Greek Art and Aesthetics in the Fourth Century B.C. analyzes the broad
character of art produced during this period, providing in-depth
analysis of and commentary on many of its most notable examples of
sculpture and painting. Taking into consideration developments in style
and subject matter, and elucidating political, religious, and
intellectual context, William A. P. Childs argues that Greek art in this
era was a natural outgrowth of the high classical period and focused on
developing the rudiments of individual expression that became the
hallmark of the classical in the fifth century.
As Childs shows, in many respects the art of this period corresponds
with the philosophical inquiry by Plato and his contemporaries into the
nature of art and speaks to the contemporaneous sense of insecurity and
renewed religious devotion. Delving into formal and iconographic
developments in sculpture and painting, Childs examines how the
sensitive, expressive quality of these works seamlessly links the
classical and Hellenistic periods, with no appreciable rupture in the
continuous exploration of the human condition. Another overarching theme
concerns the nature of "style as a concept of expression," an issue that
becomes more important given the increasingly multiple styles and
functions of fourth-century Greek art. Childs also shows how the color
and form of works suggested the unseen and revealed the profound
character of individuals and the physical world.