Across the Roman Empire, ubiquitous archaeological, art historical, and literary evidence attests to the significance of bathing for Romans' routines and relationships. Public baths were popularly viewed as necessities of daily life and important social venues. Given the importance of bathing to the Roman style of living, by endowing eight magnificent baths (the so-called imperial thermae) in the city of Rome between 25 BCE - 315 CE, imperial patrons greatly enhanced their popular and political stature.
Decoration and Display in Rome's Imperial Thermaepresents a detailed analysis of the extensive decoration of the best preserved of these bathing complexes, the Baths of Caracalla (inaugurated 216 CE). Maryl B. Gensheimer takes an interdisciplinary approach to existing archaeological data, textual and visual sources, and anthropological theories in order to generate a new understanding of the visual experience of the Baths of Caracalla and show how the decoration played a critical role in advancing imperial agendas.
This reassessment of one of the most ambitious and sophisticated examples of large-scale architectural patronage in Classical antiquity examines the specific mechanisms through which an imperial patron could use architectural decoration to emphasize his own unique sociopolitical position relative to the thousands of people who enjoyed his benefaction. The case studies addressed herein--ranging from architectural and freestanding sculpture to mosaic--demonstrate that sponsoring monumental baths was hardly an act of altruism. Rather, even while they provided recreation for elite and sub-altern Romans alike, such buildings were concerned primarily with dynastic legitimacy and imperial largess. Decorative programs articulated these themes by consistently drawing analogies between the subjects of the decoration and the emperor who had paid for it. The unified decorative program--and the messages of imperial power therein--adroitly honored the emperor and consolidated his reputation.
Author(s): Maryl B. Gensheimer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 448
Cover
Decoration and Display in Rome’s Imperial Thermae
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgments
1. An Introduction to Baths in Rome and Methodologies of This Study
BATHS AND BATHING IN ANCIENT ROME
ROME’S IMPERIAL THERMAE
THE BATHS OF CARACALLA: THEIR DESIGN AND PLAN
THE BATHS OF CARACALLA: THEIR HISTORY AND EXCAVATION
THE STATE OF SCHOLARSHIP
Freestanding Sculpture
Architectural Sculpture and Columnar Orders
Mosaic, Opus Sectile, and Stucco
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
2. The Decoration of the Baths of Caracalla
RECOVERING THE DECORATIVE PROGRAM OF THE BATHS OF CARACALLA
WORKS WITH KNOWN PROVENANCE
The Frigidarium
The Palaestrae
The Natatio
The Main Bathing Block
The Precinct
WORKS WITH HYPOTHETICAL BUT PROBABLE PROVENANCE
The Frigidarium
The Main Bathing Block
WORKS WITH UNKNOWN PROVENANCE
Conclusions
3. The Role of Iconographical Programs at the Baths of Caracalla
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF DECORATION TO ROMAN BATHS
“TYPICAL” DECORATION: THE WORLDS OF HEALING, PHYSICAL PLEASURE, AND THE PALAESTRA
“ATYPICAL” DECORATION: THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
Imperial Innuendo: Hercules, Bacchus, Venus, and Mars in the Frigidarium
Imperial Explicitness: Res Gestae and Images of Empire in the Palaestrae
Colossal Statue Groups and Mythological Exempla
PORTRAITURE AND HONORIFIC STATUARY IN THE BATHS OF CARACALLA
CONCLUSIONS
4. The Visual Experience and Reception of the Baths of Caracalla
UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING THE ANCIENT EXPERIENCE OF A ROMAN BATH
A THEORETICAL FRAME: COGNITIVE SPACE THEORY
COLOR AND PATTERN: LEGIBILITY while DEFINING THE “ARMATURE”
DUPLICATION, REPETITION, AND VARIATION: THE SHIFTING IMAGE
CONTRASTS, COMPARISONS, AND COLOSSI: NODES AND LANDMARKS ALONG THE ARMATURE
SCAENAE FRONS ARCHITECTURE: THE NATATIO NYMPHAEUM WALL
Septimius Severus and the Septizodium
The Natatio Nymphaeum in Context
Conclusions
5. The Power of Place: Where and Why Caracalla’s Baths Were Built
DYNASTIC BUILDING PROGRAMS, TOPOGRAPHY, AND URBAN DESIGN
TOPOGRAPHICAL ALLUSIONS TO LEGITIMACY AND FAMILIAL LEGACY
The Severans as the Legitimate and Divinely Sanctioned Successors of the Antonines
The Severans and Associations with North Africa
TOPOGRAPHICAL ALLUSIONS TO CONQUEST AND EMPIRE
CONCLUSIONS
Conclusions
Appendix 1: Decorative Statistics from the Baths of Caracalla
Appendix 2: Freestanding Sculpture from the Baths of Caracalla
Bibliography
Index
