When a reader asks a question about Roman iconography, it is all someone like me can do to resist the temptation to adopt the air of an excited puppy, crack my fingers and begin work on an expansive tome, delving deep into the musky waters of the complexities of ancient portraiture.
Maybe it's because this was the subject of your long-ago thesis (are you a reincarnated roman scholar or something?) this is a really good essay that shows a deep knowledge of the subject, a subject which I'd never really bothered to think about. I wish it were possible to see those funerary paintings you mentioned. It's clear that Roman artists were fabulously skilled. This makes me think how naive we are today about our own legacy. Digital images last only as long as the electronic platform they are displayed on. Printed photos might last a couple centuries if we're lucky. No visual references will be left of our era two thousand years hence unlike those of the Roman world. None of our photoshopped portraits will be resurrected. That's what you're saying about these brilliant roman sculptors (do any of their names survive)? They were able to do some light photoshopping in marble. (Marbleshopping?) These photos are really good too, the lighting on all four of these pictures is excellent. I love the first picture which shows to what degree objectivity was prized by this civilization. Just within the last few years I have noticed a powerful disdain for objectivity developing in our own time. I wish it was only in our images. I think it's becoming a way of thinking about things as well. (Mentalshopping?) Or maybe it's just that I'm noticing it more these days.
And the famous Parthenon marbles were done by a chap called Phidias
Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo were heavily influenced by the work of these earlier geniuses. At the end of the 15th Century, the ruins of Nero's great palace, the Domus Aurea, were discovered in Rome and they were packed full of frescoes and statues. People like Raphael and Michelangelo crawled into the ruins to see the art and were stunned by what they saw, leading to a rebirth of the classical style.
Maybe it's because this was the subject of your long-ago thesis (are you a reincarnated roman scholar or something?) this is a really good essay that shows a deep knowledge of the subject, a subject which I'd never really bothered to think about. I wish it were possible to see those funerary paintings you mentioned. It's clear that Roman artists were fabulously skilled. This makes me think how naive we are today about our own legacy. Digital images last only as long as the electronic platform they are displayed on. Printed photos might last a couple centuries if we're lucky. No visual references will be left of our era two thousand years hence unlike those of the Roman world. None of our photoshopped portraits will be resurrected. That's what you're saying about these brilliant roman sculptors (do any of their names survive)? They were able to do some light photoshopping in marble. (Marbleshopping?) These photos are really good too, the lighting on all four of these pictures is excellent. I love the first picture which shows to what degree objectivity was prized by this civilization. Just within the last few years I have noticed a powerful disdain for objectivity developing in our own time. I wish it was only in our images. I think it's becoming a way of thinking about things as well. (Mentalshopping?) Or maybe it's just that I'm noticing it more these days.
Thank you for the very kind words. They are much appreciated.
You can absolutely see the Fayum funerary portraits online.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayum_mummy_portraits
We do know the names of several ancient sculptors. Some of them were famous as pop stars back in the day.
Glykon of Athens was responsible for this beauty https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herkules_Farnese
And the famous Parthenon marbles were done by a chap called Phidias
Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo were heavily influenced by the work of these earlier geniuses. At the end of the 15th Century, the ruins of Nero's great palace, the Domus Aurea, were discovered in Rome and they were packed full of frescoes and statues. People like Raphael and Michelangelo crawled into the ruins to see the art and were stunned by what they saw, leading to a rebirth of the classical style.
That Herculles is a hunk of marble.