From Face to Face

This book provides analyses of different recarving methods in Late Antiquity, and argues on the basis of 500 recarved portraits that the late antique portrait style, which was formerly considered an expression of a new era, was rather a technical consequence.

"Perhaps the greatest significance of Prusac’s work—aside from the immense task of amassing the material and publishing it to the benefit of students and other scholars—is the observation that certain technical constraints involved in recarving seem to have determined—at least in part—a primary characteristic of late-antique style, namely the generally stylized features, large eyes and upward gaze. The factors behind the change from one style to the other constitute one of the major questions to be addressed again and again in art history and classical archaeology, and here, certainly, Prusac makes a brave attempt to say something new. This aspect alone is enough for the author to be proud of her work." Rune Frederiksen, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2018.02.11