Roman Art (Universe History of Art and Architecture) (English and German Edition)

By Helga Von Heintze

Book Overview

Roman art emerged from an intermingling of Italo-Etruscan and Greek-Hellenistic forms. It was the conservative art of warriors, in which the subject was far more important than the form. It is not... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0876637683
• ISBN13: 9780876637685
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Universe Pub
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Well-illustrated, with a fine narrative.

There are times when the history enthusiast has read fine books on the political, literary, social, and economic history of a people. By design, I suppose, these books do not cover the artistic accomplishments of that people, for which a companion volume is necessary. In my specific case, I am referring to Roman history books I have read and reviewed in this catalog: "Roman Realities" by Finley Hooper; "Daily Life in Ancient Rome" by Jerome Carcopino; and "Life in Ancient Rome" by F. R. Cowell. In searching for an adequate book on ancient Roman art, I came upon Helga von Heintze's work. In this relatively short book, the author profiles the development of Roman architecture, relief sculpture, paintings and mosaics, statues, and portrait sculpture from Etruscan times to the end of the fourth century A.D. Her discussion is limited to the art forms just mentioned; therefore, additional art-related topics such as jewelry, pottery, and coins are not within the scope of this book. Rather than delineate the chapters by historical period, von Heintze dedicates each chapter to a specific art form and then proceeds to discuss the evolution of that art form in time. As a valuable aid to the reader, the book includes 192 illustrations (14 of these in color) of Roman artwork with excellent profiles of each. The text itself is concise and parallels art technique with historical developments very well. In addition, the author balances her discussions of Roman historical periods according to the degree of artistic activity in each period and surviving pieces of art. Therefore, the reader will expect more extensive coverage of artistic production during the 200 years or so of the Pax Romana. "Roman Art" served its purpose of bringing to a full circle my understanding and knowledge of ancient Roman civilization and its legacy in today's Western culture.