• January 9, 2026 | 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
• Golden Gate 7, Lobby Level

6I: Still Defining Roman Art (Workshop)

Organizers:
Anne H. Kontokosta, New York University, and Peter De Staebler, Pratt Institute

Panelists:
Ann Kuttner, University of Pennsylvania, Rachel Kousser, City University of New York. Verity Platt, Cornell University, Rachel Patt, University of Notre Dame, Elizabeth McGowan, Williams College, Elizabeth Marlowe, Colgate University, Erin Peters, Appalachian State University, Sebastian Heath, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University, and Anne Chen, Bard College

Overview Statement:
Defining “Roman Art” remains a challenge (Hallet 2015). To differentiate new Roman creations from the Greek tradition, scholars have traditionally relied on carefully selected genres of Roman visual culture, such as historical reliefs and veristic portraits, which are clearly distinct from earlier Hellenic production. This approach deafeningly excludes other categories of Roman visual production from the traditional corpus of Roman art, including those focused on mythological, heroic, and religious themes, small-scale private objects, Roman adaptations or “copies” of Greek originals, new pieces that combined or conflated existing historical styles, or those associated with early Christian iconography or patronage, among others.

This workshop aims to reflect on, reevaluate, and expand this challenge within the field of Roman art history by exploring how and why scholars now seek to both introduce new material and bring back neglected objects that have traditionally been considered outside the scope of Roman art history. We also examine the still-undefined relationship between post-Enlightenment, capital-A “Art,” material culture, visual culture, and design, as well as the connections between artists, designers, craftspeople, architects, and builders in ancient Roman thought as well as historical and contemporary scholarship. Our goal is to broaden the discussion of Roman art and visual culture and to foster academic interest in innovative methodological approaches to the study of Roman art history.

This gathering will help formalize an ongoing discussion among AIA members interested in Roman art history regarding the need to reconceptualize and expand the disciplinary definitions of Roman Art. Participants will work to update and redefine how we approach the facts related to Roman art. Through a series of case studies that illustrate a broad theme, participants will collectively reconsider and debate which types of objects to prioritize when teaching a Roman survey, as well as how previously excluded or minimized objects or categories can be thoroughly integrated into research and the publication of Roman material culture.