Course Description
Art and architecture of the Roman villa from its origins 300 BC in Italy to its end AD 350 across the Roman Empire with an emphasis on sculpture, painting, and literary evidence for the culture of the villa phenomena. Critical methodological issues, recent archaeological discoveries, and on-going debates are highlighted.
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 Greek and Roman
art historical scholarship, including the ability to read the
relevant literature in foreign languages.
Athena Title
G/R PAINTING
Prerequisite
(Two ARHI 3000-level courses and permission of major) or (two from CLAS 1000 or CLAS 1000H or CLAS 1010 or CLAS 1010H or CLAS 1020 or CLAS 1020H or CLAS 2000)
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course offers a detailed examination of Greek and Roman painting. Students learn how to visually analyze ancient painting, 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 "classical" about Greek and Roman Painting? II: Origins: Greek Responses to Egyptian and Near Eastern Painting III: Looking and Reading: Materials, Technique, Materiality, and Artists IV: Archaic and Early Classical Greek: Formulation of a New Role and Visual Language V: Classical and Early Hellenistic Greek: Macedonia and Beyond VI: From Hellenistic to Greco-Roman: Innovations, Reflections, and Patronage VII: Roman Republican Responses: Private and Public VIII: Late Republican: Contexts, Aims, and Responses IX: Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Cities around Vesuvius X: Roman Copies, Replicas, and Originality in Greek Style X: Roman Painting Beyond and After Pompeii XI: Late Antiquity: Changing Images and Responses XII: Late Antiquity and Messages for Painting XIII: Post-Antique Responses to Greek and Roman Painting