"Caught between the Theatricality of the Baroque and the acute sensibility of Romanticism, art in Rome in the eighteenth century has long been a neglected area of study." "The grand scale and spectacular diversity of the period are comprehensively captured for the first time in this definitive history of the period, produced to accompany a major U.S. exhibition organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and documenting the work of over 150 artists. With over 450 illustrations, and texts by an outstanding array of experts from around the world, Art in Rome in the Eighteenth Century provides a massively authoritative survey of a fascinating era."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Inspired by the achievements of the ancient Greeks, the Romans made their city the center of an empire unsurpassed in size and influence for more than a thousand years. Its rich legacy shaped the medieval world and continues to amaze us today. Life, Myth, and Art in Ancient Rome celebrates the many achievements of Roman culture and delves into its fascinating dark side. Romans erected structures so well-built and engineered that they still stand millennia later, yet these same buildings also showcased blood sports as public entertainment. The Romans instituted just government, impartial legal and political institutions, and concepts of citizenship, yet its population included slaves as well as patricians and plebeians, and was often riven by intrigue, superstition, and savagery. This volume is a richly illustrated introduction to a fascinating, at times paradoxical, civilization and its art and architecture, ranging from magnificent temples and aqueducts, to exquisite mosaics and jewelry. Placing the art in its cultural context, the author covers themes that have long inspired the Western imagination, including the rise and fall of emperors, the life and death of the gladiator, the belief in omens and prophecy, and, ultimately, the establishment of Christianity.

Accompanied by the masterpieces and memories of illustrious figures, we follow the arc of a city and a civilization from its beginnings to its height and fall, leafing through pages of history from the various eras. Rome was the final act of antiquity, and a dramatic conception of a new world."--BOOK JACKET.

Western culture saw some of the most significant and innovative developments take place during the passage from antiquity to the middle ages. This stimulating new book investigates the role of the visual arts as both reflections and agents of those changes. It tackles two inter-related periodsof internal transformation within the Roman Empire: the phenomenon known as the 'Second Sophistic' (c. ad 100300)two centuries of self-conscious and enthusiastic hellenism, and the era of late antiquity (c. ad 250450) when the empire underwent a religious conversion to Christianity. Vases, murals, statues, and masonry are explored in relation to such issues as power, death, society, acculturation, and religion. By examining questions of reception, viewing, and the culture of spectacle alongside the more traditional art-historical themes of imperial patronage and stylisticchange, Jas Elsner presents a fresh and challenging account of an extraordinarily rich cultural crucible in which many fundamental developments of later European art had their origins. 'a highly individual work . . . wonderful visual and comparative analysis . . . I can think of no other general book on Roman art that deals so elegantly and informatively with the theme of visuality and visual desire.' Professor Natalie Boymel Kampen, Barnard College, New York 'exciting and original . . . a vibrant impression of creative energy and innovation held in constant tension by the persistence of more traditional motifs and techniques. Elsner constantly surprises and intrigues the reader by approaching familiar material in new ways.' Professor Averil Cameron,Keble College, Oxford

A survey of Roman art and culture from the time of the first settlements on the eastern bank of the Tiber to the moment when secular Rome was succeeded by ecclesiastical Rome during the Middle Ages. For a long time Roman art was considered essentially nothing but a derivative, provincial form of Greek art. It is the special aim of the author to stress the unique quality of Roman culture and to present it as a national art, in spite of all the outside influences.

A complete introduction to the rich cultural legacy of Rome through the study of Roman art ... It includes a discussion of the relevance of Rome to the modern world, a short historical overview, and descriptions of forty-five works of art in the Roman collection organized in three thematic sections: Power and Authority in Roman Portraiture; Myth, Religion, and the Afterlife; and Daily Life in Ancient Rome. This resource also provides lesson plans and classroom activities."--Publisher website.

A beautifully illustrated, new edition of the best single-volume guide to Roman and early Christian art. Provides an introduction to the great diversity of artistic styles during the period, and their context.

Discover the rich history and culture of some of the world¿s most influential historical places with these highly illustrated books, packed with informative and enlightening descriptions and information

John Marciari tells the story of the monuments, artists, and patrons of Renaissance Rome in this compelling book. In no other city is the ancient world so palpably present, and nowhere else is the mission of the church so evident. At the same time as the humanists sought to preserve and recreate the ancient city, giving it a new lease on life, the popes dispensed patronage much as any other contemporary Italian ruler. Rome was also the most international of the Renaissance cities with artists and architects generally training elsewhere before arriving in the city and introducing new trends. By adopting a chronological structure, covering the period c.1300–1600, Marciari is able to explore the nature of Roman patronage as it differed from papacy to papacy. He examines the city's extraordinary works of art in the context of the working practices, competition, and rivalries that made Renaissance Rome so magnificent.