Synopses & Reviews
In this study, originally published in Norway as Fra Principat Til Dominat, Professor L'Orange sets down the essence of his thought on the crucial period of transition from decentralization to standardization in civic and cultural life-a period not unlike our own.
Review
"This book was first published in Norwegian in 1958 and now becomes available to a much wider public in this very good English translation. Brief though it is, Professor L'Orange's book is surely one of the most stimulating assesments so far written of the art of the late Empire. That this is a crucial period in the history of art no one will any longer deny, but to understand it requires also an understanding of the whole structure of late Roman society and of the development of ideas, and this is what the author sets out to provide." D. C. Strong, Apollo
Review
"Professor L'Orange's general subject is not a new one but he skilfiully traces its ramifications, and it is a triumph of synthesis when he helps us to sense a relation between government controls and an artist's vision of mankind." Robert A. Pack, American Journal of Philology
Review
"...this small book is one of the most stimulating introductions to late antique architecture and art ever written." Joachim E. Gaehde, Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians
Review
"Into this essay Professor L'Orange has distilled for the non-specialist reader's benefit the essence of those important studies of late-antique art, and of the ideologies informing it, for which he has long been famed in the world of Roman scholarship....The buildings and other works of art which the author selects to illustrate his thesis are described, andalyzed, and appraised with his customary brilliance." J.M.C. Toynbee, The Classical Review
Review
"Of superior quality and of general interest because it offers a brilliant synthesis of an age which is based on a method still rarely used in this country, the imaginative explication of an age's art and architecture....[The author's deductions] are supported by quotes from the sources and illustrations of the monuments, few in number but spledidly chosen. At no point does the scholarly apparatus hinder the general reader, and throughout the style is clear and economical. In every respect a model of its kind. Highly recommended." Choice
Review
"This slim volume presents an admirably succint analysis of one of the great turning points in Western art and civilization." Ernst Kitzinger, The Art Bulletin
About the Author
H. P. L'Orange was professor in classical archaeology and art history at the University of Oslo and Director of the Norwegian Institute for classical archaeology and art history in Rome.