Bucolic (ancient art)

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Sarcophagus, in the center a bucolic landscape with sheep and shepherds in front of an architectural representation. On the left a shaft bearer, on the right an Orantin , Vatican , Museo Pio Cristiano

The bucolic genre in ancient art includes depictions of idyllic landscapes, often with shepherds. Individual elements such as sheep carriers or individual sheep can also be used as ciphers for bucolic representations. In the Roman Empire , bucolic representations can be found in private areas, for example on sarcophagi . The images are not intended to be a realistic representation of the pastoral life, nor are they related to the life of the deceased. Instead, they are to be understood allegorically and symbolize a happy and peaceful life, also with reference to an existence after death.

See also

literature

  • Nikolaus Himmelmann : About the shepherd genre in ancient art. West German publishing house, Opladen 1980.
  • Adriana Kapsreiter: Bucolic of death. In: Norbert Fischer, Markwart Herzog: Death - Memory - Landscape. Irseer Dialoge, Kultur und Wissenschaft interdisciplinary Volume 21. Kohlhammer Verlag Stuttgart 2018. ISBN 978-3170309593 . Pp. 17-32.
  • Guntram Koch : Early Christian sarcophagi. Handbook of archeology. Publishing house CH Beck. Munich 2000. ISBN 3-406-45657-X , esp. Pp. 15-20.