ABSTRACT
IN 1901 RIEGL PUBLISHED HIS NOW famous Die Spätrömische Kunstindustrie (The Late Roman Art Industry); 1 it was to attract much wider attention and general interest than his earlier Stilfragen. While Stilfragen explored the history of a motif in decorative art, The Late Roman Art Industry was an ambitious attempt to competely reevaluate the art of late antiquity. Following a tradition established by Ghiberti and Vasari, the consensus among historians and critics had been that after the glories of Greco-Roman antiquity, late antique art had gone into a decline. Various explanations had been offered: the destruction of the old civilization by barbarian invasions was one, the impact of Christianity with its hostility to idols was another. Either way, the art of late antiquity was seen as being decadent and the product of poor workmanship. Riegl’s book helped to change that perception and establish late antique art as a subject worthy of art historical enquiry.
