num_pages: 222
description: One of the earliest surviving examples of 'art history', Pliny the Elder's 'chapters on art' form part of his encyclopaedic Natural History , completed shortly before its author died during the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. This important new work argues that the Natural History offers a sophisticated account of the world as empire, in which art as much as geography can be used to expound a Roman imperial agenda. Reuniting the 'chapters on art' with the rest of the Natural History , Sorcha Carey considers how the medium of the 'encyclopaedia' affects Pliny's presentation of art, and reveals how art is used to explore themes important to the work as a whole. Throughout, the author demonstrates that Pliny's 'chapters on art' are a profoundly Roman creation, offering an important insight into responses to art and culture under the early Roman empire.
language: English
title: Pliny's Catalogue of Culture: Art and Empire in the Natural History
titlecomplete: Pliny's Catalogue of Culture: Art and Empire in the Natural History (Oxford Studies in Ancient Culture & Representation)
ratings_count: 5
publisher: Oxford University Press