Course Description
Sculpture produced in Rome and the Roman Empire from 200 BC to AD 330 with an emphasis on portraiture, mythological statuary, and state reliefs. Topics of interest include materials and techniques, ancient display and function, literary descriptions of statuary, Roman viewers, and the modern historiography and reception of Roman marble statuary. Recent discoveries, current methodological approaches, and new research are critically examined.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be required to produce a detailed
research paper on a chosen topic or theme. The paper will
demonstrate appropriately advanced research skills and
engagement with the rich critical apparatus of Roman art
historical scholarship, including the ability to read the
relevant literature in foreign languages.
Athena Title
ROMAN SCULPTURE
Prerequisite
Two ARHI 3000-level courses or CLAS 1000 or CLAS 1000H or CLAS 1010 or CLAS 1010H or CLAS 1020 or CLAS1020H or CLAS 2000 or CLAS 4350 or CLAS 4400
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course offers a detailed examination of ancient Roman sculpture and statuary. Students learn how to visually analyze sculpture, weigh different forms of textual and archaeological evidence in its assessment, and apply different methodologies in art historical research. Direct object study is emphasized to develop the visual skill of connoisseurship and the technical appreciation of ancient art as artifact. Students give illustrated class presentations, write a research paper on a topic selected in consultation with the teacher, and demonstrate their skills in two written examinations covering the lectures, class discussion, and assigned readings.
Topical Outline
I: Introduction and Historiography: What is "Roman" about Roman sculpture? II: Origins: Responses to Greek Art and the Visual Language of Roman Statuary III: Looking: Materials, Technique, Materiality, and Artists IV: Roman Portraiture I: Republican Origins, Public Honors, and Private Expectations V: Roman Portraiture II: Imperial and Private, Statue Formats, Messages VI: Roman Portraiture III: Contexts, Aims, and Responses VII: Early and High Imperial State Relief: Precedents and Purposes VIII: Late Imperial State Relief: New Meanings IX: Ideal Sculpture I: Copies, Replicas, and Originality in Greek Style X: Ideal Sculpture II: Display and Readings XI: Late Antiquity: Changing Images and Responses XII: The End of the Roman Statuary and Its Legacy