This book provides an enquiry into the distinguishing traits of Greek and Roman figural imagery. A detailed analysis of a wide range of material conveys an understanding of the figural imagery of classical antiquity as a whole, counterbalancing studies conducted on single genres.
Through in-depth studies of six major production categories—Greek painted pottery, Roman decorated walls, Greek gravestones, Roman sarcophagi, Greek and Roman official sculpture, and Greek and Roman coins—the reader gains insights into the making of classical figural imagery. The images are explored within their contextual frameworks, paying attention to both functional purposes and pictorial traditions. Image–viewer relations offer a perspective that is maintained across the chapters. The bottom-up approach and the many genres of imagery discussed provide the basis for an extensive synthesis.
Lavishly illustrated with over 100 images, Excursions into Greek and Roman Imagery provides a valuable resource for students of classical antiquity and history of art. The book also offers classical scholars, museum curators and others interested in classical art a fresh approach to the figural imagery of antiquity.
1. Introduction. Some general observations on Greek and Roman imagery and its study, 2. Greek painting: tableware from Athens, 3. Roman painting: interior walls at Pompeii, 4. Greek sculpture: gravestones at Smyrna, 5. Roman sculpture: sarcophagi with mythological motifs, 6 . Greek and Roman sculpture in the public sphere: a temple building in Athens and a funerary monument in Rome, 7. Greek and Roman coins, 8. Synthesis with conclusions.
Biography
Eva Rystedt is a professor and former holder of the chair of Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Lund University, Sweden. She is the author of numerous publications falling within the fields of Etruscan archaeology and the Bronze Age (Mycenaean) and historical visual cultures of Greece and Rome.
"With its broad compass from large-scale sculpture to small-scale coins and its chronological range, this book will serve students who can thereby gain a deep understanding of many forms of classical art, their complex imagery, and their meaning in ancient society." - Opuscula
