Читать книгу A History of Roman Art онлайн

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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data applied for ISBN 9781119653288

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © Samuel Magal, Sites & Photos Ltd.

This book is dedicated to my students. The students in my university classes, study tours and workshops, and video courses have been models of engagement with the ancient world. Over the years their hard work, intellectual curiosity, and willingness to take on challenging topics and assignments have continually impressed and inspired me. All of my teaching – and much of my scholarship – has developed from their sometimes relentless questions (picture Iron Man getting pummeled by Captain America and the Winter Soldier at the end of Captain America: Civil War and you’ll get the idea). Reading their papers never fails to give me insights and new perspectives into the ancient world. Truly I learn more from them than they do from me.

Why a second edition after only five years? Isn’t this a cynical attempt to make a perfectly adequate textbook seem obsolete in a callous cash grab? I wish. There are three reasons for the updated edition of the book. And while I’d rather shave my head with a rusty razor while chewing tin foil than admit this, I’m forced to concede that mistakes crept into the first edition. So, first, this is a chance to correct those. Second, the publishers have kindly agreed to allow me to add some additional works of art. In the first edition, the main focus was on leading styles of art, that is, art that was new in particular periods. I have added a number of works that represent popular art. That is, art in the everyday Roman world, rather than just the large‐scale works of sculpture and architecture of elite patrons. This popular art, as seen in lamps and glass vessels for example, is generally mass‐produced, but represents the vast majority of engagement with art in the lives of everyday Romans. It also reveals patterns of artistic workshops, trade, and social and economic networks. Third, this edition takes into account new approaches in scholarship. For example, the dates of several works from Pompeii have changed based on excavations. And the selection of sarcophagi is broadened to better represent the main categories of mythological imagery on the 15,000 extant examples. Discussion of sarcophagi has been rewritten to include more recent perspectives on the meaning behind the mythological scenes on imperial marble sarcophagi. These changes are based on the dozens of suggestions and corrections sent to me over the years by generous colleagues. So, really they are to blame for this.