Abstract
How does the study of classical antiquity bear on the role and direction of the Humanities in the 21st century? The answer must be at least two-fold: 1) it must address the ways in which Classics as a field can morph to fit new concerns and new conceptual frameworks; and, 2) from a more proactive standpoint, it should offer perspectives on how Classics and its Nachleben can help read anew our current world. In this paper, I propose to give a glimpse at how the project of answering this set of questions can enrich the conversation between antiquity and the modern world, as well as sharpen our understanding of themes and issues that have roots much deeper than a short-range perspective can reveal. The case-study that I hope will guide our exploration is that of Markus Lüpertz, the German painter whose childhood was marked by the imprint, then shadow of the Second World War. This heavy history, and how “German-ness” continues to redefine itself within, through, and beyond it, have been refracted in his artistic output and re-casting of motifs drawn from classical antiquity and ancient Greek myths. Since 1963, Lüpertz has plumbed the thorny issue of what it means to be German through revisiting equally problematic figures from ancient Greece, such as the Centaurs, who are the feature of this paper. His reshaping of these ancient archetypes to explore issues topical to our modern world can help give new insights into the reach of cross-disciplinary Humanities today.
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