ANCIENT ROMAN ARTOsvaldo Bautista

Ancient Roman Art Beginning Historical Significance Of

This Art

Themes Covered In Ancient Roman Art

Comparisons Of Ancient Roman Art With Other Art Styles

Influence

Style

Materials/Subject

Beginning Roman art did not get a start until 500 B.

C. Before this the Romans copied the art of the Etruscans. About 200 B. C. the Romans conquered the Greeks and began copying their art style. During their conquest of Greece, the Romans looted the towns. They brought the art home. They also captured sculptors and brought them to Rome as slaves.

Beginning Cont. Beginning with the Roman Republic the

Romans started making statues that really looked like one particular person. The Romans were far more realistic than the Greeks with their statues. The Greeks tried to build statues to illustrate the "ideal" person. The Romans believed that having a good image of somebody's face kept its ghost happy.

Influence Roman Art was influenced by many things. They

were influenced by some countries that they ruled over, like Greece, Egypt, and Africa. The Romans often mixed the best styles of those cultures. Romans believed in gods and goddesses as their religion. They also were influenced by their emperors. Romans sculpted their masters and leaders.

Style Art and architecture were used to

proclaim an important person’s power. They were signs of the Roman’s power over the lands that they ruled. Roman Art usually showed images of emperors, gods, and goddesses, and common people. The Romans did not have perfect human shapes in their art. In some of their sculptures, they would have people with long noses. The Greeks, who only sculpted perfect human bodies, would never have done that.

Style Cont. Romans had four styles of optical illusion

paintings that tricked the eye. The first style was when they painted walls to look like they were made of marble or copies of Greek styles of decoration. A second style was when they painted realistic looking scenes that looked like views through the window. The third style was less realistic, but delicate looking images. The fourth method of tricking the eye was a combination of the second and third styles

Materials/Subject The Romans made paint brushes, and

paint out of many natural materials. Paint brushes were made from twigs, wood, reeds, or rushes. Shaped wood or ivory was used for writing. Paints were made from ground rocks and powdered plants. Red and yellow came from ochre. White came from chalk. Green came from green soil, and black was from soot. Blue was a mixture of copper and glass. But purple was made from a special seashell.

Historical Significance Of This Art

Paintings from Ancient Rome have served as historical artifacts and much of present-day knowledge of the period and region depends on the visual art dating back to the time. Artwork from Herculaneum and Pompeii has served as a window into the past. the Pompeian Mural Painting is a fine

Themes Covered In Ancient Roman Art

Paintings and other forms of art emanating from ancient Rome display a variety of popular themes. These include portraits, everyday life and happenings, animals, mythological events and subjects, landscapes, depiction of scenes and so on. Several themes are trademarks of the different periods of Roman Art through history. For example, in the Hellenistic period one of the most common themes was the countryside vista complete with representations of mountainous countryside, small houses, temples, herds and shepherds. During the latter period, post 200 AD, several nascent Christian themes began to make their way into Roman art.

Still life was a popular stylistic theme for the Romans. The subjects for these themes were arranged in special shelves that lent a sense of illusion to the final artwork. The subjects of still life paintings ranged from water jars and shells, to fruits and food items.

Genre scenes were a popular theme, especially in paintings that were created during this era. These paintings typically reflected the people of the Roman Empire engaging in various activities of leisure and recreation. Romans enjoying music, engaging in sexual activity and gambling are some common, recurrent themes. Under the same category, paintings of goddesses and gods enjoying leisurely time were also a popular subject.

Artwork based on themes of triumph and victory was also a trademark of this period. Frescos of the Roman military reentering the city gates after a victorious battle or conquest, scenes depicting might, bravery and triumph at war, and scenes of conquered territories are traced back to the period.

Comparisons Of Ancient Roman Art With Other Art Styles

Ancient Roman Art has often been compared with other art styles through the ages, having said to have been inspired by and in turn, inspired many, styles of art form through the ages. When drawing comparisons, a conventional standpoint is that Ancient Roman Art has much in common from earlier forms of Greek art. It has often been said that Roman art has borrowed a majority of its inspirations from earlier Greek art