Roman Art and Architecture

by Mortimer Wheeler

"A survey as spirited as it is far-ranging."― The Times Literary Supplement Sir Mortimer Wheeler describes the architecture and town planning, the sculpture and painting, the silverware, glass, pottery and the other rich artistic achievements of the era. 215 Illustrations, 60 in color

Genres: Art, Architecture, History, Nonfiction, Art History, Italy, Roman

252 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1964

Reviews

[Leslie]

Dated but still useful and readable overview of Roman art and architecture. He makes some assumptions that art historians and classicists now would not make (I hope!), such as seeing the absence of full perspective in art as a failure on the part of Roman artists and craftspeople or the tendency to see the influence of eastern art and aesthetics on Roman work as a kind of decline or corruption rather than a useful or enriching hybridization. But it's probably unfair to blame a scholar of his period and training for making assumptions that would have struck few at the time as objectionable.

[Alonna Maddox]

Extremely informative - an excellent overview of the trends and phases of Roman art and architecture up to the fall of the West. I also appreciated Wheeler’s hot takes on scholarly work that preceded him. His prose is often over the top and overly ornamental, which makes it even more enjoyable when he’s firing off shots toward his predecessors.

[Anne]

How delightfully overwritten. "Almost riotously ornate."

[Georgina Farrelly]

I love the way Wheeler, 20th century British archaeologist, makes the ancient art & architecture animate -
“The sacred and the secular meet in dusty juxtaposition”
“Quiet demarcation of civic pride”
“An architecture of utility and quiet dignity”

This is the closest thing we had to a textbook in Classics and I cherished it. no less for being very hard to get your paws on a copy.

[Linus]

Good if a bit dry: recommended to anyone seriously interested in Roman history, both Republican and Imperial.

[Kate]

Richly illustrated, but sadly rather fragmentary.

[Calum Orr]

Good breadth of Roman Architecture to further pique my interest. I may look towards domestic Architecture next.

[Logan]

Overwritten with some dated claims, but overall a good, brief overview of the major movements and materials of Roman art. Has a good focus on contact between “Rome-proper” and the fringes of the empire in the east and with the Celts in the North.

[Oscar Despard]

This book constitutes a summary, pleasant introduction to its subject, written not to overawe readers ignorant of its topics but equally not to speak down to them.

The book occasionally wants for a more systematic approach, It is reasonable to desire, for instance, having been told of certain exemplars of the second and fourth Pompeian style, that the first and third might at least be mentioned, but that is not so. More seriously, after saying that the interior of the Pantheon is “one of man’s rare masterpieces”, Wheeler could reasonably be expected to describe it in some detail; instead, he passes on to bath-buildings with an abruptness that is as “thoroughly uncomfortable” as the disharmony between portico and rotunda in that famous temple.

Nevertheless, such breeziness contributes to the conversation style of the book; after reading it, one could easily imagine having Wheeler as an erudite and entertaining dinner guest. His thesis that Rome’s aesthetic achievements deserve respect as being different in kind, not inferior in degree, to those more renowned from Greece is convincingly put while never dominating the factual basis of the book. Overall, it is an excellent read.

[David]

Good resource material.

[Joanie]

For those that love this time period (and I do), this book is a must read.

[KeeOfTheArchives]

Read

[Susan Molloy]

Required reading for one of my ancient art classes in college.

Review: Useful resource for study. I enjoyed this.