A Triumphal Tour

Last Tuesday, we began our Journey in the Campus Martius and went along the putative triumphal route (the route taken by victorious generals during triumphs), visiting sites along the way. First we visited a set of manubial temples (temples vowed by a general in a battle) at Largo Argentina. It also happened to be a cat sanctuary. Apparently the Italians feed and vaccinate stray cats at the site, and people can adopt them if they want.
Above you can see part of a manubial temple. These temples happened to sit adjacent to the Theater of Pompey, which is where Caesar was assassinated. Somewhere under the modern road in the background, behind the concrete core, Caesar was stabed to death on March 15, 44 BC.

Here, is a picture of part of the foundation of the Theater of Pompey, now part of a restaurant. The net-like brick-work (opus reticulatum) is a fine specimen and was some of the first of its kind in the city of Rome.

Near the site of the Theater of Pompey is a modern market. I bought some grapes.

As we continued along the triumphal route, we walked by the Theater of Marcellus.Here, Professor Gregg is lecturing and gesturing (adlocutio?). These Manubial temples had been converted into a church. We had the chance to go into the crypt and see the substructures for temples of Spes, Juno Sospita, and Janus. After that, we met on the Capitoline (one of the seven hills) and went to the Capitoline Museum.This famous statue is actually the subject of much controversy. Although most Italian scholars date the wolf to the 5th century BC (the twins were added in the 15th century AD), a recent study has called this into question. As it turns out, the wolf may actually have been made in the Renaissance. If this is the case (which it may not be), we cannot know whether it is a copy of an earlier Etruscan work or merely a modern invention.

Here is a picture of me standing in the Tabularium (now part of the Palazzo Senatoro) overlooking the Forum Romanum. You may notice a pad of paper in my hand. Note-taking is an integral part of the centro experience (or college in general for that matter). I really enjoy

This is the "Dying Gaul" or the "Dying Trumpeter." A marble copy of a 3rd century BC bronze statue, this sculpture has many of the signature features of Hellenistic sculpture: intense negative emotions, torsion, historical subjects, chiaroscuro (deep shadows). One of my colleagues, Louis, believes that the original Gaul was not dying, but was merely suffering from a bad cramp. I cannot disprove this theory.

I thought that these Egyptian monkey statues looked funny. I'm not sure what they are doing or what their functions were. Perhaps they were cultic. Or maybe they were just decorative.

Epigraphy!

This Thursday, we went to an epigraphy (inscription) museum in Rome (Il Museo Nazionale dei Iscrizioni). In order to prepare for this excursion we read a book on inscriptions and had an epigraphy workshop. There were a lot of really exciting things in the museum.

This bust has nothing to do with epigraphy, but I thought that it was worthy of being photographed.
Here is a picture of me with a copy of the cippus found beneath the lapis niger. The inscription is truncated and archaic (older than the 6th century BC), so nobody knows exactly what it says. However, there is a mention of either a rex (king) or a rex sacrorum (a religious office in the early republic). This baffling inscription is the subject of much study, speculation, and debate. I have included this Julio-Claudian inscription because it is interesting. Mentioned along the bottom are "AETORES TUBICINES LITICINES CORNICINES ROMANI," which means something like "Roman trumpeters, tuba players, buglers, and horn players." Apparently, this inscription was purchased by ancient brass players to honor the emperor.
This was my groups inscription. 2 other students and I were given the task of translating one inscription and writing a short commentary. Here's a closer up view:

Part of the challenge of an inscription, besides it obviously being in an ancient language, is the use of abreviations. In this case, there weren't too many. I'll show you an edited version of the text and then a translation.

D(IS) M(ANIBUS) MAGNIA VENERIA [FECIT] T(ITO) MAGNIO DULITO PATRONO IDENQUE MARITO ET T(ITO) MAGNIO PHILOSTORGO FILIO QUI VIXIT ANNIS XII MENSIBUS V DIES VIIII DULCISSIMIS

"To the gods of the underworld, Magnia Veneria erected this for Titus Magnius Dulitus, her patron and also her husband, and for Titus Magnius Philostorgus, her son who lived for 12 most sweet years, 5 months, and 9 days."

It was a lot of fun putting together a translation and commentary. Even a seemingly insignificant grave marker can have a lot of meaning. Compared to literature, epigraphy is not too difficult; it just takes some getting used to.

Trip to the Vatican

On Fridays, I have no class, since I am not in art history. However, last Friday (February 4), I elected to go with the art history class to visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. We had to get to the Vatican on our own, so we grabbed our cestini (sack lunches) and got on the bus. This is the view of Saint Peter's Basillica as we approached from the bus stop:

Once inside the museum (around the wall of the Vatican to the right), we got to see a number of marvelous works of art. Paul, the art history professor, is able to talk for extended periods of time on individual pieces of art. Consider this sculpture, a copy of Michaelangelo's Pieta:

Paul - I don't know his last name. We are supposed to address our professors by their first names, and it takes some getting used to. When possible I tend to avoid using the vocative. This is also true of other students, whose names I have not yet fully mastered - gave a 45 minute lecture on this one statue. I now know a great deal of information about this pieta, and I can more fully appreciate the detail and rigor of the art history class.

Here is another piece of art. This painting is by Raffael, and is the last he ever painted. It portrays Christ's transfiguration. I was initially confused by the number of figures in the foreground. According to the gospels, only three disciples, Peter, James, and John, were present at the event. Eventually (this too was a very long lecture!), Paul explained that Raffael had fused two stories back-to-back in the gospels, the transfiguration and the healing of a demon-possessed boy, into one painting, emphasizing the connection between Christ's divine status (as portrayed in his transfiguration) and his miracles (such as his healing of the boy). We heard a number of other lectures before finally making our way over to the Sistine Chapel.

Above is the hallway we walked through to get to the Chapel. It was lined with ancient statues. Other hallways held tapestries and frescoes.

This fresco of Plato's Academy is my favorite work which we saw (besides maybe the Sistine Chapel itself).

Unfortunately, we were not permitted to take photographs in the chapel. Nevertheless, it was marvelous to see (mirabile visu!). I did not get to hear Paul's lecture on the chapel, but I can only assume based upon other students' reports and my own intuition, that it was gruelling and packed with information. The chapel's art is much more extensive than the typically featured image of God reaching out for Adam. Frescoes on the right and left depict corresponding scenes in the lives of Jesus and Moses (for instance, Moses giving the Pentateuch from Mount Sinai is paired with Jesus delivering the sermon on the mount.) Along the top are a number of prophets, and finally on the roof is the scene of creation. On the back wall is a scene of the last judgement. The entire chapel is a bit overwhelming (by the end, my neck was sore from looking up), but it was a wonderful experience.

This trip impressed upon me the desire to learn about the past and to appreciate art's role as a means of expression. However, it also confirmed in my mind that I do not want to be an art history major. As much as I find art thought-provoking and fun to look at, I cannot imagine myself spending hours analyzing a single painting or statue. I'm glad I went on the trip.