In this fresh, accessible, and beautifully illustrated book, his third to examine an aspect of Roman visual culture, John R. Clarke explores the question, "What made Romans laugh?" Looking at Laughter examines a heterogeneous corpus of visual material, from the crudely obscene to the exquisitely sophisticated and from the playful to the deadly serious—everything from street theater to erudite paintings parodying the emperor. Nine chapters, organized under the rubrics of Visual Humor, Social Humor, and Sexual Humor, analyze a wide range of visual art, including wall painting, sculpture, mosaics, and ceramics. Archaeological sites, as well as a range of ancient texts, inscriptions, and graffiti, provide the background for understanding the how and why of humorous imagery. This entertaining study offers fascinating insights into the mentality of Roman patrons and viewers who enjoyed laughing at the gods, the powers-that-be, and themselves.

Acknowledgments
Introduction

PART ONE VISUAL HUMOR
1. Words or Images? Degrees of Visuality in Roman Humor
2. Funny Faces—Onstage and Off
3. Double Takes
4. Apotropaic Laughter

PART TWO SOCIAL HUMOR
5. Power over the Other—or the Other’s Power? Laughing at the Pygmy and the Aethiops
6. Who’s Laughing? Modern Scholars and Ancient Viewers in Class Conflict
7. Parody in Elite Visual Culture at Pompeii: Heroes, Gods, and Foundation Myths

PART THREE SEXUAL HUMOR
8. Sexual Humor and the Gods
9. Laughing at Human Sexual Folly

Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
List of Illustrations
Index

John R. Clarke is Annie Laurie Howard Regents Professor of History of Art at the University of Texas, Austin. He is the author of Art in the Lives of Ordinary Romans (UC Press, 2003), Roman Sex (2003), Looking at Lovemaking: Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art,100 B.C.– A.D. 250 (UC Press, 1998), and The Houses of Roman Italy: 100 B.C.– A.D. 250: Ritual, Space, and Decoration (UC Press, 1991).

“Clarke has accomplished a pioneering study in the uncharted territory that is Roman visual humor, and one that shows great promise to impact profoundly our understanding of Roman social culture at large. The book is beautifully executed.”—Art Bulletin (Caa)

“One of the delights of this book is the sheet amount of attention to . . . works that have not fit into the more conventional histories of Roman art. Another is the illustrative material--the color plates, line drawings, and house plans--that enhances the text. Clearly written and carefully explicated, the book is suitable for students and nonspecialists, as well as for art historians and classicists. . . . Clarke is nimble in providing multiple readings of images that have defied interpretation.”—The Historian

“An excellent book on an important subject. Clarke’s writing is lucid, fluid, and enjoyable. The illustrations are excellent and well chosen. . . . Essential.”—Choice

“No one is doing more to enrich our pictures of Roman visual culture, or to encourage a more imaginative and open-minded approach to it. . . . For this contribution alone, the author and his book are to be greatly recommended.”—Jrnl of Interdisciplinary History

“Brave and sometimes brilliant. . . . Clarke has a wonderful eye for the byways of Roman art and a passionate determination. . . . Presents an extremely powerful case. . . . A wonderful book.”—New York Review of Books

"With Looking at Laughter, Clarke continues his project of viewing art through the eyes of contemporary Romans, by shedding modern prejudices and preconceptions as much as possible. Clarke uses material evidence not as a mere illustration of what our texts tell us, but as an independent indication that both supplements and contradicts what elite sources chose to discuss. Consistently engaging and convincing, the text is accompanied by illustrative material that is always of the highest quality."—Anthony Corbeill, author of Nature Embodied: Gesture in Ancient Rome

"John Clarke capitalizes on the success of his widely admired and enjoyable books on aspects of Roman visual and material culture: after sexuality and housing, the topic is now humor. This books offers a detailed overview of how visual evidence can be used to recuperate a specifically Roman culture of laughter, fun, and burlesque."—Alessandro Barchiesi, general editor of The Oxford Handbook of Roman Studies

"From giggles to belly-laughs, sniggers to guffaws, John Clarke's new book artfully exposes an unexpected side of Roman visual culture. In an intriguing journey through images high and low, there are all kinds of surprises in store. He leaves you with the sense that you may often have missed the joke in Roman art."—Mary Beard, author of The Roman Triumph