In ancient Roman times, an “imago,” a wax mask of a deceased person, became the currency of social status. The more “imagos” you collected within your lineage, the more prominent and powerful your family seemed. The ancient Roman sculpture, “A Roman Patrician with Busts of His Ancestors” (c.30 BC), became the epitome of aristocratic Roman families. The Roman Patrician is holding up two of his families “imagos”, showing that his family is strong and high in social stature. The Roman patrician’s somber face and serious demeanor project a wave of dignity. Many Roman families believed that sculptures captured not only a permanent image, but also monumentalized the spirit – therefore, when they had sculptures done of them, they would take on a serious, dignified air, so that their spirit would remain seen as dignified long after their physical body perished. What is curious about this sculpture is that, at some point, one of the “imagos” had fallen off the sculpture. One “imago” is 30 years older than the other. In the time of the Romans, aristocratic families were judged by how much art they had. When this incident occurred, an imperfect imago was quickly made and put into place, showing that the family rushed the artist in his trade. Without their sculpture, the family seemed less important and less wealthy. From this, it is clear that the Romans measured a person’s worth based on the aesthetic appeal of their material objects. We can also see that the Romans were superstitious, as they believed that their sculpture captured their soul and identity.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Period One, Synthesis Group Eight
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The connection of possession of art and status is very apparent in the research your group did, so good job! The concept of dignity is very powerful in the family and how the family is seen. The value of art on the family's status tells a lot about what was important in the ancient Roman society, which seems counter intuitive because they were such strong warriors. When thinking on ancient rome what comes to mind is power and brutality. It also appears that status is undependable, which puts social status as a constant task of upkeep. And the word “imago” looks like the word image and could have come from this type of sculpture, since it is one’s image. The more people in one’s family the more “imagos”, the more powerful they were seen. So this also shows the importance of a large family to dominate society. Sculpture was a prominent part of roman society and life. Since an “imago” was seen as a holder of the spirit this reflect the religious value of the sculptures and most likely who would have the sculptures, so only the wealthy were preserved through time. The Romans seemed to perceive who they were as their “imago” was seen. The status of a family was only as strong as their “imagoes.”
ReplyDeleteAlthough you did a very nice job you did not connect this value to the Greeks.Also, why did they place so much power into a sculpture? Why do we see ancient roman society as war driven if these scuptures determined social status?
asher.p1.t3.greek & roman
ReplyDeleteThis answer does a good job of clarifying how the Romans used art to communicate the emphasis they put on aesthetics. The Romans would express social status through visual appearance, specifically, through the number of imagos they obtained. An individual was seen to have achieved great social status and wealth if he had possession of an imago. The posted response does a good job of dicussing the ways in which the Romans value aesthetics, but does not address the ways in which Roman science and religion compliment one another. One piece of artwork that communicates this relationship between science and religion is the AntikytheraEphebe sculpture. This sculpture is a 1.94 meter bronze statue of a man reaching out grasping for an object. The work was produced to show that science and religion become one. This concept is expressed through the man's anatomy; the man's arms reach out towards the reason, trying to grasp science. The work shows religious perspective by creating the statue in the image of the Greek god of herds and herald of the gods, Hermes. In doing this, the artist shows that the pursuit of both knowledge and religion is possible. This concept reflects the view of the Romans.