About the lecture:
While scholars have tended to analyze Athenian portraiture of Roman date through comparisons to portraits from Rome, I argue that this approach has tended to obscure the importance of the long local history of portraiture in Athens itself for understanding this genre of representation. While there clearly were some changes in portrait sculpture production in Athens in the Imperial period, there was also significant stylistic continuity with the portraits of the past, many of which were still on display: visual continuity with this history rather than any notion of an abrupt rupture or indeed a cultural revolution better describes the portrait landscape of Athens in the Roman period. I consider a broad range of evidence for the subject, with a particular focus on the inscribed bases and portrait sculpture found in the excavations of the Athenian Agora.
About the speaker:
Sheila Dillon is Anne Murnick Cogan Distinguished Professor of Art and Art History in the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University. Her books include The Female Portrait Statue in the Greek World (2010) and Ancient Greek Portrait Sculpture (2006). She was a member of the Aphrodisias Excavations in Turkey from 1992-2004. Her current research project is the study and publication of the portrait statuary found in the Excavations of the Athenian Agora, a collaborative endeavor that involves current and former students.
