The art of ancient Gallia Narbonensis constitutes a coherent corpus thanks to a number of shared visual characteristics. Prominent among them is a carving technique that consisted of deeply incising the contours of figures in sculpted reliefs, a trend that was rare in Roman art elsewhere.
This paper investigates the presence of incised contours in monuments erected between the late first century BC and the early decades of the first century AD at sites such as Orange, Carpentras, and Glanum.
I argue that we can explain this peculiar feature by establishing continuities with pre-Roman monuments created in the region, which reveal a similar aesthetic solution. Relying on visual analysis and employing the lens of two postcolonial paradigms, creolization and hybridity, I offer a reconsideration of well-known provincial monuments, expanding our understanding of the role of visual culture as an essential marker of the colonial transformation of Gaul.
Gallia Narbonensis, art, architecture, contours, creolization, hybridity. The art of Gallia Narbonensis, one of the earliest Roman provinces in the West, is characterized by a remarkable visual coherence. Besides the natural visuality that local building materials give to the monuments, certain iconographic motifs and technical traits define the art produced in this region as a distinct group. Prominent among them is a carving technique that consisted of deeply incising the contours of figures in relief sculpture, a trend that while rare in Roman art elsewhere, appears systematically in Narbonensis.
The application of this technique resulted in a strong contrast of light and shadow that enlivened figures and added dynamism to the compositions. I trace the origins of the motif to pre-Roman monuments and explore the implications of its persistence for the expression of Gallic identities in areas under Roman control. I argue that after the Roman conquest the art of Narbonensis retained technical and aesthetic features that signal the active involvement of local artisans versed in traditional ways of making.
