Andrew Szegedy-Maszak, professor of classics at Wesleyan University, will deliver a lecture, "Viewing Rome, Travelers and Photographers in 19th Century Rome," on Wednesday, April 7 at 4:15 p.m. in Dwight Lounge, Bristol Campus Center, at Hamilton College. It is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception.
Szegedy-Maszak is currently at Princeton, where he holds the 250th Anniversary Visiting Professorship for Distinguished Teaching. A graduate of Michigan and Princeton, he has published and lectured extensively on a wide range of subjects. He has also been curator of a number of photography exhibits at the Getty Museum, Wesleyan's Davison Art Center and the Tampa Museum of Art.
His lecture will examine two sets of 19th century photographs, one presenting the panorama of Rome taken from the Monte Pincio and the other the so-called Temple of Vesta in the Forum Boarium. His analysis of these pictures and contemporary travel narratives will show how photographers and travelers constructed an "ideal Rome," both modern and ancient.
