The Origins of Roman Historical Commemoration in the Visual Arts

This book analyzes the mentality that required the invention of history to commemorate the achievements of aristocrats at the dawn of the Roman Empire. By investigating classical literary sources as well as the visual arts, this book helps us understand how the Romans justified their action to themselves and to their conquered subjects. It investigates how the Romans interacted with the artistic traditions of the ancient Greeks, Etruscans, and other Italian peoples.

• Features first published photos of several restored Roman paintings, also fourteen original drawings commissioned specifically for book
• Analysis of mentality that required historical commemoration and its art forms in the Republican period
• Only book in English to consider source material from diverse artistic traditions, thus expanding basis for discussion of Roman historical art