"Art and architecture are mirrors of a society. They reflect the state of its values, especially in times of crisis or transition." Upon this premise Paul Zanker builds an interpretation of Augustan art as a visual language that both expressed and furthered the transformation of Roman society during the rule of Augustus Caesar. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus illustrates how the establishment of monarchy under Augustus Caesar led to the...
I wondered if this book would really make me see Ancient History in a new light --well, it has! Thought-provoking and elegantly translated, I would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject of late republic and early imperial Roman society.
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Book was in perfect shape. I couldn't even tell that it had been used.
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This is an an extraordinary book and quite relevant to analyzing our own cultural images and how they shape our thinking, beliefs, values, attitudes and most of all our behavior. Zanker shows how a culture can be radically transformed incrementally and over time by its visual images which includes art, architecture, dress, patterns of human interaction, and public entertainment. What's relevant here to our own day is how...
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This book is an excellent example of how art critique can be used to analyze politics and history. Paul Zanker does an exceptionally thorough job as he systematically works his way through the end of the Republic to the heights of Augustan Rome. The book includes tons of photographs, coins, maps and reproductions to illustrate appropriate points in the text. The thesis of the book is to show how art was used to convey the...
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Zanker offers a fascinating reconstruction of Octavian Augustus' agenda for consolidating his position as leader of the Roman world. He does this by careful analysis of the buildings, statues, coins and other physical objects made during the rule of Rome's first emperor. Zanker understands well the impact of visual communication and uses it insightfully. He doesn't simply catalog artifacts, he interprets them and connects...
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