Barrel vault The extension of a simple arch creating a semicylindrical ceiling over parallel walls....

Ancient Roman Art

REPUBLICAN ROMAN ART

POMPEII AND THE CITIES OF VESUVIUS

IMPERIAL ROMAN ART EARLY EMPIRE

THE HIGH EMPIRE

THE LATE EMPIRE

PERIODS

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS AND

WORKS Click the Portrait of Augustus at anytime to return Home

Ancient Roman ArtIMPORTANT CONCEPTS AND

WORKS

PAINTING STYLES FOUND IN POMPEII

FORTUNA VIRILIS

TEMPLE OF VESTA

FUNCTION OF ROMAN PORTRAITS

PORTRAIT OF AUGUSTUS AS GENERAL

ARA PACIS AUGUSTAE

MAISON CARÉE

PONT-DU-GARD AQUEDUCT

PORTA MAGGIORE

COLISEUM

PORTRAIT OF CARCALLA

TRAJAN'S COLUMN

PANTHEON

HADRIAN’S VILLA

AL-KHAZNEH

EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF MARCUS AURELIUS

ASIATIC SARCOPHAGUS

PORTRAITS OF THE FOUR TETRARCHS

ARCH OF CONSTANTINE

AULA PALATINA (BASILICA)

Roman Art

Republican Roman ArtBarrel vault

The extension of a simple arch creating a semicylindrical ceiling over parallel walls. It requires buttressing of the walls below the vaults to counteract their downward and outward thrust.

Groin or cross vault

Formed by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults of equal size. Needs less buttressing and appears lighter than barrel vaults.

Pseudo-peripteral

A series of engaged columns that run around the sides and back of the cella to give the appearance of a peripteral colonnade.

Cultures that most strongly influenced that Roman art were Etruscan and Greek.

Temple of “Fortuna Virilis”from Rome, Italyca. 75 B.C.E.

Two features of the Temple of “Fortuna Virilis” that were drawn from Etruscan temples;

The plan—the high podium is accessible only by the front via a wide flight of steps.

Columns are confined to the porch.

From Greek temples;

The Ionic features—the fluted columns with bases and the Ionic frieze.

It is built of stone overlaid with stucco in imitation of Greek marble temples.

Roman;

A series of engaged Ionic half-columns on the sides and back of the cella (pseudo-peripteral).

In contrast to a Greek temple, the Roman temple usually was set on a tall podium, approached from a single side, and pseudoperipteral

Two non-Greek features of the so-called Temple of Vesta:

•Axial alignment of the narrow stairway being the only access to the high podium.

•The cella walls were not constructed with masonry bocks but with concrete.

The temple plan is circular.

The development of concrete – a cheap and very strong material, enabled the Romans to create an architecture of space rather than of sheer mass.

It can create huge vaulted and domed rooms without internal supports.

It allowed the Romans to develop the groin vault and the hemispherical dome.

Amiternum relief (1st cent. BC): depiction of funeral procession; notice the body on a bier, surrounded by family, preceded by musicians, and carried by slaves

Grave Relief of Publius Curtilius Agatus, Silversmith Unknown Roman, Italy, A.D. 1 - 25 Marble 31 7/16 x 23 1/16 x 12 1/2 in.

Roman

Grave stele from the Ilissos of a young hunter and his father (attributed to Skopas?), ca. 340 B.C. (CLX008)

Greek

Stylistic Features

The portraits are specific likenesses (portraits) rather than idealized types.

Differences

The Roman reliefs focus on the heads (which are in high relief), torso, and hands, rather than the full figures, making them more intimate depictions as opposed to the formal Greek tomb.

Position of slaves in Roman as opposed to Greek society

Only freed slaves could have portraits made of themselves, because slaves were property, not people, under the law. Freed slaveholders proudly ordered portrait reliefs for their tombs to commemorate their new status as Roman citizens.

Head of a Roman patricianca. 75-50 B.C.E.marbleapproximately 1 ft. 2 in. high

Function of Roman Portraits

The patricians were proud of their heritage and used portraits for public show and private purposes. Portraits were one way the patricians celebrated their elevated position in Roman society.

Stylistic Features

They were “veristic,” e.g., realistic, not idealized. The head alone was enough to constitute a portrait, whereas the Greeks believed the head and body were inseparable parts of an integral whole.

Romans sometimes put veristic heads on bodies to which they could not actually belong.

Portrait of a Roman General

Tivoli, Italy

ca. 75 - 50 B.C.E.marble6 ft. 2 in. high

Romans sometimes put veristic heads on bodies to which they could not actually belong.Veristic portraits of elderly patricians are most typical of Republican Rome

Dinarius with Portrait of Julius Caesar44 B.C.E.silver3/4 in.

Why is this portrait of Julius Ceasar “breaking the rules”?

Portraits on Roman coins replaced mythological figures and spread the ruler's fame, but did not appear on idealized bodies

POMPEII AND THE CITIES OF VESUVIUSAmphitheater

“Double theater,” a continuous elliptical cavea, resembling two Greek theaters put together. Supported by concrete.

Atrium The large central reception room in a Roman house.

Basilica A civic building that housed the law court and other offices. Rectangular in plan with a central nave, flanked by two aisles.

Cubiculum Bedroom.

Forum Public square, usually located in a city’s center at the intersection of the main east/west and north/south avenues.

Impluvium The basin that catches rainwater that falls through an opening in the atrium roof.

Peristyle garden A courtyard-type garden in a Roman house walled by colonnades on all sides; separate from the atrium.

Triclinium Dining room.

Romans used the basilica for…. civic administration

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 BCE enabled modern scholars to learn so much about life in a Roman town

AmphitheaterPompeii, Italyca. 80 B.C.E.

First Style wall paintingfauces of the Samnite House, Herculaneum, Italylate 2nd century B.C.E.fresco

Painting styles found in Pompeii and Rome: 1st Style

Stucco relief designs painted to resemble costly marble panels.

2nd Style

Painters aimed to dissolve a room’s confining walls and replace them with the illusion of an imaginary three-dimensional world, either confined to the surface (early style) or extending beyond it (mature style).

3rd Style

A return to surface decoration, with delicate linear patterns and fantasies sketched onto mostly monochromatic backgrounds.

4th Style

Illusionism returns with landscapes (this time framed or otherwise bordered) and architectural elements, painted on a white ground.

The first Roman painting style is also known as the masonry style.

Dionysiac mystery friezeRoom 5, Pompeii, Italyca. 60-50 B.C.E.frescofrieze approximately 64 in. high

2nd Style

Painters aimed to dissolve a room’s confining walls and replace them with the illusion of an imaginary three-dimensional world.

Pompeian wall paintings of the second style are characterized by the wall seemingly opening up into illusionistic scenes

Cubiculum (bedroom)from the villa of P. Fannius SynistorBoscoreale, Italyca. 40-30 B.C.E.fresco

Three pictorial devices used by Roman painters to suggest depth.

One-point perspective

The illusion of a shallow ledge (painted flat on the wall) for figures to stand on.

Painted doors and gates that invite the viewer to step through them to the painted world beyond.

Gardenscape

from the Villa of Livia, Primaporta, Italy

ca. 30-20 B.C.E.fresco approximately 79 in. high

Wall painting, third style

Third style Roman painting featured fantastic linear architecture.

Wall painting, fourth stylePompeian wall paintings of the fourth Roman style of painting are characterized by architectural illusionism

still life with peaches

Detail of 4th style wall paintingfrom Herculaneum, Italy

ca. 62-79 C.E.fresco approximately 1 ft. 2 in. x 1 ft. 1 1/2 in.

FaucesFoyer

AtriumCourtyard reception room

ImpluviumThe basin used to collect rain below the skylight in the atrium.

CubiculumBedroom

TabliniumHome office

TricliniumDining room

Peristyle Garden

The poor lived in multistory apartment buildings of brick-faced concrete and glass windows. There were shops on the ground floor and up to four floors of apartments above. They had only narrow light wells and courtyards on the interior of the building. Only deluxe apartments had private toilets; others used communal latrines.

Imperial Roman ArtEarly EmpireColosseum

A massive concrete amphitheatre erected by Vespasian ca. 70-80 CE. It was built on land Nero had confiscated for his private use. The Colosseum could hold 50,000 spectators and showcased gladiator fights, naval battles, and other spectacles.

Pont-du-Gard

An aqueduct bridge, comprised of three rows of arches, providing 100 gallons of water a day to Nimes, France, from a source 30 miles away.

Rusticated masonry

Roughened surfaces and beveled edges of stone blocks. Used to contrast with precisely-carved blocks in the Greek style.

You most likely to find an exedra at a forum In architecture, an exedra is a semicircular recess or plinth, often crowned by a semi-dome, which is often set into a building's facade. The original Greek sense (a seat out of doors) was applied to a room that opened onto a stoa, ringed with curved high-backed stone benches, a suitable place for a philosophical conversation

The Stadium of Domitian (Stadio di Domiziano) is located on Palatino Hill in ancient Rome. The semicircular structure seen in this photograph is called an Exedra.  It looks out onto the stadium.

Portrait of Augustus as generalfrom Primaporta, Italyca. 20 B.C.E.marble80 in. high

Stylistic sources inspired the Augustus of Primaporta

Classical Greek art, especially Polykleitos’ works.

Political message

He is depicted as a general addressing his troops. The reliefs on his armor advertise a diplomatic victory; the Cupid at his feet indicates divine descent.

Portrait of Augustus as generalfrom Primaporta, Italyca. 20 B.C.E.marble80 in. high

The strongest influence of Greek Classical art can be seen in work done for the Emperor Augustus

Head of Caesar Augustus

ca. 100 C.E.marble with traces of polychrome

Ara Pacis AugustaeRome, Italyca. 13-9 B.C.E.marble63 in. high

PurposeTo celebrate his most important achievement, the establishment of peace in the Roman Empire (the Pax Romana), which was to last two centuries.

Ara Pacis Augustae

Rome, Italy

ca. 13-9 B.C.E.marble63 in. high

Ara Pacis Augustae

Rome, Italy

ca. 13-9 B.C.E.marble63 in. high

Ara Pacis Augustae

Rome, Italy

ca. 13-9 B.C.E.marble63 in. high

Ara Pacis Augustae

Rome, Italy

ca. 13-9 B.C.E.marble63 in. high

Maison CaréeNimes, Franceca. 1-10 C.E.

Erected in France in the Augustan style

Maison Carée

Nimes, France

ca. 1-10 C.E.

Pont-du-GardNimes, Franceca. 16 B.C.E.

Purpose of the Pont-du-GardAn aqueduct to carry water from a source 30 miles away.

Engineering principlesGravity flow; the channels have a continuous gradual decline that runs from the water’s source to the city.

Pont-du-Gard

Nimes, France

ca. 16 B.C.E.

Porta Maggiore, Rome, Italy, ca. 50 CE.

Rustication Rough masonry cutting used to contrast with Greek-style smooth surfaces, creating an exciting and varied appearance.

Nero’s Domus AureaShape

OctagonalMaterial

CementMajor significance

For the first time, architects seem to have thought of walls and vaults as not merely limiting space but shaping it.

Colosseum

Rome, Italy

ca. 70-80 C.E.

The Flavian Amphitheater is also known as The ColosseumCapacity

50,000.Material

Concrete.

The Roman Colosseum was built primarily of concrete

Colosseum

Rome, Italy

ca. 70-80 C.E.

Arch of Titus

Rome, Italy

81 C.E.

Portrait bust of a Flavian woman

from Rome, Italy

ca. 90 C.E.marble25 in. high

Flavian-era artists brought back the veristic tradition, possibly at Vespasian’s specific direction, with the intention of distancing himself from the excesses of Nero.

Portrait of Carcalla

ca. 211-217 C.E.marble14 in. high

The Arch of TitusSubjects depicted in the reliefs on the Arch of Titus:A historical scene of the Spoils of Jerusalem, Titus’ triumphant return from the Jewish Wars.An allegorical scene of Titus in his triumphal chariot being crowned by Victory.

Political significanceThis was the first instance of divine and human figures intermingling in Roman monumental sculpture. However, it was not erected until after the emperor’s death, when he was officially considered a god.

The High EmpireApotheosis Ascent to the heavens, elevated to the rank of the gods.

Apse A recess, usually semicircular, in the wall of a Roman basilica or at the east end of a church.

Basilica A civic building that housed the law court and other offices. Rectangular in plan with a central nave, flanked by two aisles.

Circus Maximus An oblong arena holding a racecourse where the world’s best horse teams competed in chariot races, .

Continuous narration In narrative art, where the same figure appears multiple times in the same space at different stages of the story.

Encaustic painting Painting where the pigment is mixed with wax and applied to a surface while hot.

Equestrian portrait A portrait of a figure on horseback.

InsulaMultistory apartment buildings.

Oculus Circular opening in a dome.

Timgad Plan A square divided into equal quarters by its two main streets which cross at right angles and are bordered by colonnades. The quarters are each divided into square blocks.

APOLLODORUS OF DAMASCUS, model of Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated 112 CE. Museo della Civiltà Romana, Rome

Built by the Emporer Trajan

A forum twice the size of the forum Augustus had built a century earlier.

ArchitectApollodorus of Damascus.

Portrayed on the Column of Trajan was Trajan’s two successful military campaigns against the Dacians.

 TRAJAN'S COLUMN:view from south (through Basilica Ulpia), ca. 113 C.E.

The story is told in more than 150

episodes (carved in low relief) in a

winding, 625-foot long band. The

band increases in width as it

winds up the column, to make it

easier to read as it reaches the

top and is farther from the viewer.

The Emperor Trajan commissioned the column depicting his victories

Pantheon

Rome, Italy

ca. 118-125 C.E.

Pantheon

Rome, Italy

ca. 118-125 C.E.

Pantheon

Rome, Italy

ca. 118-125 C.E.

Coffering in the Pantheon helped lighten the weight of the dome

Pantheon

Rome, Italy

ca. 118-125 C.E.

Hadrian’s Villa Principles that Hadrian’s Villa shares with the 2nd century tomb from Petra

Classical Greek architectural elements are used in a purely ornamental fashion and with a studied disregard for classical rules that is distinctly Roman.

Al-Khazneh

Petra, Jordan

2nd century C.E.

Model of an InsulaOstia, Italy2nd century C.E.

Scenes depicted on funerary plaques were scenes of daily life.

POSEIDON & SEA CREATURES  Ostia Antica, Rome, Italy Type: Floor MosaicContext: Ostia, Baths of Neptune Period: Imperial Roman

True or False Roman black and white mosaics usually appeared on the walls of homes.False Roman black and white mosaics usually appeared on the FLOORS of homes

Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius

from Rome, Italy

ca. 175 C.E.bronze11 ft. 6 in. high

Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius

from Rome, Italy

ca. 175 C.E.bronze11 ft. 6 in. high

A change in burial practices caused sarcophagi to become so popular during the 2nd century.

Romans began to favor burial over cremation, possibly reflecting an interest in Christianity and other eastern religions that conceived of an afterlife for the body.

Themes used to decorate the sarcophagi included Greek mythology, with portraits of the deceased serving as the faces of the Greek heroes and heroines.

Sarcophagus with the myth of Orestes, 140-150 CE,

Mummy portrait

from Faiyum, Egypt

ca. 160-170 C.E.encaustic on wood

The Late Empire

Caladarium

The hot-bath section of a Roman bathing establishment.

Frigidarium

The cold-bath section of a Roman bathing establishment.

Tempera

A technique of painting using pigment mixed with egg yolk, glue, or casein. Also the medium of the paint.

Tepidarium

The warm-bath section of a Roman bathing establishment.

CHARIOT PROCESSION OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, relief from the Arch of Septimius Severus, Lepcis Magna, Libya, 203 CE. Marble, approx. 5' 6" high. Castle Museum, Tripoli.

Late Antique Style The frontality of the emperor and his sons and the “floating” figures of the higher row of figures. These motifs were new to official art but had been present in the lower-class art of freed slaves.

Roman sculpture for freed slaves and commoners is characterized by disregard for the rules of classical art

Reconstructionview from the plunge pool into the frigidarium hall

Roman baths fulfilled Functions, other than sanitary, including;They had landscaped gardens, lecture halls, libraries, exercise courts, and a swimming pool.Groin vaults were used for the frigidarium of the Baths of Caracalla

Portrait Bust of Trajan DeciusCapitolino, Rome249-251 C.E.marble2 ft. 7 in. high

“Soldier Emperors”Trajan Decius’ portrait shows worry and anxiety with deep lines in the forehead and offset eyes, reflecting the out-of-control continuous civil war era of the latter half of the second century.

Trebonianus Gallus is nude as in the Greek tradition, but his physique emphasizes bulk and power over a balance of brain and body, giving it a feeling of brute force.

Asiatic Sarcophagus with kline portrait of a woman

165-170 C.E.marbleapproximately 5 ft. 7 in. high

Sarcophagus of a Philosopher

270-280 C.E.marble4 ft. 11 in. high

Diagram of the Temple of VenusBaalbek, Lebanon

Temple of Venus at Baalbek is the only known example of five-sided Corinthian columns on pentagonal bases.

Portraits of the four tetrarchs

St. Mark’s, Venice

ca. 305 C.E.porphyry51 in. high

Portraits of the four tetrarchsSt. Mark’s, Veniceca. 305 C.E.porphyry51 in. high

Stylistic characteristics of the 4th century portraits of the tetrarchs;

Individual appearances and personalities of the figures are less important than the idea of the tetrarchy itself. They are clad in identical clothing and have very similar faces.

Large cubical heads on squat bodies.

The figures are grouped together and subsumed into a whole; the figure is once again shown in iconic terms and is no longer freed from formal rigidity as seen in Egyptian statues.

Arch of Constantine

Rome, Italy

ca. 312-315 C.E.

Which architectural element is not found on Roman triumphal arches?drum

Arch of Constantine

Rome, Italy

ca. 312-315 C.E.

Declining creativity and skill in sculpture is one possible reason for Constantine’s reuse of 2nd century sculpture on his triumphal arch

An alternative explanation is that the statues were carefully selected to associate Constantine with the “good emperors” of the second century, such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius.

Architectural elements were used to construct Constantine’s Basilica Nova include;Brick-faced concrete walls, coffered barrel vaults, and groin vaults.Features it shared with the Aula Palatina include the austere brick exterior, a relatively simple interior, and large windows.It is different because it has a semicircular apse separated from the main hall by a “triumphant arch,” and it also has boldly projecting buttresses.

True or FalseThe Basilica of Constantine included barrel vaults, groin vaults, and a central dome over an eight-sided room.True False

Portrait of Constantine

from the Basilica Nova, Rome, Italy

ca. 315-330 C.E.marblehead approximately 8 ft. 6 in. high

Basilica Nova reconstruction drawing

Rome, Italy

306-312 C.E.

An apse is a semi-circular recess found in a Roman basilica.

Aula Palatina (Basilica)Trier, Germanyearly 4th century C.E.

Aula Palatina (Basilica)

Trier, Germany

early 4th century C.E.

Aula Palatina (Basilica)

Trier, Germany

early 4th century C.E.

Palace of Diocletian (model)

Split, Croatia

ca. 300 - 305 C.E.

The emperor Diocletian built a large palace/fort at Split in Yugoslavia

Arch of Constantine

Rome, Italy

ca. 312-315 C.E.