From monumental tombs and domestic decoration, to acts of benefaction and portraits of ancestors, Roman freed slaves, or freedmen, were prodigious patrons of art and architecture. Traditionally, however, the history of Roman art has been told primarily through the monumental remains of the emperors and ancient writers who worked in their circles. In this study, Lauren Petersen critically investigates the notion of 'freedman art' in scholarship, dependent as it is on elite-authored texts that are filled with hyperbole and stereotypes of freedmen, such as the memorable fictional character Trimalchio, a boorish ex-slave in Petronius' Satyricon. She emphasizes integrated visual ensembles within defined historical and social contexts and aims to show how material culture can reflect preoccupations that were prevalent throughout Roman society. Interdisciplinary in scope, this book explores the many ways that monuments and artistic commissions by freedmen spoke to a much more complex reality than that presented in literature.
Les mer
Introduction: the Roman freedman, 'freedman art', and Trimalchio; Public life and assimilation; 1. Rebuilding Pompeii: the Popidius family and the Temple of Isis; 2. The visibility of the Augustales in Pompeii; 3. Memory-making in the funerary realm: the tomb of the baker in Rome; Social integration: domus and family; 4. 'Freedman taste' in domus decoration; 5. To claim a domus: the house of the Caecilii at Pompeii; 6. Family and community at the Isola Sacra Necropolis: the Tomb of the Varii.
Les mer
Review of the hardback: 'This monograph clearly will pave the road to future studies on freedmen and freeborn alike of a similar economic standing … this work will become a standard reference for Roman art historians and social historians alike.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Les mer
In this study, Lauren Petersen critically investigates the notion of 'freedman art' in scholarship.

Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780521858892
Publisert
2006-07-31
Utgiver
Vendor
Cambridge University Press
Vekt
978 gr
Høyde
261 mm
Bredde
185 mm
Dybde
23 mm
Aldersnivå
P, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Innbundet
Antall sider
312

Biographical note

Lauren Hackworth Petersen is Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Delaware. A scholar of Roman art and architecture, she has published in Arethusa and The Art Bulletin, among other journals, and has received grants from the American Academy in Rome, the National Endowment of the Humanities, the Getty Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies.