ABSTRACT
Aristotle’s interest in visual arts can only be glimpsed through a number of incidental remarks appearing in discussions directly concerned with this topic. A frequent opinion on the place of painting in Aristotle’s work is that it represents “the simplest form of mimesis” of which the philosopher can think in order to expound his subtler theory of poetry. Plato and Aristotle’s frequent use of comparisons with painting testifies to its established status as a paradigmatic techne at the time. The Poetics opens with a threefold division of the criteria by which poetic and musical genres are distinguished, namely medium, object, and manner of imitation. The function of this comparison is to support Aristotle’s common definition of epic, tragedy, comedy, dithyramb, and the playing of aulos and the lyre as mimetic arts. The distinction between the choice of subject and the artistic treatment of them apparently applies to both painting and poetry.
