This thesis looks at the evolution of art collection in the middle to late Roman Republic. Through the examination of military triumphs, manubial structures, and the sculpture collection of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, this paper investigates the social motivations for art collection. Art’s role in Roman society as both spolia and luxuria is discussed through use of ancient literary sources and archaeological evidence. The evolving role of collection is considered as an expression of national and social identity in a politically changing Rome.

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The objective of my research is to explore Medici extravagance, power, and wealth through the multifaceted artistic form of tapestries vis-à-vis two particular tapestry cycles; the Acts of the Apostles and the Valois Fêtes. The cycles were commissioned by Pope Leo X (1475-1521), the first Medici pope, and Catherine de' Medici (1519-1589), queen, queen regent, and queen mother of France. The motivation for such a project lies in analyzing what is traditionally considered as two independent tapestry cycles by revealing their social, religious, political, and artistic significance through the powerful dynastic influence of the Medici. As Leo and Catherine were both aware of the contemporary social environment, their commission of the Acts of the Apostles and the Valois Fêtes exemplify the Medici streak for ambition, familial dependence, and triumphalism. As Leo X (r. 1513-1521) governed from Rome, Catherine de' Medici (r. 1547-1559) presided over the French throne for nearly fifty years in some capacity. Both Medici enjoyed access to the wealth associated with the Papal Curia and Valois royal household accounts, respectively, investing an enormous sum on the tapestry cycles, only one of the numerous artistic commissions procured during the sixteenth century. Heedless of their iconography and embellishment, the Acts of the Apostles and Valois Fêtestestify to the wealth and power wielded through their patron's accessibility and resourcefulness to procure an estimable and luxurious commission.

<p>Located in southeast Italy, the site of Vagnari has been explored archaeologically as a Roman <em>vicus</em> that once formed part of an imperial estate. After the discovery of a cemetery on the property in 2002, exploration has yielded important results for understanding the lives and deaths of individuals in rural Italy from the first to early fourth centuries AD. Within the sphere of funerary archaeology and commemoration, there has been a shift in recent scholarship away from the monuments and practices of imperial and senatorial families in urban cities towards those who were underrepresented in epigraphic and textual evidence, namely ordinary individuals. Funerary archaeology presents one medium of exploring both funerary and burial practices in previously understudied areas of Roman Italy.</p> <p>Previous studies of the Vagnari cemetery have been centered around a catalogue of burials, artifacts, and pathology, with more recent work focusing on stable isotopes and ancient DNA. This thesis focuses on the artifacts and patterns of distribution to understand how burial practices may have been shaped by social, economic and legal status. The primary focus is not the artifacts themselves, but the ways in which material culture can be interpreted to address issues of social status and prosperity within the cemetery. Within the wider realm of funerary practices, this study aims to understand funerals in a rural setting based on the burial record by incorporating archaeological, literary and historic evidence, in order to situate the site within our increasing knowledge of death and commemoration in the Roman Empire.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The aim of this thesis has been to consider how Philip II of Macedonia presented himself to the Greek peoples after the Battle of Chaeronea in 336 BC. It examines the context and program of the Philippeion at Olympia in order to determine how Philip II negotiated his royal status in response to Greek opinion. This study takes into account the traditional role of the Macedonian kings, how they typically portrayed themselves, and to what purpose. It also explores Philip's propaganda specifically and the differing responses of various Greek peoples. <p lang="en-CA">Although Philip's role as Hegemon of the League of Corinth seems to be at odds with the Philippeion's classification as a victory monument and a display of the king's authority, further examination reveals that the Philippeion conforms with Philip's program of propaganda. It's message is also adaptable to the various perceptions of the Greek peoples as well as any Macedonian viewers. <p lang="en-CA"></p> / Master of Arts (MA)

This thesis traces and explicates the changes in Theodor Fontane's landscape depiction in the years 1887- 1892. I examine his novels Cecile (1887), Irrungen, Wirrungen (1888), and unwiederbringlich (1892). I show that Fontane, as though discarding a relic of the Romantic past, used increasingly less landscape in his narratives. He focused on the actions and conversation of his characters, and on their immediate surroundings. When these surroundings were urban, they tended to disappear. The progressive minimalization of landscape, and of cityscape in particular, foreshadowed the appearance in German literature of twentieth-century man: man alienated from nature in cities, and less aware of empirically observable surroundings than of internal forces and realities.

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No description available.