Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Vol. 21 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, Vol. 21 Numerous factual discoveries mark the progress of knowledge through the past hundred years of archaeological research. Roman art has had its share of these discoveries; nevertheless, the recent discussions in this field have prob ably made their greatest contribution by bringing into focus the general problem of Roman art. As to the answers suggested, no agreement is yet in sight. At least it is evident today that one cannot write a history of Roman art, as one can set out to write a history of Egyptian or Greek art, by starting from a recognized, coherent body of works of art, which present an obvious unity of style, of inten tions and of means of expression. The terms Egyptian, Greek have an established meaning in the field of art; the meaning of the word Roman cannot so be taken for granted. The unity of Roman art is not obvious as a style or approach to artistic representation, like the Egyptian style. If a similar inner coherence existed at all in Roman art connecting its various manifestations; it must still be uncovered in'the diversity before us. The decision is mostly up to the modern student, as to what to call Roman and why, and the burden of proof rests on the critic. A history of Roman art cannot merely present and explain; it must first define its subject matter. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.