Philostratus and the Imaginary Museum

Abstract

The Imagines of the Elder Philostratus must count as one of the great ruins of antiquity.¹ From the Renaissance until the time of the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Imagines, together with the surviving fragments preserved in Rome, constituted virtually all that could be known in Europe concerning classical painting. Even today, when so much more of that painting has been brought to light, the Imagines remains a unique resource. It is our most extensive account of what a Roman picture gallery, a Roman catalogue of pictures, and the Roman viewing of pictures may have been like. Philostratus claims to base his account in actuality. In the Proem he assures his reader that his 60-odd verbal descriptions are rendered after original paintings (pinakes) housed in a single collection in Neapolis (Naples).