Rome Art History Review

Republican Sculpture

Republican Sculpture

Very veristic, with a focus on individuality

• Verism: extreme truthfulness of depiction (warts and all)

• Culture that heavily valued age

Imperial Sculpture

Idealism, belief that the emperor could become a God

• Heavy with propaganda

• Idealized youth and power

Parthian Standards

Roman art is to show Roman enemies (foes) in a submissive, losing light

Arches

Made of voussoirs (wedges of brick, compressive forces hold them together) and a keystone in the center

Barrel / Tunnel Vault

Groin Vault

Revetment

Decorations used to cover concrete

Coffers

Squares in architecture

Basilica Ulpia

Roman Church with intricate interior designs, was the building prior to Old St. Peters prior to rennovations.

• Was later renovated because in the 4th century, Christians gained more followers and thus had to grow their faith

Nave

The central part of a Church

Apse

A semicircular or polygonal recess, serving as an altar (such as in the Old St. Peters)

Roman Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors, 1st Century BCE

Republican Era

Romans deeply worshipped their ancestors, which is reflected in keeping busts of their ancestors

Shows verism in that we see age, wrinkles and all, on all 3 heads, because it symbolized experience

Augustus of Primaporta, c. 20 BCE

Imperial Era

Very closely intertwined with propaganda and politics, such as the imagery on his breastplate to communicate the ideology of him being the first emperor of the Roman Empire

Shows him in contrapposto, pointing to an audience; inspired and modeled after Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

Cupid & Dolphin on his bottom left symbolize naval victory, and how Augustus ascended from the Gods

The Pantheon, Rome, 118-125 CE

Made from primarily concrete, features a dome with an oculus (window with a hole at the top) and an exterior similar to that of the Parthenon

Corinthian inspiration in the columns, made of solid concrete (no drums used to build them)

Geometrically perfect in shape due to the perfect sphere in the center

Dura Europos Synagogue, Syria, 244-245 CE

Primarily a temple of worship

Hebrew bible drawings all over the walls of names and figures, such as Samuel anointing David, painted torah niche

• Shown wearing purple (royal)

  • May suggest his importance despite not being a royal, shows Roman language and influence even in Jewish painting (style = Roman, content = Jewish)

The Arch of Constantine, c. 315 CE

Triumphal monument created to dedicate the emperor Constantine the Great

3 arches that holds the monuments of other “good emperors”, containing the “spoila” (spoils) of the city and sculpturala panels on the interior and exterior

Largest arch in Rome

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, c. 359 CE

Stone coffin, carved with 10 scenes from the Bible, primarily made of marble

• Garden of Eden, Christ entering Jerusalem, etc.

It has revetment to cover concrete areas given that it is carved in a decorative style

Old St. Peter’s, Rome, c. 319 CE

Many symbolic appropriations from the Basilica Ulpia (106-113 CE), which was the original building before it

• Later renovated and repurposed for Christian purposes

Only had one entryway, more attention is drawn towards the altar (apse)

Hagia Sophia, Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus, Constantinople (Istanbul), 532-537

Justinian’s private church, built for himself but later converted to a mosque when the Ottomans invaded Constantinople

• Arabic calligraphy and other iconography present because of it

  • Iconography = the visual images and symbols used in a work of art

  • Iconoclasm = the loss of iconography and symbolism in art

6th century original

Roman inspiration from the Pantheon with a dramatic dome in the center but with windows at its base

Mosaic of Justinian from San Vitale, c. 547

Covers the walls and arches with worldly colors (purple, teal, burgundy, gold) that are not found in nature, with luminescense being given off of them when light hits them

Justinian is in purple, given that it represents royalty, and shows a hierarchic state with him in the center

Bodies are undiscernable under robes, with Roman drapery and non-naturalistic faces and identical features for all faces