This chapter shows how poets of the Hellenistic period draw on scholarship to frame their own creative projects. Juxtaposing ecphraseis on artworks from different periods, epigrammatists often presume familiarity with developmental narratives from the nascent field of art history and imply parallel developmental trajectories for literary and visual art. Posidippus, Asclepiades, Dioscorides and Antipater of Sidon exploit this nexus between literature and art to articulate their own critical theories and distinctive aesthetic programmes.