Roman Sculpture From Augustus to Constantine (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Roman Sculpture From Augustus to Constantine<br><br>These beautiful lines from the Elegie Romane precisely illustrate the point of view I wish to bring forward in regard to the sculpture produced in the Roman world during the three centuries and a half that extend from the close of the Republic to Constantine - from the rise and establishment of the Imperial idea to the victory of Christianity. I have myself long ceased to look upon Rome as the sole or exclusive seat of artistic production, or even of artistic influence, during that period, but I regard her as the main centre whence radiated the ideas which animated or refashioned art throughout the contemporary civilized world. I venture to deplore, with Riegl, the materialistic distrust of all spiritual factors, which obtains in the modern science of archaeology. Not that I would advocate a return to a pre-scientific interest in subjects alone, or to a Ruskinian toleration of bad and poor works of art, for the sake of subjects that appeal to our fancy.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.