Synopses & Reviews
This book develops a new theory for the understanding of Roman pictorial art. By treating Roman art as a semantic system it establishes a connection between artistic forms and the ideological messages contained within. The history of Roman art traditionally followed the model of a sequence of stylistic phases affecting the works of their era in the manner of a uniform Zeitgeist. In contrast, the author shows different stylistic forms being used for different themes and messages. This leads to the reception of Greek models, a basic phenomenon of Roman art, appearing in a new light. The formulations of specific messages are established from Greek art types of different eras serving to express Roman ideological values: classical forms for the grandeur of the state, Hellenistic forms for the struggling effort of warfare. In this way a conceptual and comprehensible pictorial language arose, uniting the multicultural population of the Roman state.
Synopsis
Tonio Hölscher develops a new theoretical concept for understanding the Roman art of images by establishing a connection between artistic forms and content and expressions of ideology--such as the glorification of state and ruler, war and triumph. A large role is played here by the reception of earlier images from Greek art. Roman art therefore appears to operate as a semantic system which, from an interdisciplinary perspective, can be compared with the forms of Roman literature as well as the language of images of other cultures.
Synopsis
This develops a new theoretical concept for understanding the Roman art of images.
About the Author
Tonio Hölscher is Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Heidelberg. His publications focus on public monuments, political iconography and urbanism in Ancient Greece and Rome and on general art and cultural theory. His is a member of various scientific institutions, including the Academia Europae, London.Anthony Snodgrass is Emeritus Professor of Classical Archaeology in the University of Cambridge whose books include Homer and the Artists (HB 0521 620228; PB 0521 629810).Jas' Elsner is Humfry Payne Senior Research Fellow in Classical Art and Archaeology in the University of Oxford. His books include Art and the Roman Viewer (HB 0521 453542; PB 0521 599520, OP) and Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph (OUP, 1998).
Table of Contents
Foreward; Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. The Greek paradigm: example for lifestyle, academic subject, or building block of imperial culture?; 3. The monuments: questions, categories, theses; 4. Battle-scenes: the tradition of Hellenistic pathos; 5. Battle-scenes: their reception in Rome; 6. State ceremonial: the tradition of Classical dignity; 7. The semantic system: the elements and their use; 8. The semantic system: premises and structure; 9. The origins of the system: dynamics and statics; 10. Language of imagery and style; 11. Formal system and style in the theory of rhetoric and of imagery; 12. Conclusion: language of imagery and culture of empire; Bibliography, supplementary bibliography.