Roman Portraits and Persons
Course Description
Ancient Rome is famous for its lifelike portraits of individuals: Pompey the Great, Julius Caesar, the emperor Trajan, and many others. However, only important Romans received portraits; these images were about power. To understand them, we also have to look at how everyone else was represented: women and people of non-normative gender; laboring people and bodies in pain; slaves, soldiers, gladiators; enemies and other non-Romans.
In this class, we will trace Roman portraits from Republican verism through imperial representations to changes with the rise of Christianity. We will explore damnatio memoriae (condemnation of memory), asking how and why portraits were sometimes violently attacked. The Roman portrait tradition was later appropriated for many other periods and situations, but this is not the only way to represent people; throughout this course, we will also consider alternative concepts of portrayal. We will explore the ways in which Roman portraits still shape our world now, from Confederate statue destructions to Yung Jake’s emoji portraits to everyday selfies.
Key questions include: How was a vivid impression of individuality created by an image-maker? Who was represented in this way—and who was excluded, and why? What visual conventions and stereotypes communicated high or low status? What concepts of the person and of society are expressed in these images? What effects did these images have on their viewers, and what work did they do? What is a portrait, anyway? You will practice close looking and visual analysis, making comparisons, discussing larger issues, and developing robust arguments. Assignments will include readings, discussions, and writing assignments. The course will include one or two group excursions (the location will depend on what is currently on view), to examine and discuss portraits in person.
Meet the Instructor: Jennifer Trimble
"I am fascinated by the ancient Roman Empire. I focus on art and archaeology in order to understand non-elites as well as senators and emperors, developments far from Rome as well as in the capital. I want to know: how did people interact with visual images, everyday objects, built spaces? How did visual and material culture shape their lives, their identities, and their possibilities—or constraints? These questions motivate my research into Roman portraits, gender constructs, slavery, ancient maps, and comparative urbanism (especially Greek, Roman and early Islamic cities). My book on Women and Visual Replication in Roman Imperial Art and Culture was about portrait statues whose bodies are all identical; it explored the role of visual sameness in constructing public identity and in articulating empire and place. I co-directed Stanford's Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project, a collaboration between computer scientists and archaeologists to help reassemble a fragmentary ancient map of the city of Rome. I’ve excavated in Turkey, France, Germany, and Italy, and I co-directed the IRC-Oxford-Stanford excavations just south of the Roman Forum, exploring interactions of commercial, religious and monumental space. I’m currently working on Seeing Roman Slaves, a book examining the intersections of Roman slavery and visual culture."
Of related interest
ARCHLGY 11N
ARTHIST 11N