Art History 701 - Roman Art Seminar: Portraiture
Spring
2015
01
3.00
Laetitia La Follette
M 4:00PM 6:45PM
UMass Amherst
17940
Ancient Rome was filled with portrait statues, which have been called "the other population" of this capital city. What social purposes did they serve and how did they speak to Roman audiences?
In this seminar, we will explore Roman portrait sculpture, both private and public, in contexts as varied as imperial baths, lower-class tombs, elite gardens and religious sanctuaries, to investigate the way portraits served as catalysts for the imagination and memory, at the same time that they broadcast social and even political status.
The seminar will pull together a wide range of sources of information to bear on this material, drawing on archaeological excavations, the texts of ancient authors such as Cicero and Pliny, and the inscriptions affixed to statues by those who dedicated them, as well as the works of art that survive, both paintings and sculpted examples.
In this seminar, we will explore Roman portrait sculpture, both private and public, in contexts as varied as imperial baths, lower-class tombs, elite gardens and religious sanctuaries, to investigate the way portraits served as catalysts for the imagination and memory, at the same time that they broadcast social and even political status.
The seminar will pull together a wide range of sources of information to bear on this material, drawing on archaeological excavations, the texts of ancient authors such as Cicero and Pliny, and the inscriptions affixed to statues by those who dedicated them, as well as the works of art that survive, both paintings and sculpted examples.
Undergraduates must have a class in Ancient or permission of instructor. No pre-reqs for Graduate Students.