Читать книгу A History of Roman Art онлайн

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First, the title. I wanted to be as accurate as possible and call it “An Extremely Biased and Capricious History of Roman Art which Can’t Possibly Take into Account All of the Constantly Changing Themes, Subjects, Styles and Developments in the Vast Roman World over a 2000‐Year Period.” My long‐suffering editors were dubious, pointing out that it wouldn’t fit on the spine of the book. We compromised on the title you read on the cover. The point is that there is no the History of Roman Art. There are many. This is one. In it we have taken a broad view of the definition of Roman art and have created an inclusive look at the cultures that contributed to the Roman system in order to understand and appreciate the full range of influences that created, transmitted, received, and adapted Roman art across the centuries and continents.

The book is, straightforwardly if perhaps uncreatively, organized chronologically. Although certain media, subjects, and themes are traced across the entire book, this organization seemed to serve the needs of students better than a thematic one. Each chapter has some consistent features as well.