Gallery

November 11, 2009 in Uncategorized | by Editors

From Castle Hill
Priscilla Serafin
Oil on canvas, 36 x 24 inches

Priscilla Serafin, an oil painter who is inspired by the natural landscape, focuses on the light, water and coastal marshes surrounding the North Shore of Massachusetts. Working in oil, she begins on location to capture a sense of light and then further explores the line between abstraction and representation in her studio.

To see more work, visit the Serafin Studio website here.

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Panem et circenses

"Duas tantum res anxius optat--Panem et circenses"

--Juvenal (Roman poet, circa 60-140, writing in Satire X)

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PHRASE "BREAD AND CIRCUS"?

In ancient Rome, political elites frequently distributed food (such as wheat) and funded lavish spectacles for the inhabitants. The provision of what Juvenal called "bread and circuses" is thought to have been an important element in placating the masses. The elites also seem to have thought of it as an important part of their civic duty.

A sophisticated discussion of the subject can be found in Paul Veyne's book Le pain et le cirque, which is available in English translation as well as in its original French edition.