Le sentiment de la nature dans les domus de l'afrique romaine, iieme-veme siecles
Institution:
Paris, EHESSDisciplines:
Directors:
Abstract EN:
Nature was everywhere present in roman houses in africa: in mural paintings, mosaics, peristyles, gardens and fountains, but we do not know how it was appreciated. This research on the sense of nature in the mosaics of roman african domus brings to light a pictorial space where landscapes can be easily recognized, even though it is radically different from any pictorial space introduced in european art, from the renaissance reinvention of perspective until cubism. The analysis bears upon mosaics that decorated a small number of african domus from the second to the the fifth century ad, previously studied by archeologists. The system of analysis, derived from methods first porposed by rudolph arnheim, brings to light specific features of the pictorial space of mosaics that had not been paid attention before. In particular, the specific composition, as an overlay of different pictorial spaces that reveal each a different relation to nature, characterizes a few remarkable african pavings. Each of these pictorial spaces evidences its own formal treatment, scale of representation of space, and domain of signification. A study of contemporary poetry, novels, and older works to which these ones referred their readers, has allowed further analysis of the significations. This study demonstrates the existence of a "landscape culture" that has found in roman african mosaics some of its most remarkable expressions. And yet, the object of its representation should not be compared in any way to a landscape according to contemporary ideas. "landscape culture" can be characterized by: 1) a discriminatory mode of appreciating nature that calls upon a ternary way of relating to nature; 2) an artistic form of representation fo nature; 3) a way of rendering nature present in the domus; 4)a specific attitude in the contemplation of nature. The analysis shows not only that the pictorial space in these pavings presents representations of nature imbedded into one another at several scales and playing upon various levels of poetical and religious signification, but also how the use of nature as an element of spatial design has made some domus into works of landscape architecture in their own right.
Abstract FR:
La nature etait partout presente dans les maisons romaines d'afrique: dans les peintures murales, les mosaiques, les peristyles, les jardins et les fontaines, or on ne sait pas comment elle y etait appreciee. Cette recherche sur le sentiment de la nature dans les mosaiques des domus romaines d'afrique, met en evidence un espace pictural paysager clairement reconnaissable quoique totalement different de tous les espaces picturaux explores en europe depuis la reinvention de la perspective jusqu'au cubisme. L'analyse porte sur des mosaiques qui decorent un petit nombre de domus africaines du iieme au veme siecle documentees par des archeologues. La demarche d'analyse systematique, derivee des methodes inventees par rudolph arnheim, met en evidence des caracteristiques de l'espace pictural des mosaiques qui etaient passees inapercues jusqu'alors. En particulier, certains pavements africains se singularisent par une composition d'espaces picturaux juxtaposes qui revelent la nature de maniere differente. Chaque espace pictural se distingue par son traitement formel, l'echelle de representation de l'espace qu'il introduit, et le domaine de signification auquel il renvoie. L'etude de la poesie et des romans de l'epoque et des oeuvres passees auxquelles etaient renvoyes leurs lecteurs a permis d'en approfondir les significations. Cette etude met en lumiere une "culture paysagere" dont les mosaiques de l'afrique romaine constitue l'une des expressions les plus remarquables, mais dont l'objet ne saurait etre compare au paysage tel que le concoivent nos contemporains. Elle se caracterise par: 1-une forme d'appreciation selective de la nature mettant en oeuvre unmode ternaire d'apprehension de la nature; 2-une forme de representation artistique de la nature; 3-une forme de mise en presence de la nature dans la domus:, 4-une attitude specifique de contemplation de la nature. L'analyse montre non seulement que l'espace pictural de ces pavements propose des representations de la nature intriquees les unes dans les autres a plusieurs echelles et jouant sur des niveaux multiples de significations poetiques et religieuses, mais aussi, une maniere d'utiliser la nature comme element de conception de l'espace faisant de la creation de certaines domus des oeuvres d'architecture paysagere.