Art Section 2

During what time period did technological advances help determine the shape and color of human cultures?

early modern era

What are the 4 major Roman architectural structures

Roman Forum’s evocative ruins

• Triumphal arches of Titus

• Triumphal arches of Septimius Severus

• Elliptical Colosseum

Roman concrete

Opus caementicium

• Broken stone

• Sand

• Lime mortar

• Water

Upon the death of Emperor Trajan, Rome was the capital of a government that ruled territories on how many continents

3, in Europe, North Africa, and West Asia

• Built structures to glorify emperors

• Built roads, bridges, aqueducts

Where was concrete invented

Ancient Near East but the Romans were the first to utilize the material on a widespread scale

How did the Romans make concrete

• Poured concrete into wood frames, and left it to harden

• The exterior-facing sides of these coarse surfaces were then often covered in stucco or marble revetment (facing)

How was concrete initially used by the Romans?

As filler between walls

Pozzolana concrete

Adding pozzolana sand to mortar, architects discovered a material of enhanced and remarkable durability that could even cure, or set, under water

• Used the material from the 2nd century CE onward

What were the advantages of concrete

Strong and durable

• Relatively inexpensive

• Convenient to mix on site during construction

• Worked by unskilled laborers

• Adaptable - could weld materials into unique shapes

What other architectural techniques did the Roman invent besides concrete

Arch, vault, and dome (which has been used previously in the ancient Near East and Etruria)

Ashlar masonry

Also called cut-stone construction

• Used to build barrel vaults

• If a single block of cut-stone vault were to come loose, the whole vault could collapse

• Most of the vaults were dark and shadowed because they could be illuminated only by light entering at either end of the vault’s tunnel

Concrete barrel vaults

Were able to place windows at any point along the wall, this allowing for much better lighting

• Once the concrete hardened, the structural integrity of the vault wasn’t impacted by any openings within it

• Also fireproof

Earthquake prone environments

Example is the Italian peninsula

• The internal constructions within walls and domes that came with concrete construction created stabilizing layers within the building’s larger mass

• These layers enabled the concrete portions of buildings to shift slightly with the movements of the earth, making brick and concrete constructions more flexible and thus more stable

Approximately how old are the Roman structures today?

Over 2,000 years old

What was the Pantheon initially built as

A temple

The Pantheon was built during the reign of which Emperor

Emperor Hadrian

Which 5 planetary gods were known in the second century and thus dedicated to in the Pantheon?

Mercury

• Venus

• Mars

• Jupiter

• Saturn

Based on the Hellenistic concept, what was the intended function of the Pantheon

Function as a temple for all gods

• Derived from the Greek words pan, meaning all and theos, meaning gods

When was the Pantheon converted into a church

Early 7th century

Until when was the Pantheon the largest dome in the word

The 16th century

What is the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome

The Pantheon

How did the layers of the cylindrical dome of the Pantheon change from the bottom to top?

• Heavy basalt and travertine stone went in the mixture for the bottommost foundations

• Tufa and brick

• Featherweight pumice replaced solid stones within concrete

• Thickness decreases going up

What is the diameter of the oculus

27 feet

Oculus

Means eye in Latin

Use of coffers

Square sunken decorative panels on the dome

• Also lessens the dome’s weight without corrupting its structural integrity

In Roman times, where did the Pantheon stand

At the south end of a long rectangular court

Process of entry into the Pantheon

Enter at the opposite end of the space, moving first through the tight confines of a narrow colonnaded entry before stepping through to the wide-open space of the court to see the Pantheon framed on the opposite end by the court’s remaining 3 sides of continuous porticoes

What function do the porticoes in the Pantheon serve?

These porticoes extended on the south up to the sides of the temple’s pedimented porch, hiding the temple’s circular drum form view

What colors are the granite columns surrounding the Pantheon

Gray and pink

Pantheon temple front compared to Greek architecture

Unremarkbale and even common in its architectural plan, a copy of the then-standard Greek temple

How many niches punctuate the rotunda of the Pantheon

7 large ones

Each of the different niches in the rotunda of the Pantheon resembled what

A different deity

What columns supported the niches in the rotunda of the Pantheon

Corinthian

What do the Corinthian columns support in the rotunda of the Pantheon

Alternating triangular and rounded pediments

Colored slabs of marble decorate the interior surface and the floor with what patterns

Circles and squares

What diety does the oculus represent

The eye of Jupiter

• The extreme celestial deity ruling over Roman peoples

What are the measurements of the Pantheon’s dome

Precisely the same in height and diameter

• Based on the intersection of 2 circles, one horizontal and one vertical

What is the Pantheon dome supposed to represent

Eternity and perfection, a relfection of the heavens the space was made to honor

How were the coffers decorated in the Pantheon

Painted deep blue and decorated with bronze rosettes

• Evokes the image of stars strewn across the night sky and underlining its emulation of the dome of heaven

With the Pantheon focusing on circular shapes, what is there an absence of

Vertical sight lines

How does the dome of the Pantheon emulate the heavens other than its starry design?

It seems to be in perpetual motion, spinning similar to the heavans

How did Hadrian take advantage of the temple’s authoritative connection to the heavens

It was his favorite spot to hold court

• Could reinforce his own position of power over foreign emissaries, politicians, and everyday citizens

What did Ancient Egyptians think about death

Beginning of their journey into eternal life

What is the land of the dead

Kingdom of Osiris

What was preserved along with the body in the mummification process?

Their earthly posessions

What is another word for elaborately deocrated coffins

Sarcophagi

What would serve as an substitute if the physical body didn’t last

A portrait

• Believed to function as a container that could preserve the dead’s ka or soul, which was believed to enter the surrogate of the portrait before journeying to the next world

How long did the process of embalming corpses take

72 days

Process of mummification

Removal of internal organs that might rapidly decay, except for the heart (which was the seat of understanding)

• packed in natron

• Corpse was washed

• Corpse was treated with oils and ointments

• Corpse was wrapped with up to 20 layers of linen

• filled sunken areas

• The organs were embalmed, placed in special boxes or jars called canopic jars

What is natron made of and what purpose does it serve?

sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate found in Egypt - dehydrated the cadaver and dissolved its body fats

What parts are placed in canopic jars?

Stomach, liver, lungs, intestines

How was a mummy made more realistic?

sunken areas of the body were filled out with linen and other materials, and false eyes were added

What did Egyptian artwork look like before Roman conquest?

stylized masks

Following the Roman conquest and colonization of Egypt in 30 BCE, what did the new style become

Painted portraits in a more naturalistic style

What were portraits painted in for mummy cases

Encaustic

Encaustic

Technique where an artist mixes colored pigments with wax (usually beeswax) and then applied the material to a smooth surface

Where is the best evidence for encaustic come from

The region of Fayum

• Mummified bodies routinely incorporated encaustic portraits on wood panels

Where are Fayum portraits located today?

Hundreds located around the world

Fayum portraits represented what kind of change in art in Ancient Egypt

Roman portrait traditions prioritizing realism and lifelikeness were overtaking older forms of stylized representations

What is a contemporary of Fayum portraits

The Gospels of the New Testament

What are encaustic panels painted on

Linden wood

When are Fayum portraits painted?

While the sitter is still alive, and then later cut to fit the coffin after the sitter’s death

Portraits are drawn for the profressional urban middle class including what

Teachers

• Soldiers

• Athletes

• Serapis priests

• Merchanges

• Florists

What are some of the Egyptian names that have come down to us

Aline

• Flavian

• Isarous

• Claudine

Portrait of a Young Women in Red

Background of the panel would have been gilded with sparking gold foil, suggesting the illusion of pulsating life

• Long lashes framing eyes that twinkle with white highlights, she seems to stare into the future (eternal life)

What is special about Mummy with an Inserted Panel?

It is a Fayum portrait that remains intact on the mummy case

Where is Mummy with an Inserted Panel Portrait of a Youth held

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

What does a moustache mean in Roman Egypt

Suggesting of a person’s youth

• Indicator of a young man’s coming to age into important social groups as well as evidence that he was in the prime of his sexual attractiveness and vigor

How did Fayum panel portraits serve as a double pictorial function

Identifying pictures, made to distinguish the dead on their journey with Anubis, the death god, to the Kingdom of Osiris

• Served as mementoes of the departed for the grieving family - because the embalming took 72 days, it would hang at home, and even after the mummy was prepared it would still be kept in the home for a period of time

How would you produce a mummy portrait in encaustic

Sketch the outlines of the face and garment on a wood panel with a special transparent glue or dark wax

• Mixture of beeswax and powdered pigments, called encaustic was applied

• In a liquid state, the wax was laid on quickly with a paint brush

For encaustic, the thinner mixture was used for what

The background and the garments

For encaustic, the thicker, creamy, paste-like paints were used for what

Facial features

The Fayum portraits are a hybrid form between what 2 traditions

Roman and Egyptian visual traditions

What was the immediacy of Fayum mummy portraits

Luminous eyes that gaze intently out of faces modeled wth highlights and shadow, ornamented with glittering gold leaf

What does the immediacy of Fayum mummy portraits contrast with

Cool precision of most pharaonic images

How long did the Greek (Macedonian dynasty) rule over Egypt

300 years

How long did the Romans rule over Egypt

Over a century

What was the population at the time of Mummy with an Inserted Panel Portrait of a Youth

Consisted of Roman citizens

• Citizens of Greek cities such as Alexandria (made up of many different ethnicities)

• Native Egyptians

The subjects of the mummy portraits were dressed and coiffed like whom

Romans

The subjects of the mummy portraits bore what names

Greek, or names that were Greek versions of Egyptians names

What is the Gothic era characterized by?

Era of peace

• Widespread economic prosperity

• Deep spirituality

• Extraordinary technological innovation

Which regions was Gothic developed in

Ile-de-France

• Or opus francigenum (French work)

• Or opus modernum (modern work)

What were gothic cathedrals viewed as?

Stone and glass images of heaven, the very cities of god

What technological innovation was present for war during the Gothic development

Cannon and iron crossbow designs, allowing kings to conquer more territory

Who helped administer the territory gathered by kings?

Vassals, who gathered taxes to support the armies and navies

What standards did Gothic work emerge from?

Romanesque

When was the Gothic style prevalent

During the High and Late Middle Ages

• Late 12 century to the 16th century

Who coined the term Gothic?

Renaissance-era artist and biographer Giorgio Vasari

Where did Vasari use the term Gothic?

In his 1550 Introduction to the Three Arts of Design

How does Gothic architecture differ from Romanesque

Romanesque architecture used Roman-style curved arches

• Gothic architecture developed pointed arches in their vault designs

What is a major advantage of Gothic architecture

Pointed arches channel the weight of soaring vaults more directly downward compared to semicircular arches, meaning the vaults requires less buttresssing to hold them in place

• Create thinner walls with more and larger window openings

• Also make the vaults appear taller

What landmark first used the flying buttress

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris

Which architect worked out the flying buttress in The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris

Anonymous

What other architectural techniques were used in the construction of The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris

Along with external flying buttresses, it also used rib vaults and pointed arches. This allowed walls to open up for stained glass

Who wrote about the process in making stained glass

The monk Theophilus Presbyter

What handbook of Presbyter did he wrote in about the process of making stained glass

12th century handbook “De diversis artibus”

What were the materials to making stained glass

Molten mixture of silica (sand)

• Potash (to lower the boiling temperature)

• Lime (stabilizer)

• Metal oxides (color)

What color was cobalt oxide

Blue

What color was copper oxide

Red

What color was manganese oxide

Purple