Painting, Ethics, and Aesthetics in Rome (Greek Culture in the Roman World)

In the first centuries BCE and CE, Roman wall painters frequently placed representations of works of art, especially panel paintings, within their own mural compositions. Nathaniel B. Jones argues that the depiction of panel painting within mural ensembles functioned as a meta-pictorial reflection on the practice and status of painting itself. This phenomenon provides crucial visual evidence for both the reception of Greek culture and the interconnected ethical and aesthetic values of art in the Roman world. Roman meta-pictures, this book reveals, not only navigated social debates on the production and consumption of art, but also created space on the Roman wall for new modes of expression relating to pictorial genres, the role of medium in artistic practice, and the history of painting. Richly illustrated, the volume will be important for anyone interested in the social, ethical, and aesthetic dimensions of artworks, in the ancient Mediterranean and beyond. Cover......Page 1 Half-title page......Page 3 Series page......Page 4 Title page......Page 5 Copyright page......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 List of Figures......Page 10 List of Plates......Page 16 Acknowledgments......Page 18 List of Abbreviations......Page 20 Introduction: The Painting of Painting in Ancient Rome......Page 21 1 Winckelmann and the Cultural Dynamics of Painting......Page 29 2 Disrupting the Frame......Page 67 3 The Ethics and Politics of Art......Page 113 4 Transparent and Opaque: Medium and Materiality on the Roman Wall......Page 157 Plates......Page 163 5 Paradigms, Ensembles, and Anachronisms......Page 215 Epilogue: Reflection and Reflexivity......Page 266 Bibliography......Page 271 Index......Page 319 In the first centuries BCE and CE, Roman wall painters frequently placed representations of works of art, especially panel paintings, within their own mural compositions. This richly illustrated book explores the social, ethical and aesthetic dimensions of this practice and will appeal to both classicists and art historians. Demonstrates how ancient Roman mural paintings stood at the intersection of contemporary social, ethical, and aesthetic concerns