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BAMAX_Pietra & Elizabeth
Elizabeth_kitchen
CILIEGIO E NOCE 23
CHERRY WOOD AND WALNUT 23
ARTE ATTENTA ALLA QUALITÀ
ART THAT PAYS ATTENTION TO QUALITY
L
a produzione artistica romana non fu mai “gratuita”, cioè non era mai rivolta a un astratto godi-
mento estetico, tipico dell’arte greca. Dietro le opere d’arte si celava sempre un fine sociale, pratico.
Anche nei casi del migliore artigianato di lusso la bellezza era connessa al concetto di sfarzo, inteso
come celebrazione del committente e della relativa potenza economica e sociale.
Le sculture ufficiali, per quanto valide, avevano sempre intenti celebrativi, ciò non toglie che l’arte romana
fosse comunque un’arte “bella” e attenta alla qualità. La bellezza dell’arte romana è data comunque
dalla straordinaria aderenza alle tematiche e dalla mirabile capacità tecnica, anche in schemi ripetuti in-
finite volte.
A
rtistic production in Rome was never gratuitous, that means it never had mere abstract, aesthetic pleas-
ure as its goal, as was typical instead of Greek art. A social, practical end was always hidden behind
every work of art. Even in the best examples of luxury craftsmanship, beauty was never for its own
sake but was celebrative in scope, a way to pay tribute to the economic and social power of the person who had
commissioned the piece.
Official sculpture, even the best examples, always had a celebrative intention. This does not mean it wasn’t
“beautiful” art that paid attention to quality. The beauty of Roman art lies in its extraordinary adherence to
specific themes as well as its technical skill, even when following formulas repeated ad infinitum.
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