09-25-2014, 12:43 PM
Hello, Pierre
I don't think anything on Trajan's Column is a surprise to many of us, and you're not offending anyone. We've been looking at it for a long time, as various parts of the Column are frequently used to illustrate historical accuracy within a reenactor's kit. My initial question on the original post was simply asking-- what was real and what was not?
You've noted, "As with all art, the work is the artist's interpretation." However, if you study Roman art on the whole, you will find it bereft of imagination. Roman art is very straight-forward and realistic... perhaps with the exception of Venus standing on a clam-shell. I have viewed original Roman art in Herculanium, Pompeii, the National Museum, and several other Italian museums. And I have not seen much beyond realism. Then-- Whammo!-- we are hit with lizard-horses on the Column.
Only recently have we seen critiques in print of the artwork on Trajan's Column, and it remains not a surprise but a series of anomalies. As such, I felt it would make an interesting topic. ;-)
I don't think anything on Trajan's Column is a surprise to many of us, and you're not offending anyone. We've been looking at it for a long time, as various parts of the Column are frequently used to illustrate historical accuracy within a reenactor's kit. My initial question on the original post was simply asking-- what was real and what was not?
You've noted, "As with all art, the work is the artist's interpretation." However, if you study Roman art on the whole, you will find it bereft of imagination. Roman art is very straight-forward and realistic... perhaps with the exception of Venus standing on a clam-shell. I have viewed original Roman art in Herculanium, Pompeii, the National Museum, and several other Italian museums. And I have not seen much beyond realism. Then-- Whammo!-- we are hit with lizard-horses on the Column.
Only recently have we seen critiques in print of the artwork on Trajan's Column, and it remains not a surprise but a series of anomalies. As such, I felt it would make an interesting topic. ;-)
Alan J. Campbell
member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians
Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)
"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians
Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)
"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
