art from February 24 to May 19, 2013; and at the Musaee national des beaux-arts du Quaebec from June 13 to November 8, 2013.

Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection

The Last Days of Pompeii

Throughout Western history, the societies that have made the greatest contributions to the spread of freedom have created iconic works of art to celebrate their achievements. Yet despite the enduring appeal of these works—from the Parthenon to Michelangelo’s David to Picasso’s Guernica—histories of both art and democracy have ignored this phenomenon. Millions have admired the artworks covered in this book but relatively few know why they were commissioned, what was happening in the culture that produced them, or what they were meant to achieve. Even scholars who have studied them for decades often miss the big picture by viewing them in isolation from a larger story of human striving. David’s Sling places into context ten canonical works of art executed to commemorate the successes of free societies that exerted political and economic influence far beyond what might have been expected of them. Fusing political and art history with a judicious dose of creative reconstruction, Victoria Coates has crafted a lively narrative around each artistic object and the free system that inspired it. This book integrates the themes of creative excellence and political freedom to bring a fresh, new perspective to both. In telling the stories of ten masterpieces, David’s Sling invites reflection on the synergy between liberty and human achievement.

A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art

David's Sling

Victoria C. Gardner Coates

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