The Visual Propaganda of Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian
Abstract
How much can a historian learn about an era by studying its art? 1 It seems the
consensus used to be: not much. Art and architecture were thought to be tools of the art
historian, useful for discussing developments in the artistic realm but having little to do with
the political, social, military, or religious world. As such, studies of the arts generally
centered on the artists themselves, and the materials and techniques employed in the creation
of their works. Little or no attention was paid to the social climate that gave rise to the works,
or the effects that pieces of art had on viewers.
However, this is all changing. Many historians are now asking new questions of
classical images, seeking to use artistic works to help cast light upon the societies in which
they were produced. This is especially helpful in the world of ancient history, where the
supply of available sources for analysis is far smaller than that of later periods. Chief among
these historians is Paul Zanker, who turned the academic historical world on its head with the
publication of his The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus in 1987 (originally in
German, but translated into English in 1990). Zanker presented art in the time of the Roman
emperor Augustus, not as a realm separate from the political and social sphere, but as one
deeply intertwined with them, that grew out of and gave rise to new social trends. Zanker
took works of art and examined not just how their creators saw them, but how their viewers
perceived them.
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