Pompeii's Living Statues

Pompeii's Living Statues
Author: Eugene J. Dwyer
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2010
Genre: Archaeology and history
ISBN: 0472117270

An intriguing look at contemporary views regarding the casts of victims from Mt. Vesuvius' eruption

Bodies from the Ash

Bodies from the Ash
Author: James M. Deem
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 72
Release: 2005
Genre: Excavations (Archaeology)
ISBN: 0618473084

Publisher Description

Animating the Antique

Animating the Antique
Author: Sarah Betzer
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2022-08-08
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0271096691

Framed by tensions between figural sculpture experienced in the round and its translation into two-dimensional representations, Animating the Antique explores enthralling episodes in a history of artistic and aesthetic encounters. Moving across varied locations—among them Rome, Florence, Naples, London, Dresden, and Paris—Sarah Betzer explores a history that has yet to be written: that of the Janus-faced nature of interactions with the antique by which sculptures and beholders alike were caught between the promise of animation and the threat of mortification. Examining the traces of affective and transformative sculptural encounters, the book takes off from the decades marked by the archaeological, art-historical, and art-philosophical developments of the mid-eighteenth century and culminantes in fin de siècle anthropological, psychological, and empathic frameworks. It turns on two fundamental and interconnected arguments: that an eighteenth-century ontology of ancient sculpture continued to inform encounters with the antique well into the nineteenth century, and that by attending to the enduring power of this model, we can newly appreciate the distinctively modern terms of antique sculpture’s allure. As Betzer shows, these eighteenth-century developments had far-reaching ramifications for the making and beholding of modern art, the articulations of art theory, the writing of art history, and a significantly queer Nachleben of the antique. Bold and wide-ranging, Animating the Antique sheds light upon the work of myriad artists, in addition to that of writers ranging from Goethe and Winckelmann to Hegel, Walter Pater, and Vernon Lee. It will be especially welcomed by scholars and students working in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century art history, art writing, and art historiography.

A Cloud of Unusual Size and Shape

A Cloud of Unusual Size and Shape
Author: Matt Donovan
Publisher: Trinity University Press
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2016-03-21
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 1595347615

The title cloud of Matt Donovan’s A Cloud of Unusual Size and Shape refers to the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius that in 79 AD buried the city of Pompeii under twenty feet of ash. It’s no surprise, then, that Donovan found the sacred ruins a site of inspiration and power, using their legacy to form the beginning of this extraordinary nonfiction debut. Donovan pursues the image of the cloud throughout these 15 spell-binding essays on ruin and redemption. A Cloud of Unusual Size and Shape is about the flawless connections between antiquity and the present, personal experience to historical events, architecture to art installation to literature. The redemptive power of beauty hovers over this spectacular work, reminding us that darkness and light make an inextricable pattern over our lives and form the delicate balance of what ultimately makes life worthwhile, what gives meaning to the sorrow and joy of being human.

In Search of the Romans (Second Edition)

In Search of the Romans (Second Edition)
Author: James Renshaw
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2019-12-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 147429992X

In Search of the Romans is a lively and informative introduction to ancient Rome. Making extensive use of ancient sources and copiously illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps and plans, now for the first time in colour, its opening two chapters guide the reader through the events of Roman history, from the foundation of the city to the fall of the empire. Subsequent chapters introduce the most important aspects of the Roman world: the army and the provinces, religion, society, and entertainment; the final two chapters focus on Pompeii and Herculaneum, the two cities destroyed by Vesuvius. New to this edition are sections on the Augustan principate, on the Roman army, on life in the provinces and on engineering innovations, while the existing text is revised throughout. The narrative includes descriptions of many individuals from the Roman world, drawn from a variety of social settings. Activity boxes and further reading lists throughout each chapter aid students' understanding of the subject. Review questions challenge students to read further and reflect on some of the most important social, political and cultural issues of ancient Rome, as well as to compare them with those of their own society. The new edition is supported by a website that includes images, maps and timelines, further reading and related links.

Art in Pompeii and Herculaneum

Art in Pompeii and Herculaneum
Author: Paul Roberts
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2013
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9780714122830

An illustrated treasury of the art from Pompeii and Herculaneum, this charming gift book displays the range of fascinating objects that were created by the skilled hands of accomplished classical craftsmen. A short introduction to each section provides enlightening information which helps to place these beautifully produced artworks in their historical and artistic context. With stunning details of frescoes, mosaics, sculpture, jewellery, glass and silverware, this little book provides an enchanting taste of the variety of art from these two cities.

Pompeii

Pompeii
Author: Paul Zanker
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 1999-01-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674257618

Pompeii's tragedy is our windfall: an ancient city fully preserved, its urban design and domestic styles speaking across the ages. This richly illustrated book conducts us through the captured wonders of Pompeii, evoking at every turn the life of the city as it was 2,000 years ago. When Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. its lava preserved not only the Pompeii of that time but a palimpsest of the city's history, visible traces of the different societies of Pompeii's past. Paul Zanker, a noted authority on Roman art and architecture, disentangles these tantalizing traces to show us the urban images that marked Pompeii's development from country town to Roman imperial city. Exploring Pompeii's public buildings, its streets and gathering places, we witness the impact of religious changes, the renovation of theaters and expansion of athletic facilities, and the influence of elite families on the city's appearance. Through these stages, Zanker adeptly conjures a sense of the political and social meanings in urban planning and public architecture. The private houses of Pompeii prove equally eloquent, their layout, decor, and architectural detail speaking volumes about the life, taste, and desires of their owners. At home or in public, at work or at ease, these Pompeians and their world come alive in Zanker's masterly rendering. A provocative and original reading of material culture, his work is an incomparable introduction to urban life in antiquity.

Pompeii Archive

Pompeii Archive
Author:
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 121
Release: 2018-04-24
Genre: Photography
ISBN: 0300233663

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Pompeii: Photographs and Fragments held at the Yale University Art Gallery, March 2, 2018-August 19, 2018.

Pompeii

Pompeii
Author: Alison E. Cooley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2023-10-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1350125245

This second edition of Alison E. Cooley's accessible introduction to Pompeii takes into account the major new theories and discoveries that have emerged since the first edition was published 20 years ago. Italy's third most popular tourist destination, Pompeii attracts millions of visitors each year, and images of the town are familiar all around the world. However, even today our picture of the site is being impacted by new archaeological discoveries. This book focuses particularly on the date of the eruption, the natural environment of Pompeii, the recovery of skeletal remains and plaster casts, and Pompeii in the popular imagination. In addition, three new chapters look at the popularization of Pompeii, archaeological reconstruction of the Roman town, and how we know what we know about the people who lived there. The technological advances of the 20th and 21st centuries have transformed our understanding of the urban environment of Pompeii, raising new questions even as they dig ever deeper into the surviving material evidence. This volume offers a succinct and insightful exploration of the impact of these scientific and archaeological innovations, as well as that of contemporary politics, upon interpretations of Pompeii over the last 250 years, including the ways in which advances in volcanology have transformed our picture of its last moments.