Abstract
This paper examines the pivotal role of visual materials, particularly prints and drawings, in shaping the concept of "classicism" during the Renaissance. It argues that these reproductive media were instrumental in institutionalizing ancient sculpture as "knowledge" and defining Renaissance "sculptural concepts" and "classicism". The analysis details how ancient sculptures were abstracted and archived through prints and drawings, thereby establishing an "ideal form" of classicism. Through examples such as Heemskerck's sketchbooks, Antonio Lafreri's Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, and Cassiano dal Pozzo's "Paper Museum", the research demonstrates how the juxtaposition and comparison of ancient and contemporary sculptures on paper visualized and institutionalized the meaning of "classicism" for Renaissance artists and theorists. The paper concludes that Renaissance "classicism" was a dynamic intellectual foundation, continuously reproduced through the circulation, arrangement, and comparative practices of these reproductions, rather than being solely derived from physical sculptural works.
