Patrons and Viewers in Late Antiquity

The monumentality and the often rich embellishment of late antique buildings and monuments emphasises their importance to the patrons that commissioned them. However, the understanding and interpretation of the message conveyed may often be obtained through the study of the other important agent, namely the viewer.

This book contains a collection of papers that focuses on the way patrons, pagan as well as Christian, conveyed messages through material and visual culture and on the reception by the viewers. The contributions investigate how patrons of luxurious buildings, elaborate grave monuments, and churches used architecture, images, and inscriptions to demonstrate political, social, and religious power. The visual arts were a strong factor in communicating identity and attitudes both in the public and private spheres also in Late Antiquity.

Table of contents

Ehrenstatuen in spätantiken Häusern Roms

Miraculous Bodies: Christian Viewers and the Transformation of 'Pagan' Sculpture in Late Antiquity

Patrons, Viewers, and Statues in Late Antique Baths

Invisible Sarcophagi: Coffin and Viewer in the Late Imperial Age

Sarcophagi, Self-Representation, and Patronage in Rome and Tyre

Inscriptions in the Late Antique Private House: Some Thoughts about their Function and Distribution

Patrons and Viewers: Reading Mosaics in Late Antiquity

Fourth-Century Villas in the Coin Valley, Gloucestershire: Identifying Patrons and Viewers

Patrons and Viewers in Late Antique Greece: From Houses and Villas to Early Christian Churches

Bishop and Believers - Patrons and Viewers: Appropriating the Roman Patron Saints Peter and Paul in Constantinople

Patrons and Viewers of Mosaic Pavements in Religious Buildings in Jordan and Palestine

The Arch of Constantine - Who Saw What?

Spolia, Milestones and City Walls: The Politics of Imperial Legitimacy in Gaul