Steven L. Tuck - A History of Roman Art

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.

The obvious question is why we might need a new book on Roman art. We seem tolerably well stocked with them. I began writing this book because the options for textbooks on Roman art, organized chronologically as I taught my classes, were limited. Factor in the need for many illustrations at a reasonable cost and the options were even more limited. It seemed that an alternative book with those features that emphasized the context of art within Roman social structure and politics and the contributions of various styles to Roman art would fill a niche. Below I outline some of the elements that make up the book and were part of what we perceived would set the book apart.

One of the goals of the book is to integrate the arts into a discussion of the broader cultural context in which they are created. As such the social, political, and cultural environment will be critical to a full understanding of the art. Each chapter, therefore, has some discussion of the non‐art events in the world that affected the form of the arts. These are brief but designed to make the sequence of changes far less arbitrary. A second goal is to avoid what many introductory art history texts convey as a sense of inevitability. Some narratives seem to imply a trajectory of improvement: as artists get better, art improves and new techniques for portraying the human form and landscape, linear perspective, etc. are invented or discovered and then things get better, before they fall apart in the Middle Ages. In this book we reject that perspective. It is necessary to study what might be termed the leading styles of particular periods. Nevertheless, these are not presented as inevitable developments over previous styles. They don’t exist as evolutionary models or improvements. The changes that occur in the art of a particular period represent the response of the visual world to the needs of its makers: artists, patrons, audience, and their selection for their ability to convey the selected lessons or messages to the audience. Some specifics on the book might illustrate this approach.

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.

Timeline. Each chapter starts with a timeline of key events during the period covered. Non‐art events, selected to provide some context for the art, are distinguished from works of art.

Marginal glosses. There is a running glossary keyed to the first use of a Latin word or technical term also collected in a full glossary at the back of the book. Most of these are technical terms in art and architecture, e.g. cella, orthogonal planning, atmospheric perspective; some are words in Latin or English that my long‐suffering editors agreed to include if I added them to the glossary, e.g. apotropaic, adventus.

A series of features in each chapter is designed to focus attention on information that provides context for the art, its creation, use, or meaning. These include five categories of sidebars, at least three of which will appear in each chapter:

Tools & Techniques. Covers artistic technique, materials, and so forth. Examples include cameo glass technique, use of concrete, artistic workshops.

More on Myth. Provides a quick introduction to a myth central to the art, e.g. Serapis, Seven against Thebes.

Ancients on Art. These quotations allow readers to engage, in translation, ancient testimony about this material.

Form & Function. Examines an aspect of Roman life in relation to some of the art or architectural pieces described, e.g. analysis of amphitheaters, bath complexes, the Forum Romanum.

Historical Context. Includes information on specific events, e.g. Dacian wars, the Jewish Revolt, and particular individuals, e.g. Antinous, Valerian.

Each chapter also has three larger box features. Art and Literatureexplores these intersections in each period. A View from the Provincesspotlights art from outside Rome to ensure the perspective is not exclusively a Rome‐centered one. Scholarly Perspectiveprovides an opportunity to problematize the work by exploring a scholarly debate, perspective, or approach to the art. This gives the reader a case study in how we know what we know and how professionals develop the way we understand the arts of ancient Rome. The goal is not to isolate the scholarship, which actually permeates the entire narrative, but to concentrate on a single issue with a particular work of art or narrow collection of evidence.