Art Networks and Craftsmen Mobility. Towards a Network Model of Foreign Artisans and their Impact on Early Imperial Provincial Art

Abstract

Movement, mobility, and migration have long been recognised as key elements of Roman society. The Empire and its provinces were an arena for much interaction and exchange among people, while the rivers of Europe and the road network constructed by the Romans served as highways for the transportation of goods, people, and ideas, enabling a much swifter mobility than had been seen before. The impact this had on artistic productions throughout the Empire can be reassessed using social network analysis (SNA). This paper applies SNA to the issue of the movement of techniques, ideas, and people in the Roman world, using as a test study early Imperial stone sculpture from Regio I Campania. Such sculpture has been traditionally recognised as the product of foreign artisans, their movement, and their interaction with local artisans. The paper provides a network model that may help visualise the physical mobility of foreign professionals who contributed to the formation of the Augustan visual language.