Images of women, classical and late antique.

Images of women, classical and late antique. SIAN LEWIS. The Athenian woman: an iconographic i��co��nog��ra��phy?n. pl. i��co��nog��ra��phies1. a. Pictorial illustration of a subject.b. The collected representations illustrating a subject.2. handbook, xii+261pages, 153 figures. 2002. London: Routledge; 0-415-23234-1 hardback55.00 [pounds sterling], 0-415-23235-X paperback 18.99 [poundssterling]. KATHRIN SCHADE. Frauen in der Spatantike--Status undReprasentation: ein Untersuchung zur romischen und fruhbyzantischenBildniskunst. xviii+339 pages, 2 figures, 284 b&w photographs, 3colour photographs. 2003. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern; 3-8053-2907-5hardback 86.00 [euro]. These two books both discuss images of women, one from theperspective of Classical Athenian vase-painting and the other from LateAntique sculpture. Both employ iconography iconography(ī'kŏnŏg`rəfē)[Gr.,=image-drawing] or iconology[Gr.,=image-study], in art history, the study and interpretation of figural representations, either individual or symbolic, religious or secular; as their basic methodologicaltool but each handles it in a different way. Athenian or Etruscan? Sian Lewis' subtitle sub��ti��tle?n.1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work.2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen.tr.v. , an iconographic handbook, conveys animpression that the reader will be confronted by lists and descriptionsof iconographic types relating to relating torelate prep → concernantrelating torelate prep → bez��glich +gen, mit Bezug auf +accAthenian women. In fact, it is moresophisticated than this. Lewis' starting points are two-fold: thatAthenian painted ceramics are more complicated than being simplereproductions of daily life; and that they are not a homogenous homogenous - homogeneous group,since they served a variety of functions and many were destined des��tine?tr.v. des��tined, des��tin��ing, des��tines1. To determine beforehand; preordain: a foolish scheme destined to fail; a film destined to become a classic.2. forexport to Etruria. The five chapters of the book develop and maintainthese themes. Lewis begins with the ways in which the female lifecycleboth is (marriage and maturity) and is not (infancy and old age)depicted on Athenian pottery. She notes that one problem in using vasepainting to create an account of female experience is that it has tendedto ignore these omissions from the repertory of depictions. Lewis thengoes on to explore four specific aspects of the iconography of women inClassical Athens: domestic labour, discussing the nature and purpose ofsuch representations; women and work outside the home, including sexwork; women at leisure in the home, relating the imagery to thedepictions of household articles on these pots; and, finally, what thesevases and the images on them might say about the relationships betweenwomen and men. Lewis deals with the material both thematically andchronologically within each chapter, though some themes, notably thestatus of women and the reception of the pottery, run through the bookas a whole. In each instance, she is also concerned to relate what isrepresented on vases to what is discussed in literature and to highlightthe gaps and discrepancies between them, rightly challenging thepersistent belief among some scholars that pots illustrate literature.She makes some important observations, noting, for example, that thereare no images of women performing domestic tasks on the pots labelled byus as 'women's shapes', and suggesting that thereforethese pots cannot be designed to reinforce the stereotypes of correctbehaviour for Athenian women; and arguing that we need to reconsidervases depicting what we interpret as scenes of erotic activity in termsof what the intended audiences might have perceived as erotic. Lewis' key question is what the iconography on these vasestells us about women's lives in Athens if we understand iconographynot as a simple representation of everyday life but as somethinginformed by the values of the society around it and by the interests ofthe market for the objects. Her focus lies with the context of theimagery. Significant throughout her discussion, therefore, is the issueof the purpose of these vases. She asks what difference it might make tothe iconography if they were painted specially for an Etruscan market.This is an element within the book that could be developed further. Ifsome of these vases are, as Lewis argues, an idealised Adj. 1. idealised - exalted to an ideal perfection or excellenceidealizedperfect - being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish; "a perfect circle"; "a perfect reproduction"; "perfect happiness"; "perfect manners"; "a perfect specimen"; "a portrait forEtruscan viewers, then what are the Etruscan ideals and mores that theyconform to Verb 1. conform to - satisfy a condition or restriction; "Does this paper meet the requirements for the degree?"fit, meetcoordinate - be co-ordinated; "These activities coordinate well" ? Why did some Etruscans place Athenian pots depicting sexualactivity in their graves? Is it simply a case of the Etruscans buying anexotic other, rather like the import of Chinese ceramics Chinese ceramics is a form of fine art developed since the dynastic periods. China has always been richly endowed with the raw materials needed for making ceramics. The first types were made about 11,000 years ago, during the Palaeolithic era. intoseventeenth century Europe; how far were these vases designed for anEtruscan market? The Etruscan side of the story is perhaps a littleunderdeveloped for the amount of emphasis placed on it. There is anadditional level of complexity here as well, in that, although these mayhave been vases painted for a foreign market, they were still designedby craftsmen working within Athenian society. So what of that societydid they reflect? These questions, however, perhaps ask for a sequel. Emperor or empress? Kathrin Schade's book is also a study of iconography. It aimsto examine how Late Antique images, particularly three-dimensionalsculptures, of women, imperial and aristocratic, reflect both the statusof the woman depicted and female virtues. It is also concerned withissues of continuity and change in female portraiture portraiture,the art of representing the physical or psychological likeness of a real or imaginary individual. The principal portrait media are painting, drawing, sculpture, and photography. From earliest times the portrait has been considered a means to immortality. . The book flailsinto three main sections. After a brief introduction, two discussionsections work their way through aspects of third century and fourth tosixth century images. Each is structured in the same way, subdividedinto chapters that deal with coinage (inscriptions and reverses; titles;iconography; obverses); images (literary references, sculpture,iconography); and conclusions. The third part of the book is devoted tothree long appendices containing very useful catalogues of sculpture,literary references to images of empresses, and other non-sculptedimages. The book is a solid, thorough, highly organised description ofimages of empresses and aristocratic women in Late Antiquity Late Antiquity is a rough periodization (c. AD 300 - 600) used by historians and other scholars to describe the interval between Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages in both mainland Europe and the Mediterranean world: generally between the decline of the western Roman Empire . Its focusis on describing artistic styles and iconography, including anunquestioning acceptance of the traditional, and dubious, emphasis onchanging hairstyles as a means of categorising female imagery. Schadelikes to draw conclusions from appearances. Thus female wrinkles in thethird century are a sign of intellectual or spiritual concentration,later stylisation Noun 1. stylisation - the act of stylizing; causing to conform to a particular stylestylizationnormalisation, normalization, standardisation, standardization - the imposition of standards or regulations; "a committee was appointed to recommend is because women represent eternal beauty,women's portraits in Late Antiquity "always exhibit traces ofeternal and Classical ideals. I would prefer to see some more solidevidence beyond the art historian's perception of style cited forthese conclusions. Schade makes two basic points: female portraiture took ontraditional features from the Severan and Antonine periods in order toexpress continuity and tradition; and, after Constantine, but above allin the fifth and sixth centuries, changes in iconography reflectedchanges in the idea of the emperor, reflecting his God-given status. Theemperor and the empress no longer needed earthly legitimisation sincethey held a divine mandate to rule, and thus their iconography no longerneeded to reflect past traditions. In this context, Schade argues thatthe status of empresses and aristocratic women was conditioned by theirhusband's standing. There is some truth in this but the situationis more complicated than Schade believes. What of those empresses, suchas Ariadne, who appeared to legitimise Verb 1. legitimise - make legal; "Marijuana should be legalized"decriminalise, decriminalize, legalise, legalize, legitimate, legitimatise, legitimatize, legitimize their husbands' standing?More puzzlingly, Schade does not really discuss gender issues. A casecan be made that the images and iconographies of empresses wereinfluenced as much by their sex as by their husbands' status.Images of empresses deal in the paradox of the public image of apowerful woman with a place in the official hierarchy within a societythat offered no place to women in public life. The issue of the ways inwhich a divinely appointed status invalidated earthly legitimisation isalso interesting in this context, for how far could a Late Antiquewoman's status be God-given? There is a considerable change infemale imperial iconography between, say, Julia Domna Julia Domna (170-217) was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire. Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and mother of Emperors Geta and Caracalla, Julia Domna was among the most important women ever to exercise power behind the throne in the Roman and Theodora, butthis change reflects the earthly legitimatisation of the empress asmuch, if not more, than her divine mandate, if such a thing evenexisted. In this context, it is worth noting that male imperialiconography in the sixth century is still recognisably Late Roman andinfluenced by worldly considerations. Schade may not agree with genderissues in Late Roman power-politics, but she needs, at the very least,to discuss them, if only to dismiss them. Schade's book is useful because it brings together in oneplace a great deal of important material about images of women in LateAntiquity. It is a frustrating frus��trate?tr.v. frus��trat��ed, frus��trat��ing, frus��trates1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: one, for, in its focus on description andstyle analysis, it leaves less space for discussion and questioning ofthe material in an historical and temporal perspective. No bibliographyis provided and so it is difficult to get a sense of which sourcesSchade employed for her contextualisation of the images she discusses.The study is focused narrowly on two major themes but there is littleacknowledgement that other factors, most notably gender, may have playeda part in the development of female iconography. Schade's book is essentially her thesis with a few revisions.This sort of publication is accepted practice in Germany, but it doesmean that the book reads like a thesis, with a thesis' emphasis ondetail and tendency towards repetition. It provides facts andinformation but is less questioning both of the evidence and of the waysof approaching it than Lewis' book, which asks us to see andconsider the objects in ways we may not have thought to do before, andreminds us that images and iconography never offer direct andunproblematic evidence of cultural ideologies. Liz James, Department of Art History, University of Sussex, Falmer,Brighton BN1 9QN England