Roman Art and Architecture

Republic

509- 27 BCE

Roman Art – Key Ideas

• Roman art reflects the ambitions of a powerful empire-monumental buildings and sculptures reflect the glory of the gods and the state.

• Roman architecture is revolutionary in its understanding of the powers of the arch, the vault, understanding of the powers of the arch, the vault, and concrete.

• A history of Roman painting survives on the walls of Pompeiian villas

• Roman sculpture is greatly indebted to Greek models

Roman Art

• The Romans valued Greek cultural riches and imported their sculpture, pottery, and jewelry to adorn the capital.

• A general movement took hold to reproduce Greek art by establishing workshops that did little more art by establishing workshops that did little more than make copies of Greek sculpture.

• The single most important archaeological site in the Roman world is the city of Pompeii, which was buried by volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. We know more about daily life in ancient Rome than we know about any other civilization in history

Roman History

• Monarch (753-509 BCE)

• Republic (509-27 BCE)

• Early Empire (27 BCE – 96 CE)

• High Empire (96 – 192 CE)

• Late Empire ( 193-337 CE)

Partial model of the city of Rome during 4 th c. CE

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7-3: Temple of “Fortuna Virilis”

from Rome, Italy

c. 75 B.C.E.

Temple Of “Fortuna Virilis”

Engaged columnsPseudoperipteral

Pseudoperipteral-temple with a series of engage columns all around the sides and back of the cella to give the appearance of a peripteral colonnade.

7-4: Temple of “the Sibyl” or of “Vesta”, Tivoli, ItalyEarly first century BCE

Tholos Temple – round temple

7-5: Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia

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PrimigeniaPalestrina, Italy, late second century BCE

7-6: VAULTS

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Fenestrated sequence of groin vaults

Groin

Groin

Bay

Head of a Roman patrician from Otricoli

Verism - superrealistic

7-7: Man with portrait busts of his ancestorsLate first century BCE, 5’5”, Marble

Similar

7-9: Portrait of a Roman generalc. 75-50 BCE, Marble, 6’2”

7-11: Sculpture created for freed slaves, the Gessi ic. 30 BCE, Marble, 2’1”

SimilarSuperrealism - verism

Denarius with portrait of Julius CaesarSimilar

Aerial view of the forum

Pompeii –Buried alive

Forum

Temple

Basilica

7-13: Amphitheater, Pompeii, Italy, c. 70 BCEAmphitheater means

“double theater”

7-14: Brawl in the Pompeii amphitheater

Velarium(awning)

Externaldouble

Cavea: seating area

double staircase

Typical Pompeian house

Atriums

Cubicula

Peristyle

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7-16: House of the VettiSecond century BCE

House of the Silver Wedding

Impluvium

AtriumFauces (foyer)

Tablinum (home office)

Triclinium (kitchen)

7-17: FIRST STYLE (or Masonry Style) ROMAN WALL PAI NTINGLate second century BCE Cue Card

Masonry style that imitates the appearance of expen sive marble panels placed on wall surface using painted stucco relief. Each panel is outlined with stucco. The cornices are also modeled in stucco.

SECOND STYLECue Card

Dionysiac mystery frieze

Visual Platform

7-19: Cubiculum (bedroom)

from the villa of P. Fannius SynistorBoscoreale, Italy

c. 40-30 B.C.E.fresco

recreates and extends reality

SECOND STYLE wall painting

Second style of Roman wall painting –visually extends the space of the room beyond the walls. Utilizes single-point linear perspective. Presents a narrative.

Single-pointperspective

Linear perspective: all the receding lines in a composition converge on a single point along the paintings central axis to show depth and distance

ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE DEFINITION

Same Picture

Simple definition: as colors go into the distance, two things happen. First, they become cooler (the atmosphere colors them), and the y get lighter in value. A dark shadow in the distance is never as dark as the shadow at your feet. (Also known as aerial perspective.)

Without Atmospheric Perspective With Atmospheric Perspective

Atmospheric Perspective – 2nd Example

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7-20: Gardenscape

from the Villa of Livia, Primaporta, Italy

c. 30-20 B.C.E.fresco , 6’7” high

Atmospheric Perspective Indicating depth by the increasingly blurred appearance of objects in the distance

THIRD STYLE Roman Wall Painting (Ornate Style) - pictorial illusion is confined to "framed" images, where even the "framing" is painted on. The overall appearance is flat rather than a 3-d illusion of space. Predominantly monochrome backgrounds.

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Ixion Room

FOURTH STYLE Roman Wall Painting

Domus Aurea (GoldenHouse) of Nero

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(AKA Intricate Style) confines full 3-dimensional i llusion to the "framed images," which are placed like pictures in an exhibition. The images do not relate to one another nor do they present a narrative, as in the Second Style. Also characterized by the open vistas and the use of aerial perspectiv e, as well as the elaborate architectural framing. Irrational fantasies, crow ded and confused compositions, and sometimes garish color combinations.

House) of Nero

7-25: Portrait of a husband and wife, Pompeii, Italy ,c. 70-79 CE, fresco, 1’11 x 1’8”

Still-life Painting:The representation ofinanimate objects, artfully arranged

7-26: Still Life with Peaches

Detail of 4th style wall paintingfrom Herculaneum, Italy

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