Iconography and Style in Republican and Early Imperial Art (200 bce to 14 ce)

This chapter identifies pertinent trends in the scholarship of late republican and early imperial Roman art, from the early second century bce to the end of the Augustan period. By looking at specific themes and case studies, such as mythological terracottas, historical reliefs, decorative marble statues from elite villas, so-called neoattic art, and honorific as well as funerary portraits, the essentially eclectic nature of artistic themes and styles across a range of media and materials is illustrated. Moreover, based upon these case studies, the chapter explores the relations between stylistic choice and aspects like class, society, and politics. From this it becomes clear that the systematic use of archaizing, classicizing, and Hellenistic styles in the late republican and early imperial period was deeply rooted in a vibrant community of commissioners and artists who acted under the influence of profound sociopolitical transformations in Rome, central Italy, and the wider Mediterranean.

The Church of the Ascension in Livadia and Byzantine Architectural Style. Imperial Commission and Project Execution

Поднимается проблема изученности наследия русской церковной архитектуры, которая напрямую связана с требованиями идентичности и практикой воссоздания утраченных памятников. Работа является первым историко-архитектурным исследованием Вознесенской церкви в Ливадии (1869-1876, разобрана в 1929, воссоздание начато в 2016). Обозначены черты, характерные для императорского искусства, присущие храмам Ливадии, архитектуре Владимирского собора в Херсонесе. Вознесенская церковь рассматривается в контексте становления византийского стиля в русской архитектуре эпохи историзма. Раскрывается история и символика названия Ливадия, методы и характер обращения архитекторов и заказчиков к традиции древних византийских и греческих храмов. Показаны основные этапы составления проекта и ход строительства Вознесенской церкви, приводятся данные об освящении храма и учреждении церковного причта. Публикуются проекты архитекторов И. А. Монигетти и А. Г. Венсана. Выдвигается гипотеза о создании Вознесенской церкви в Ливадии с опорой на образец кафоликона монастыря Осиос Лукас и памятники Афона. В основу изысканий положены вновь выявленные архивные материалы, проектные чертежи, рисунки, старые фотографии. In the article the author rises the problem of Russian church architectural heritage studies. This problem is directly linked to the practice and requirements of lost monuments’ identity restoration. This paper is the first historical and architectural study of the Church of the Ascension in Livadia (1869-1876, deconstructed in 1929, restoration began in 2016). The author highlights the characteristic features of the Imperial art common for Livadia churches and the architecture of Saint Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonese. The Church of the Ascension is analyzed in the context of the formation of Byzantine style in Russian architecture of the ageofhistoricism. The article explicates the history and the symbolism of Livadia name as well as the methods and the character of architects and commissioners’ use of Byzantine and Greek churches tradition. The author shows the main stages of project development and construction of the Church of the Ascension, brings data on the dedication of the church and on the church pricht establishing. The article features Monighetti’s and Vincent’s published projects. The author hypothesizes that the construction of the Church of the Ascension in Livadia was inspired by the catholicon of Hosios Loukas monastery and Athos monuments. The study is based on the newly discovered archive materials, project drafts, pictures, old photographs.

Imperial Art and Power in the Liternum Episode of Silius Italicus’ Punica

The paper is concerned with Silius’ double ecphrasis of a Roman monument of the First Punic War at Liternum, and Hannibal’s planned counter-monument (Sil. 6.653-716). It is suggested that these are compared as parts of commemorative networks rather than as standalone memorials: ambiguities in Hannibal’s speech can be interpreted as hints that he might be planning a series of monuments, while the Roman monument is described as ‘secondary’ in relation to memorials in Rome. Significantly, the Roman monument stands outside the capital, thus the Roman conquest of Italy provides additional context for its interpretation. Although the local point of view is suppressed in the episode, other passages provide analogies for what local interpretations of the Roman monument might look like in the world of the Punica.

Marble relief ‘Nero and Armenia’ from the Sebasteion at aPhrodisias in Caria (Asia Minor)

The article is devoted to an artistic and historical study of a marble relief with a symbolic scene of Nero’s victory over Armenia from the Sebasteion sanctuary complex in the ancient town of Aphrodisias in Asia Minor. The temple complex was dedicated to the cult of the Julio-Claudian imperial dynasty. The artistic and stylistic analysis of the relief was performed in the context of the sculptural program and decoration of the whole complex, and took into consideration other images of Nero in the Sebasteion. Through a comparative analysis of the figure personifying Armenia depicted on the marble relief in Aphrodisias, as well as a series of images on coins and small statuary samples, characteristic iconographic traits of Armenia in the Roman imperial art were revealed. Along with this, the paper presents an in-depth ‘reading’ of this scene within the context of specific epi- sodes from the history of the Parthian-Roman conflict and the Roman struggle for Armenia during the period of 54–68 AD.

Graphics heritage by P.I. Sokolov. The dawn of artistic education in Russia

Статья посвящена графическому наследию Петра Ивановича Соколова (1753–1791) – академика исторической живописи и преподавателя Императорской Академии художеств. В наши дни известно свыше 70 рисунков художника, находящихся в фондах научно-исследовательского музея Российской академии художеств, Русского музея и Третьяковской галереи. Важной частью биографии Соколова было преподавание в Академии художеств и улучшение условий для занятий воспитанников. Данная статья содержит архивные материалы Российского государственного исторического архива Санкт-Петербурга. This article focuses on graphical legacy by P.I. Sokolov (1753–1791). He was academic of historical painting and professor of Imperial Art Academy. In our days we know about more 70 drawings by Sokolov. It is resides in scientific-researches museum of Russian Art academy, State Russian museum and State Tretyakov gallery. Important part of his biography was teaching in Imperial Academy of Arts. In these days he improves conditions for students. This article contains archive materials of Russian State historical archive of St. Petersburg.

Yi Chung-sŏp (1916–1956)

Yi Chung-sŏp was a modern Korean painter known for his expressionist style. Yi’s painting was strongly influenced by the brushwork of Korean painting and calligraphy but also by the bold black contours in the work of George Rouault (1871–1958), to the extent that Yi was called ‘‘Bunka’s Rouault.’’ In 1937, Yi went to Tokyo, where he entered the private Imperial Art School (now Musashino Art School) and then the Cultural School (Bunka Gakuin). At the latter, Yi studied with Tsuda Seishu (1907–1952), an avant-garde artist who helped Yi to realize the value of Korean traditional aesthetics and who encouraged him to integrate a Korean spirit into his art. With the advent of the Korean War in 1950, Yi fled south with his family. In the following years, despite Yi’s financial and psychological difficulties, he produced a large number of works in an expressionist style. In Japan, Yi was active in such avant-garde exhibitions as Dokuritsuten and Jiyuten from 1938 to 1943, winning recognition in the main art circles in Tokyo. In 1941, Yi joined several other Korean artists active in Tokyo to establish the strongly nationalistic Chosŏn New Artist Society [Chosŏn Shinmisulga Hyŏphŏe]. Once he returned to Korea, Yi suffered from extreme poverty as a result of the Korean War, to the extent that he could not support his family, who then went back to Japan. His first and last solo exhibition was held in Seoul in 1955.