Roman Art c 509 BCE 337 CE Republican era (no monarch) 509 BCE 27 BCE Early and High Empire Late Empire
Romans c 509 BCE 337 CE Republican era (no monarch) 509 BCE 27 BCE Dominated Italy 280 BCE on Punic Wars vs. Phoenicians of Carthage 264-146 BCE Conquered and absorbed Hellenistic Greeks 200-30 BCE Senate of Patricians Other citizens: Plebians 3 rd class: Slaves
Rome, 4 th century CE
Temple of Fortuna Virilis (Temple of Portunus), Rome c 74 BCE
Maison Carree, Nimes
Frieze with vegetal/floral designs Stepped up architrave Corinthian capitals with acanthus leaves (make the columns sacred)
On podium, only stairs in the front Pseudo-peripteral (fake peristyle of engag columns) No sculpture on the pediment or frieze
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, Palestrina. Using flexible concrete, arches, vaults, and engineering to overcome nature s complications.
Concrete: more flexible and durable, more structurally sound, lighter, easier to work and transport, and cheaper than stone
Veneered concrete
The Roman House
atrium
Dionysiac mystery frieze, Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, 60-50 BCE. Fresco.
Silenus, satyr with the gift of prophecy Dionysus/Bacchus Probably initiation of a novice into the Bacchic (Dionysiac) mystery cult
Purifcation ritual brought the novice to enlightenment and a blissful union with her god
Gardenscape from the Villa of Livia, 30-20 BCE
3-D illusionism created with: -linear perspective (intuitive or actual) -atmospheric perspective -shading and highlighting -diminishing size -higher horizon -overlapping
Head of Roman patrician
Roman Patrician With heads of his ancestors; Note veristic approach vs. idealization
Julius Caesar, emperor 46-44 BCE. His grandnephew, Octavian, ruled the Senate 43-27BCE until
The Empire, begun 27 BCE with Augustus (Octavian). Imperial Rome 27 BCE-395 CE
Augustus of Primaporta (as a general), c 20 BCE. 6 8
Portrait both ideal and realistic (specific to Octavian) Cuirass (breastplate) commemorates a contemporary scene: Victory over the Parthians Putto/Cupid and dolphin, Attributes of Venus. Refer to Augustus divine ancestry (Aeneas, Venus son). His bare feet refer to apotheosis: his elevation to divine status on death
Aullus Tellus, the Orator (Etruscan artist, 1 st c BCE)
Livia, Augustus wife
Ara Pacis, Altar of Augustan Peace, 13-9 BCE
garlands
Tellus (Mother Earth)? from Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE Land Wind: fertility of Roman lands Sea Wind: dominance of the Mediterranean
Personification of Pax, peace; Mother Earth; All together, allegory of peace and prosperity of Pax Romana
Procession of the imperial family, dedicating the Ara Pacis, Ara Pacis, 13-9 BCE
Marcus Agrippa (named Augustus successor), Gaius Caesar (his son), Livia (Augustus wife), Tiberius (Livia s older son and next emperor), Antonia (niece of Augustus), her son Germanicus, her husband Drusus (Livia s younger son), Antonia s older sister and her children
Pont-du-Gard, NImes, France c 16 BCE
arcade 82 arches/ arcade Carried water 30 miles; Each Roman used 100 gallons of water a day 82 barrel vault/tunnel vault No mortar or cement
amphitheater
Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater), Rome, c 70-80 CE Give them bread and circuses.
Seated 50,0000; seats 160 high; with 76 entrances could be emptied in minutes;
2 rows of barrel vaults circled the arena; also used for entrance tunnels Groin vaults (2 barrel vaults meeting at right angles and intersecting) at every intersection
Corinthian pilasters (engaged piers), without arcades Corinthian order, engaged Ionic order, engaged Tuscan order (Doric on pedestals) engaged columns
Vespasian
Portrait of Flavian woman
Vespasian
Titus
Arch of Titus, Rome after 81 CE. 50 (triumphal arch commemorating victory over the Jews & destruction of Jerusalem, 70 CE)
Spoils of Jerusalem, from the Arch of Titus, after 81 CE. 7
Note: atmospheric perspective used in sculptural relief
Triumph of Titus, from the Arch of Titus, after 81 CE
Domitian
Forum of Trajan, Rome (by Apollodorus of Damascus), dedicated 112 CE
Basilica nave Apse ( semi-circular extension/room)
Basilica Ulpia, Rome
Basilica Ulpia reconstruction, (with clerestory, colonnade, upper gallery)
Column of Trajan (mausoleum for Trajan), dedicated 112 CE. Marble; About 100 ; frieze 656 long, from 3-4 high; 2,500 figures; 150 episodes;
Romans crossing the Danube, from the Column of Trajan Danube River God
Propaganda aimed at Plebians so less illusionistic, more legible
Hadrian
Pantheon (temple to all the gods), Rome, c 118-125 CE
2 perfect intersecting circles, 143 x 143 ; Symbolizing the universe, the dome of heaven and Rome as the center of the universe
29 oculus eye of Jupiter; No keystone/capstone necessary! Coffers; recessed panels Corinthian portico 7 niches for the 7 planetary gods Rotunda (round building, usually with a dome) Dome set on a 20 thick drum with barrel vaults inside
Concrete with marble veneer
Mummy portrait from Faiyum, Egypt, encaustic on wood
Late Empire 193-337 CE
Caracalla, c 211-217 CE
Baths of Caracalla, Rome (212-216 CE)
Groin vaults;in the nave, so: weight on the piers (not walls); higher ceilings and holes in the walls possible Galleries and clerestories
Ludovisi Battle Sarcopagus, Battle of Romans and Barbarians
The Four Tetrarchs, 305 CE Diocletian, Augustus of the East, Maximian, Augustus of the West, & 2 Caesars
Late Imperial style: -less idealized (but faces identical), -less naturalistic (& proportions wrong), -more patterning, -larger eyes, -Symbolism/meaning more important than naturalism
Constantine the Great. (head 8 6 ) Ruled 306-337 CE; defeated co-ruler to become sole emperor
Basilica Nova (Basilica of Constantine and Maxentius), 306-312 CE
Groin vaults in nave; weight on piers only Barrel vaults in side aisles; Buttressed piers and groin vaults clerestory apse
Aula Palatina (Basilica of Trier), Trier, Germany, early 4 th century
Aula Palatina, Trier
Fall of Rome 330 Constantine shifted the capital to Constantinope (Byzantium) 395 empire divided, only the eastern empire in Constantinople secure 410 Visigoths sacked Rome (next Attila the Hun & others) 455 Vandals sacked Rome 476 Fall of Rome, Beginning of the Dark Ages in Europe