Aristotle's Variant. Aristotle, seemingly faithful to
Plato, transformed his concept and theory of imitation;
he maintained that artistic imitation may present things
either more or less beautiful than they are; it also may
present them such as they could or ought to be; it can
and ought to limit itself to their characteristics which
are general, typical, and essential (Poetics 1448a 1;
1451b 27; 1460b 13). Aristotle preserved the thesis that
art imitates reality but imitation meant to him not
faithful copying but a free and easy approach to real-
ity; the artist who imitates can present reality in his
own way. Aristotelian “imitation” was, in fact, the
result of a fusion of two conceptions: the ritualistic
and the Socratic. The idea of imitation, therefore, was
just as applicable to music as to sculpture and theater.
Later theoreticians of art referred more often to
Aristotle, but tended to uphold the simpler and more
attractive conception of Plato's. Due to Aristotle's
personal interests the theory of imitation was for cen-
turies more concerned with poetry than with visual
arts. To Aristotle “imitation” was, in the first place,
imitation of human actions; however, it gradually be-
came the imitation of nature, which was to be regarded
as the source of its perfection.
In summary, the classic period of the fourth cen-
tury B.C. used four different concepts of imitation:
the ritualistic concept (expression), the concept of
Democritus (imitation of natural processes), Platonic
(copying of nature), Aristotelian (free creation of the
work of art based on elements of nature). While the
original concept was gradually falling into eclipse and
the ideas of Democritus were recognized only by a
few thinkers (e.g., Hippocrates and Lucretius), both the
Platonic and Aristotelian conceptions proved to be
basic enduring concepts in art; they were often fused
into one and the awareness that they were different
concepts was frequently lost.
