Art Matters Talk on Architect Julius Caesar | Art & Entertainment

Colossus of Julius Caesar on Trajan’s Forum, Rome, early 2nd century AD, National Archaeological Museum, Naples. (Courtesy photo)

Chris Hallett, professor of Roman art in the UC Berkeley Department of Art History, will discuss Julius Caesar’s evolution as the second founder of Rome and the first Imperial Forum on Thursday, September 1, 5:30-6:30 pm, as Santa Barbara Part of the Art Issues Lecture Series in the Mary Craig Auditorium of the LA Museum of Art.

Julius Caesar spent a lot of money on construction projects in the late 50s and early 40s BC, building an extension to the Roman Forum, a great cathedral in the square itself, and a temple of Venus.

Because of Caesar’s assassination, most of his building projects were left unfinished — some of them hadn’t even begun — and his impact on the city of Rome, and the nature of the interventions he made, is controversial today.

A new joint Danish-Italian excavation at the Caesar Forum is underway, offering scholars an opportunity to re-raise this and other important questions about Caesar’s original intentions and take a comprehensive look at his legacy as a builder Reassess.

The event is free for students and Museum Circle members/$10 SBMA members/$15 non-members, get tickets tickets.sbma.net.

Visitors planning to attend Mary Craig Auditorium events must present proof of full booster vaccination (if eligible) or, in some cases, a negative Covid-19 medical test result (within 72 hours prior to each event) ) and official photo ID before entering the venue.

All visitors must also follow the SBMA’s mask policy and wear a mask when attending events at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium.