Malcolm A. R. Colledge (1939–2015)

Part of a series of small summaries on various segments of art: in this case, Roman Art. As with the other books in this series there are sections devoted to : Architecture, Sculpture Painting and Applied Arts. The latter are represented by carved jewellery, glassware and metal tableware.As one might expect, there is an overly large section devoted to Roman Architecture and town planning. (The Romans tended to model their towns on their military camps...on a rectilinear grid with a central plaza. Does it do the job? Can I now recognise Roman Art? I don't think so. There seems to be the unstated assumption that by presenting a number of critical works that one will henceforth be able to identify the genre. I don't think this is correct. I also question their use of the blue sections in the illustrations. At its best (say on p 12 where they show the repetitive use of semicircular concrete naves....they work well but the oval diagram on p15 seems to add nothing. With sculpture the essence of the Roman form seems to be its realism ...a kind of warts and all portrayal. (And the authors make the point that in the period from around 100 BC onwards, this was the favoured style and probably produced by greek sculptors who had migrated to Rome.
Overall, a reasonable coverage in such a slim volume. Three stars from me.… (mais)