A. Haug – M. T. Lauritsen (Hrsg.), Principles of Decoration in the Roman World, Decorative Principles in Late Republican and Early Imperial Italy, DECOR 2 (Berlin 2021) (2024)

A. Haug - A. Hielscher, Materiality as Decor: Aesthetics, Semantics and Function, in: A. Haug - A. Hielscher - M. T. Lauritsen (Hrsg.) Materiality in Roman Art and Architecture Aesthetics, Semantics and Function, DECOR 3 (Berlin 2021) 3–24

A. Haug, Introduction: Principles of Decor, in: A. Haug – M. T. Lauritsen (Hrsg.), Principles of Decoration in the Roman World, Decorative Principles in Late Republican and Early Imperial Italy, DECOR 2 (Berlin 2021), 1–14

Principles of Decor, 2021

A. Haug - A. Kröger-Hielscher, The Concept of decorum in the Design of Architecture and Artefacts. Interdependencies of Form and Material, in: J. Stellmann - D. Wagner (Hrsg.), Materialität und Medialität. Grundbedingungen einer anderen Ästhetik in der Vormoderne (Berlin 2023) 27-50

The Concept of decorum in the Design of Architecture and Artefacts. Interdependencies of Form and Material, 2023

This contribution analyses two examples of ancient design practice-Second Style wall painting and Roman eating and drinking vessels-against the background of Vitruvius' abstract concept of decorum. It will become clear that 'appropriateness' can refer to different, often conflicting requirements: natural, social and cultural. As a consequence, the design of artefacts and buildings involves a process of negotiation between clients, craftsmen / artists and recipients that can result in very different solutions. The analysis of decorum elucidates the tension and interplay between the autological and heterological dimension of ancient architecture and artefacts.

A. Haug - A. Hielscher - M. T. Lauritsen (Hrsg.), Materiality in Roman Art and Architecture. Aesthetics, Semantics and Function, Decorative Principles in Late Republican and Early Imperial Italy, DECOR 3 (Berlin 2022)

The focus of this volume is on the aesthetics, semantics and function of materials in Roman antiquity between the 2nd century B.C. and the 2nd century A.D. It includes contributions on both architectural spaces (and their material design) and objects – types of 'artefacts' that differ greatly in the way they were used, perceived and loaded with cultural significance. With respect to architecture, the analysis of material aesthetics leads to a new understanding of the performance, imitation and transformation of surfaces, including the social meaning of such strategies. In the case of objects, surface treatments are equally important. However, object form (a specific design category), which can enter into tension with materiality, comes into particular focus. Only when materials are shaped do their various qualities emerge, and these qualities are, to a greater or lesser extent, transferred to objects. With a focus primarily on Roman Italy, the papers in this volume underscore the importance of material design and highlight the awareness of this matter in the ancient world.

[Book Review]: Corrélations: les objets du décor au siècle des Lumières

Journal 18, 2016

New Methods to Understand Tradition and Transformation in Roman Imperial Architectural Decoration

P. Pensabene – M. Milella – F. Caprioli (Hrsg.), Decor. Decorazione e architettura nel mondo romano 1. Atti del Convegno Internazionale Roma 21 -- 24 maggio 2014, Thiasos Monografie 9 (Rom 2017), 2017

To explain patterns in architectural decoration the existence of workshops ('Bauhütten') as owner and developer of these patterns has been proposed. Structure and processes of decisions have however not been sufficiently discussed. Meanwhile, our knowledge of ancient architecture has decisively increased. Information about the origin of raw material lead to a clear differentiation and precise questions of specialization, exchange of masons and organization of the companies. The various criteria that shape decoration have to be separated sufficiently: the Syntax of the decoration (combination of various forms of decorations and motives), the iconography of ornamental elements (design of the Palmette in the Anthemion etc.) and the style and 'handwriting' of the respective operating mason. Rather than thinking of the migration of entire workshops from Asia Minor to Rome, one can accept the consideration that finished architectural blocks were shipped, what would explain the vast presence of 'eastern' capitals throughout the Roman Empire. When evaluating new and alien impacts, the motivation of the employer as well as the background of the region receiving these influences must be questioned. Local traditions, the availability of raw material and the knowledge in working with this material are important factors for the response on such impacts. L'esistenza di officine ('Bauhütten') come centri di produzione e sviluppo è stata proposta per spiegare l'esistenza di modelli nella decorazione architettonica. La loro struttura e i processi decisionali non sono stati tuttavia sufficientemente discussi. Negli ultimi anni, la nostra conoscenza dell'architettura antica è cresciuta enormemente. Le informazioni acquisite sul materiale prima della lavorazione ci portano ad una chiara differenziazione e pongono precise domande sulla specializzazione, gli scambi di maestranze e l'organizzazione delle officine. I vari criteri che danno forma alla decorazione vanno separati coerentemente: la sintassi della decorazione (la combinazione cioè delle varie forme e dei motivi), l'iconografia degli elementi ornamentali (il disegno delle palmette nell'anthemion, etc.), lo stile e la firma delle rispettive maestranze. Piuttosto che pensare alla migrazione di intere officine dall'Asia minore a Roma, si può considerare la possibilità che fosse spedito il prodotto finito; questo spiegherebbe la massiccia presenza di capitelli "orientali" in tutto l'impero romano. Nell'analisi dei nuovi apporti, esterni, devono essere considerate sia la motivazione del committente che le preesistenze della regione che riceve queste influenze. Tradizioni locali, la reperibilità di materiale grezzo, e la conoscenza delle modalità di lavorazione sono fattori importanti per conoscere la portata di queste influenze. Since archaeology deals with development and style of architectural decoration, scholars try to understand the background and to find explanations and reasons for conventions and changes in course of time

Principles of Decoration in the Roman World

2021

This book explores the manner in which architectural settings and action contexts influenced the perception of decoration in the Roman world. Crucial to the relationship between ancient viewers and media was the concept of decor, a term employed by Vitruvius and other Roman authors to describe the appropriateness of particular decorative elements to the environment in which they were located. The papers in this volume examine a diverse range of decorated spaces, from press rooms to synagogues, through the lens of decor. In doing so, they shed new light on the decorative principles employed across Roman Italy and beyond.

« Decoration in Context. Decorative Programs in light of the Archaeology of Buildings from the insula V of Herculaneum"

in Moormann E., Mols S. (dir.), Context and Meaning, Babesch Supplements, 2017

In spite of the many Roman vestiges discovered in Western Europe, our knowledge of how the people of Antiquity "lived" their homes and cites remains vague. In this regard, the city of Herculaneum offers an exceptional analytical laboratory for the study of decorative elements in domestic environments and a reading of the images in their architectural contexts. In this paper, I present the methodology of a research program established in 2011 for the study of all of the wall-paintings at Herculaneum in architectural and archaeological context. These decors, some currently in situ and some detached from their original locations, are registered in our database (Domus ©), which was designed to facilitate their comparative analysis. I focus in this publication on the case of insula V at Herculaneum, which was a truly mixed habitat (class/ families). The analysis of the paintings in context is approached at several scales (house, room, wall) throughout the dwelling. En dépit de la multiplicité des vestiges romains mis en jour en Occident, nos connaissances sur la manière dont les populations de l'antiquité "vivaient" leur maison et leur ville restent très parcellaires. A cet égard, la cité d’Herculanum offre un laboratoire d’analyse exceptionnel pour une étude des décors et une lecture des images dans leur contexte architectural. Cet article présente la méthodologie mise en œuvre pour notre programme de recherches, initié en 2011, qui envisage une étude en contexte des décors d’Herculanum. Ces décors, actuellement in situ ou détachés de leur emplacement d’origine, sont répertoriés dans la base Domus© qui permet d’opérer leur analyse conjointe. Je me concentrerai sur le cas exemplaire de l'insula V d’Herculanum, qui révèle un habitat très contrasté, sans doute révélateur d’une importante mixité sociale, en centrant le propos sur trois des édifices de cet ilot d’habitation. L’analyse des structures y sera envisagée à plusieurs niveaux, à l’échelle de la maison, de la pièce et de la paroi.

Ernst Herzfeld Gesellschaft, 14th colloquium, Strasbourg, July 5-7, 2018, program

Elisabetta Di Stefano, Decorum. An ancient idea of everyday aesthetics, in “ESPES. The Slovak Journal of Aesthetics”, Vol. 10/2, pp. 25-38

“ESPES. The Slovak Journal of Aesthetics”, Vol. 10/2, 2021special issue Everyday Aesthetics: European Perspectives, Elisabetta Di Stefano & Sanna Lehtinen (eds.), pp. 25-38, ISSN 1339 – 1119, https://espes.ff.unipo.sk/index.php/ESPES, 2021

Everyday Aesthetics was born in the 21 st Century as a sub-discipline of Anglo-American Aesthetics and it has spread in the international debate. However, the contribute of historical perspective has not properly explored yet. Is it possible to trace the history of everyday aesthetics before the official birth of this discipline? I will try and give an affirmative answer by focusing on an exemplary category: that of the decorum. Using the history of ideas, I will analyse the Greek concept of prepon and the similar Latin concepts of decorum which express the idea of 'convenience' or 'fitness to purpose' in the ethical and rhetorical sphere. Later I will analyse the evolution of the concept of decorum in the theory of Ancient and Renaissance architecture (Vitruvius, Leon Battista Alberti). My goal is to demonstrate that in Ancient and Renaissance culture decorum is a category that refers to the objects and practices of everyday life but also a principle that regulates appropriate behaviour in the sphere of good manners. Consequently, given its pervasiveness in the different areas of everyday life, the concept of decorum can be a paradigmatic example to trace the history of everyday aesthetics.