The Anatomy of Late Roman Art. Interaction between Public and Private, Meaning and Image, Patron and Workshop

Abstract

In spite of many turbulent changes and a vigorous development in late Roman art, the Roman pagan élite preserved the old and tenacious Classicism as absolute aesthetic value. In my opinion, this pseudo-conservative attitude was essential to maintain the Roman patrons’ influence in a multi-cultural sphere. Perhaps, therefore, we do not have any satisfactory term for indicating the highly heterogeneous non-Classical tendencies in Roman art. I would like to propose a name for such tendencies which is far more neutral than any other current denominations. Moreover, I will discuss the Roman patrons’ intense personal participation in creating art both publicly and privately without holding a chisel or brush in their hand. This unique trend was made possible owing to the masses of technically skillful and socially oppressed artists – and the literacy of the Roman elite. When the preconditions for this patron art weakened in the course of the third century AD, and finally were displaced by more institutional limitations and a powerful collective inspiration in the Christian fourth century, these changes inaugurated a restitution of the unity between technical skill and creativity.