Week 5: Molly: Nodelman and Welch

1.) Nodelman means that Roman portraiture is a combination of unique elements that are needed to create the whole. For example, when he describes the statue of Augustus from Prima Porta he emphasis the juxtapositions of meaning found in the sculpture. Augustus’ gesture of address “possessed a well-established meaning in Roman society” (15) while his bare feet (incomplete military uniform) references “the ideal nudity of heroic statues” (16). His face is youthful to contrast with the old men of the “veristic” age and give new hope to the empire. His gaze reflects “the old-Roman virtues of rigorous self-control and implicit acceptance of the binding force of social order” (17). This sculpture became an icon because of its multiple layers of meaning and references that people viewing the sculpture would understand. It is a combination of elements meant to elicit a certain response from the viewer, which is what Nodelman means when he describes Roman art as a “system of signs” (11).

2.) Roman sculpture’s distinctiveness is in its “stylistic variety” (38). Roman sculptures borrowed from Greek sculpture and then infused elements unique to their own culture. For example, The Esquiline Venus is actually a combination of the Hellenistic Aphrodite Anadyomene with a Classical body and face (40). The statues that were created responded to the Roman market demands. Another example is statues “from the circle of the god Dionysus” that owners of Roman villas purchased to decorate their homes (40). The sculpture was respected for its part in Greek mythology while allowing viewers to relax as Dionysus is, after all, the god of wine. Another example is a revival of the Greek-style sarcophagus. But, again, what was depicted depended on the owner. Ultimately, Roman sculpture took what it thought best in Greek sculpture and adapted it to the messages it wanted to convey to the viewer (38).