Background
Clarke, John Robert was born on January 25, 1945 in Pittsburgh. Son of John Anthony and Helena Marie (Tremontin) Clarke.
(In this illustrated study, John R. Clarke investigates an...)
In this illustrated study, John R. Clarke investigates an assortment of Roman erotic art to answer the question of what sex meant to the ancient Romans. The text re-evaluates our understanding of Roman art and society in a study informed by gender and cultural studies.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FBBPJ6S/?tag=2022091-20
( In this richly illustrated book, art historian John R. ...)
In this richly illustrated book, art historian John R. Clarke helps us see the ancient Roman house "with Roman eyes." Clarke presents a range of houses, from tenements to villas, and shows us how enduring patterns of Roman wall decoration tellingly bear the cultural, religious, and social imprints of the people who lived with them. In case studies of seventeen excavated houses, Clarke guides us through four centuries of Roman wall painting, mosaic, and stucco decoration, from the period of the "Four Styles" (100 B.C. to A.D. 79) to the mid- third century. The First Style Samnite House shows its debt to public architecture in its clear integration of public and private spaces. The Villa of Oplontis asserts the extravagant social and cultural climate of the Second Style. Gemlike Third-Style rooms from the House of Lucretius Fronto reflect the refinement and elegance of Augustan tastes. The Vettii brothers' social climbing helps explain the overburdened Fourth-Style decoration of their famous house. And evidence of remodelling leads Clarke to conclude that the House of Jupiter and Ganymede became a gay hotel in the second century. In his emphasis on social and spiritual dimensions, Clarke offers a contribution to Roman art and architectural history that is both original and accessible to the general reader. The book's superb photographs not only support the author's findings but help to preserve an ancient legacy that is fast succumbing to modern deterioration resulting from pollution and vandalism.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520084292/?tag=2022091-20
( What did sex mean to the ancient Romans? In this lavish...)
What did sex mean to the ancient Romans? In this lavishly illustrated study, John R. Clarke investigates a rich assortment of Roman erotic art to answer this question—and along the way, he reveals a society quite different from our own. Clarke reevaluates our understanding of Roman art and society in a study informed by recent gender and cultural studies, and focusing for the first time on attitudes toward the erotic among both the Roman non-elite and women. This splendid volume is the first study of erotic art and sexuality to set these works—many newly discovered and previously unpublished—in their ancient context and the first to define the differences between modern and ancient concepts of sexuality using clear visual evidence. Roman artists pictured a great range of human sexual activities—far beyond those mentioned in classical literature—including sex between men and women, men and men, women and women, men and boys, threesomes, foursomes, and more. Roman citizens paid artists to decorate expensive objects, such as silver and cameo glass, with scenes of lovemaking. Erotic works were created for and sold to a broad range of consumers, from the elite to the very poor, during a period spanning the first century B.C. through the mid-third century of our era. This erotic art was not hidden away, but was displayed proudly in homes as signs of wealth and luxury. In public spaces, artists often depicted outrageous sexual acrobatics to make people laugh. Looking at Lovemaking depicts a sophisticated, pre-Christian society that placed a high value on sexual pleasure and the art that represented it. Clarke shows how this culture evolved within religious, social, and legal frameworks that were vastly different from our own and contributes an original and controversial chapter to the history of human sexuality.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520229045/?tag=2022091-20
art critic art history educator
Clarke, John Robert was born on January 25, 1945 in Pittsburgh. Son of John Anthony and Helena Marie (Tremontin) Clarke.
AB, Georgetown University, 1967; Master of Arts, Yale University, 1969; Doctor of Philosophy, Yale University, 1973.
Lecturer, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1972-1973; assistant professor, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1973-1974; assistant professor, University of California, San Diego, 1974-1975; assistant professor, Yale University, New Haven, 1975-1980; assistant professor, University Texas, Austin, 1980-1982; associate professor, University Texas, Austin, 1982-1988; professor art history, University Texas, Austin, since 1988; Annie Laurie Howard Regents professor, University Texas, Austin, since 1991. Lecturer in field.
(This volume of the College Art Association Monograph seri...)
( What did sex mean to the ancient Romans? In this lavish...)
( What did sex mean to the ancient Romans? In this lavish...)
( In this richly illustrated book, art historian John R. ...)
(In this illustrated study, John R. Clarke investigates an...)
(Book)
(1st)
Member College Art Association (board directors, chair art history 1991-1995, vice president 1996-1997), Association International pour l'Etude de la Peinture Murale Antique (board of directors since 1989, president since 1998), Archaeol. Institute American, Association International pourl'Etude de la Mosaique Antique, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Beta Kappa.