Looking at Lovemaking

Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art, 100 B.C. – A.D. 250

AvJohn R. Clarke

Häftad, Engelska, 2001

Del i serien University of California Press

398 kr

Beställningsvara. Skickas inom 5-8 vardagar. Fri frakt över 249 kr.

Beskrivning

What did sex mean to the ancient Romans? In this lavishly illustrated study, John R. Clarke investigates a rich assortment of Roman erotic art to answer this question--and along the way, he reveals a society quite different from our own. Clarke reevaluates our understanding of Roman art and society in a study informed by recent gender and cultural studies, and focusing for the first time on attitudes toward the erotic among both the Roman non-elite and women. This splendid volume is the first study of erotic art and sexuality to set these works--many newly discovered and previously unpublished--in their ancient context and the first to define the differences between modern and ancient concepts of sexuality using clear visual evidence. Roman artists pictured a great range of human sexual activities--far beyond those mentioned in classical literature--including sex between men and women, men and men, women and women, men and boys, threesomes, foursomes, and more. Roman citizens paid artists to decorate expensive objects, such as silver and cameo glass, with scenes of lovemaking.Erotic works were created for and sold to a broad range of consumers, from the elite to the very poor, during a period spanning the first century B.C. through the mid-third century of our era. This erotic art was not hidden away, but was displayed proudly in homes as signs of wealth and luxury. In public spaces, artists often depicted outrageous sexual acrobatics to make people laugh. Looking at Lovemaking depicts a sophisticated, pre-Christian society that placed a high value on sexual pleasure and the art that represented it. Clarke shows how this culture evolved within religious, social, and legal frameworks that were vastly different from our own and contributes an original and controversial chapter to the history of human sexuality.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2001-04-16
Mått:178 x 254 x 25 mm
Vikt:862 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:University of California Press
Antal sidor:406
Förlag:University of California Press
ISBN:9780520229044

Utforska kategorier

Kulturvetenskap inom Samhälle och politik
Konsthistoria inom Kultur
Genusvetenskap inom Samhälle och politik

Mer om författaren

John R. Clarke is Annie Laurie Howard Regents Professor of Art History at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Houses of Roman Italy: Ritual, Space, and Decoration (California, 1991).

Recensioner i media

"This is an important book, ambitious in the goals it sets itself and elegantly realized. It succeeds in demonstrating its major thesis, that Roman sociosexual role allocations, values and attitudes do not correspond to familiar modern ones but demand to be understood in their own radical otherness, and that visual imagery can be an invaluable aid to such an understanding. The controversy which Looking at Lovemaking will no doubt provoke cannot fail to have a stimulating effect upon the rapidly developing appreciation of the complexity of Roman visual culture." - Sheldon Nodelman, Art in America "Clarke has produced a major book which contains much that is new, useful, and stimulating in terms of analysis as well as evidence. He melds contemporary theoretical insights and fresh primary data with a hard look at contexts - not only the original settings of the art works he discusses, but also the intellectual climates which have produced modern analyses. The result is a book which points in significant and unexpected directions." - Dominic Montserrat, The Classical Review "Carefully written and lavishly illustrated. Clarke is refreshingly honest and straightforward, presenting his assumptions and aims in clear, jargon-free prose. This book offers a well-constructed and convincing analysis of both familiar and unfamiliar material. [It's] meticulously researched and intelligently argued... an engaging and stimulating book. [It] is not only a model of the ways in which a creative and ambitious project may be carried out with precision and care, but also a fine addition both to the study of Roman art and to the exploration of ancient sexual practice." - Kristina Milnor, American Journal of Archaeology"

Innehållsförteckning

List if IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionI. The Cultural Construction of Sexuality2. Greek and Hellenistic Constructions of LovemakingThe Augustan and Early ]ulio-Claudian Periods (27 B.C. -A.D. 30)3. Representations of Male-to-Male Lovemaking4· Representations of Male-to-Female Lovemaking5. Sex and the Body of the OtherPompeii: The Neronian and Flavian Periods (A.D. 54-79)6. The Display of Erotica and the Erotics of Display in Houses7. The Display of Erotica and the Erotics of Display in Public BuildingsItaly and the Provinces: I7te First through the Third Centuries8. The Invention and Spread of Sexual Imagery through the Roman WorldConclusionsNotesGlossaryA Guide to Classical TextsBibliographyIndex