The First Book about the Arch, 1716

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From the course by Yeshiva University

Arch of Titus: Rome and the Menorah

92 оценки

Yeshiva University

Arch of Titus: Rome and the Menorah

92 оценки

The Arch of Titus: Rome and the Menorah explores one of the most significant Roman monuments to survive from antiquity, from the perspectives of Roman, Jewish and later Christian history and art. The Arch of Titus commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem by the emperor Titus in 70 CE, an event of pivotal importance for the history of the Roman Empire, of Judaism, of Christianity and of modern nationalism. Together with your guide, Professor Steven Fine, you will examine ancient texts and artifacts, gaining skills as a historian as you explore the continuing significance of the Arch of Titus from antiquity to the very present. Course members will accompany Professor Fine on virtual "fieldtrips" to museums and historical sites in Los Angeles and New York where you will "meet" curators, scholars and artists. You will attend an academic colloquium and even "participate" in office hours. Students will participate in the latest advancement in the study of the Arch - the restoration of its original colors. You will learn how color was used in Roman antiquity and apply that knowledge to complete your own 'color restoration' of the Arch of Titus menorah relief.

From the lesson

The Arch of Titus from Antiquity to the Modern Era

Students will explore Jewish and Christian perspectives of the Arch and be able to explain how these perceptions affected their experience and interpretation of this artifact. Conversations with scholars and museum "visits" demonstrate a broad range of contemporary perspectives on the Arch and the continued significance of its iconography.

The First Book about the Arch, 17165:16

Bernard and Picart's Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the Peoples of the World (1723-1743)4:08

Through the Eyes of Contemporary Scholars: Professor Fine with Professor Stenhouse3:29

Meet the Instructors

Steven Fine
Professor
Jewish History

A pioneering figure and there's very little known today is this Christian

hubris, Protestant hubris from the low countries, Hadriani Reland,

who produced his work on the Arch of Titus in 1716.

Which remains an absolute touchstone for what came after.

>> You mean this?

>> Here it is.

>> Here we have a copy.

>> And it's a small book.

No words are wasted.

What's very striking to a modern historian is how familiar he is,

not just with Josephus, but also with Hebrew sources.

>> And he uses them well.

>> And he uses them well.

>> In fact, it's been said that anyone who's written about the Arch of Titus

since this book which came out in 17, what year?

>> 1716.

>> 1716.

Is building on what he wrote.

>> Right.

And it's absolutely true for my work.

>> It's not just a textual analysis of the arch, but it's very fragile.

>> Let's keep it on the plastic, because it's grass under there.

It's a beautiful drawing.

>> But he also included engravings.

He says, I think, he had people in Rome verifying what he did and

what he worked with it.

And to me, looking at this from the earlier perspective,

what's interesting about his fold out illustration is it has

kind of owed something to artistic tradition I mentioned.

That here is the arch not restored, but

as a symbol of ruin and decay, but from these fragments.

Reland and his contemporaries can build something and

can understand the new, not just Roman history, but Jewish history as well.

>> But also that he wanted to show the Menorah Panel rather than the Titus panel.

>> Right.

>> Where for with him as a biblicist, is the part that's important.

>> Yeah, yeah, yeah >> So he actually reversed the usual

approach which is to draw it from the standpoint of the coliseum,

to do it from the other side so that he could show the menorah [CROSSTALK].

Yes. >> Yeah, yeah, exactly.

>> And it's beautiful work,

and complete with someone plowing the fields next to it.

He wants you to get a real sense of what's going.

And he knew it, he- >> And a cow coming through the arch.

There still was controversy about who exactly was allowed to use the arch,

but he's showing us that the farmers in the forum certainly used it.

>> Well, this was the fortress of a rather wealthy family.

>> Mm-hm.

>> And so everybody went through it,

and there was no alternative to going through it.

>> Right, right, right.

>> It was the way you did it.

And one of the nice things of course about this engraving,

is that he has the menorah bearers walking through above, but

then he has the peasants coming through the same way.

As he keeps the movement going through to give you that sense of movement.

>> Yep, yep, there's a sort of parallel, yep, yep.

>> And those wonderful clouds up above that's portent,

whatever the engraver wanted them to portent.

>> Right, right, right, right.

Anything else in here? >> It's beautiful.

I don't think so.

>> Well, there's one that I'd like to show you, if you don't mind.

Cuz I've been living with this book for quite a while.

It's available even online for free, if people were interested in it.

But it's more fun on this paper where you can actually feel the letters.

Sometimes the physical object gives us so

much more of a connection than even the electronic version.

>> And the engravings are very interesting and you don't necessarily get those.

>> Right.

So an amazing engraving because of the real

care taken with it where he shows you what still exists, shows you what didn't.

He writes that he had an Englishman who was in Rome who measured it.

It makes sense it would be an Englishman because it's another Protestant.

>> Mm-hm.

>> An Englishman and he wrote back to him and he quotes it, in English feet.

>> Right, right.

>> How large the lampstand is- >> On the arch.

>> On the arch. >> Right.

>> And we get a sense here of the detail.

He over-detailed it to a certain extent.

But it's not bad considering how rubbed it is and

how much real knowledge that we can still gain.

And look, it even has a scale down below so you can see,

it's two English feet, right?

>> Right. >> [FOREIGN],

right?

>> Yeah, and this suggests that this is a very deliberate move because the earlier

architectural rights were all recorded in Roman the kind of Roman measurement.

But he is touching it from that context even if it's an English one.

>> This is now a British book, yes.

All right, this image of the table for

the where he wants to make sure you know the size of everything.

He's a real professional.

And these kinds of images are very important because they give us a real

sense of what it looked like in the 18th century from someone who actually knew.

>> Yeah, and knew what to look for.

>> And knew what to look for.

>> Right.

>> I find with a lot of my work, if you know what to look for you can see things.

If you don't know what to look for, it can't be there,

you can walk right past it.

>> Right. >> Or it could be in a shadow.

He also made mistakes, so for example on this cup, on top of the table for

the [INAUDIBLE] he put a handle.

And there is no handle.

>> Mm-hm.

>> We actually saw a cup very much like this at the Getty Museum, made of gold.

It's a standard Roman drinking cup.

>> Right.

>> But still, no one's perfect.

And that's the nature of scholarship, isn't it.

>> Yeah, absolutely.

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