Roman Art

Paul Zanker

A groundbreaking illustrated study of the evolution of Roman imagery written by a noted authority on Roman art and architecture.

Traditional studies of Roman art have sought to identify an indigenous style distinct from Greek art and in the process have neglected the large body of Roman work that creatively recycled Greek artworks. In this original assessment, Paul Zanker offers instead a cultural history of the functions of the visual arts, the messages that these images carried, and the values that they affirmed in late Republican Rome and the Empire.

The analysis begins at the point at which the characteristic features of Roman art started to emerge, when the Romans were exposed to Hellenistic culture through their conquest of Greek lands in the third century B.C. As a result, the values and social and political structure of Roman society changed, as did the functions and character of the images it generated. Clearly and accessibly written, this book presents insights into the evolution of the forms and meanings of Roman art, while illuminating the importance of visual imagery in communicating the value of any culture. 

Paul Zanker is professor of the history of ancient art at the Scuole Normale Superiore at Pisa and former director of the German Archaeological Institute at Rome.

“Zanker, one of the foremost ancient Roman art historians, has produced an excellent general study of Roman art and its reception. . . . This book would be ideal for students at all levels interested in Roman art, history, and culture.”

—Choice

224 pages
6 5/8 x 9 1/2 inches
60 color and 60 b/w illustrations
ISBN 978-1-60606-101-5
paperback

Getty Publications
Imprint: J. Paul Getty Museum

2012