The Freedman in Roman Art and Art History

From monumental tombs and domestic decoration, to acts of benefaction and portraits of ancestors, Roman freed slaves, or freedmen, were prodigious patrons of art and architecture. Traditionally, however, the history of Roman art has been told primarily through the monumental remains of the emperors and ancient writers who worked in their circles. Lauren Petersen critically investigates the notion of freedman art in scholarship, dependent as it is on elite-authored texts that are filled with hyperbole and stereotype of freedmen.