Brenda Longfellow

Brenda Longfellow

Andrew Heiskell Post-Doctoral Rome Prize
September 10, 2012–August 5, 2013
Profession
Associate Professor, School of Art and Art History, University of Iowa
Project title
Past Lives, Present Meanings: Reused Statues in Imperial Rome
Project description

This interdisciplinary book project analyzes the varying functions and perceptions of recycled statues prominently displayed in imperial monuments at Rome. Drawing on art-historical, archaeological, historical, and epigraphic evidence, it offers the first detailed discussion of why ancient Roman emperors from Augustus to Constantine incorporated older statues into their newly built monuments and how these new ensembles impacted Roman identity. In examining the public display of repurposed materials, this book provides a contextual analysis of civic patronage and monument reuse and explores the multifaceted relationship between patron, audience, and the past. It also demonstrates how the late-antique practice of monument reuse builds on this venerable tradition of emperors programmatically displaying recycled material throughout Imperial Rome.