
The Phantom Image
Seeing the Dead in Ancient Rome
Patrick R. Crowley(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Published on 2. December 2019
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-0-226-64829-3 (ISBN)
Description
How could something as insubstantial as a ghost be made visible through the material grit of stone and paint? In this original and wide-ranging study, Patrick R. Crowley uses the figure of the ghost to offer a new understanding of the status of the image in Roman art and visual culture. Tracing the shifting practices and debates in antiquity about the nature of vision and representation, Crowley shows how images of ghosts make visible structures of beholding and strategies of depiction. Yet the figure of the ghost simultaneously contributes to a broader conceptual history that accounts for how modalities of belief emerged and developed in antiquity. Neither illustrations of ancient beliefs in ghosts nor depictions of the afterlife more generally, these images ultimately show us something about the visual event of seeing itself. The Phantom Image will be essential for anyone interested in ancient art, visual culture, and the history of the image.
Reviews / Votes
"The Phantom Image is as unique as its subject matter. Crowley shows impressive command of the historiographic and theoretical background while creating a book that is up-to-the-minute in terms of contemporary sources. This is an ambitious study in its intellectual, cultural, and chronological scope that focuses on some heretofore marginalized monuments and makes them central to an understanding of Roman visual culture."--Barbara Kellum, Smith CollegeMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
Illustrations, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 258 mm
Width: 185 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
1008 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-64829-3 (9780226648293)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2019
1st Edition
University of Chicago Press
from
€54.00
Available for download
Person
Patrick R. Crowley is assistant professor of art history at the University of Chicago.