Ap Art History Unit 2

White Temple and its Ziggurat

Dates: c. 3517-3358 B.C.E.

Places: Asia / West Asia / Iraq

Period, Culture, Style: Ancient West Asian / Sumerian

Artwork Type: Architecture / Temple

Material: Plaster, Mud-Brick

Fun Fact: The heart of the theocratic political system (a theocracy is a type of government where a god is recognized as the ruler, and the state officials operate on the god's behalf).

Palette of King Narmer

Dates: c. 3000-2920 B.C.E.

Places: Africa / North Africa / Egypt

Period, Culture, Style: Ancient Mediterranean / Ancient Egyptian / Predynastic

Artwork Type: Sculpture / Relief sculpture

Material: Slate

Technique: Carving

Fun Fact: The king is represented twice in human form, once on each face, followed by his sandal-bearer. He may also be represented as a powerful bull, destroying a walled city with his massive horns.

Statues of Votive Figures

Title: Votive Figures from the Square Temple at Eshnunna

Date: c. 2700 BCE

Culture: Sumerian

Material: Gypsum, Limestone, Bitumen, Shell

Location: Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar, Iraq)

Size: Varies (largest ~30 inches tall)

Current Location: Iraq Museum, Baghdad

Artwork Type: Sculpture

Form:

Carved gypsum figures with stylized, simplified bodies

Inlaid eyes of shell and black limestone; exaggerated, wide-open eyes

Cylindrical bodies with clasped hands; geometric and symmetrical features

Content:

Men and women depicted with attentive, eternal gaze upward toward the gods

Hands folded in prayer, some holding small cups or offerings

Seated Scribe

Date: c. 2620-2500 BCE

Culture: Old Kingdom, Fourth Dynasty (Egyptian)

Medium: Painted limestone with inlaid eyes (rock crystal, magnesite, copper/arsenic)

Location: Saqqara, Egypt

Size: 53.7 cm (21 in) high

Current Location: Musée du Louvre, Paris

Form:

Naturalistic face and body compared to idealized pharaoh figures

Content:

Middle-aged male, slightly overweight — a sign of wealth and a life of comfort

Standard of Ur from the Royal Tombs at Ur

Title: Standard of Ur

Date: c. 2600-2400 BCE

Culture: Sumerian

Medium: Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone

Location Found: Royal Tombs of Ur, Iraq

Artwork Type: Mosaic

Form:

Rectangular wooden box (original function uncertain)

Mosaic panels on each side, one showing "War" and the other "Peace"

The Great Pyramids of Giza

Title: Great Pyramids of Giza (Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Khafre, Pyramid of Menkaure)

Date: c. 2550-2490 BCE (Old Kingdom, Fourth Dynasty)

Culture: Ancient Egyptian

Medium: Limestone and granite

Location: Giza Plateau, Egypt

Artwork Type: Architecture

Function:

Served as monumental tombs for pharaohs (Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure)

King Menkaura and Queen

Title: King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and Queen

Date: 2490-2472 BCE (Old Kingdom, 4th Dynasty)

Material: Greywacke (a type of hard stone)/Sandstone

Dimensions: Approximately 142 cm high

Location: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Technique: Carving

Context:

Part of the funerary practices meant to ensure the king's eternal life.

Content:

Queen is shown slightly behind and to the side, embracing the king with one arm.

Code of Hammurabi

Title: Code of Hammurabi

Date: c. 1792-1750 BCE (Babylonian, Old Babylonian Period)

Material: Diorite stele/ basalt

Dimensions: Approximately 7 feet tall

Location: Louvre Museum, Paris

Artwork Type: Sculpture / Relief sculpture / Manuscript

Technique: Carving

Context:

One of the earliest known sets of written laws, showing the rise of centralized legal authority.

What is the date of the Temple of Amun-Re and Hypostyle Hall?

New Kingdom, around 1290-1224 BCE (Ramesses II era)

What culture is associated with the Temple of Amun-Re and Hypostyle Hall?

Ancient Egyptian, New Kingdom, specifically Theban/Karnak complex

What materials were used in the construction of the Temple of Amun-Re?

Cut sandstone and mudbrick (columns of sandstone, walls carved and painted)

Where is the Temple of Amun-Re located?

Karnak, near Luxor, Egypt

What is the form of the Temple of Amun-Re?

Monumental temple complex with pylons, courtyards, and the famous Hypostyle Hall

What features characterize the Hypostyle Hall?

Massive sandstone columns—24 of them reach ~21 m and are tightly spaced with screened light effects

What decorations are found on the columns of the Hypostyle Hall?

Columns are decorated with carved and painted hieroglyphs and relief imagery of religious and royal iconography

What was the primary function of the Temple of Amun-Re?

Served as a primary place of worship, state rituals, and pilgrimage during the Opet Festival and other religious ceremonies

Who is the architect attributed to the Mortuary Temple and Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut?

Senenmut

During which period was the Mortuary Temple and Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut built?

New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty

What is the medium used for the Mortuary Temple and Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut?

Sandstone, partially carved into cliff

Where is the Mortuary Temple and Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut located?

Near Luxor, Egypt

For whom was the Mortuary Temple built?

Hatshepsut, one of the few female pharaohs

What does the Mortuary Temple demonstrate about Hatshepsut?

Her political power, divine legitimacy, and relationship with gods

What was the primary function of the Mortuary Temple?

Served as Hatshepsut's funerary temple, site of rituals, offerings, and commemoration

During which period was 'Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters' created?

New Kingdom (Amarna Period)

What is the medium of 'Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters'?

Limestone relief

Where is 'Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters' located?

Amarna, Egypt

What scene is depicted in 'Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters'?

An intimate family scene of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their daughters under the rays of Aten.

What do Aten's rays end in within the artwork 'Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters'?

Hands offering ankh (life) to the royal family.

What are some exaggerated features of the figures in 'Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters'?

Elongated heads, protruding stomachs, thin arms.

How does 'Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters' differ from traditional Egyptian art?

It shows a departure from traditional rigid formality and emphasizes intimacy.

What technique is used in 'Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters'?

Sunken relief technique.

How is the depiction in 'Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Three Daughters' characterized?

Curvilinear, elongated, and naturalistic compared to earlier Egyptian art.

Tutankhamun's Tomb, innermost coffin

Identifiers:

Artist: Unknown

Date: c. 1323 BCE

Period: New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty

Medium: Gold with inlay of enamel and semiprecious stones

Location: Valley of the Kings, Egypt

Context:

Tutankhamun (boy king, died ~age 18) restored traditional religion after Akhenaten's Amarna reforms.

Reflects Egyptian belief in afterlife and importance of preserving the body for eternity.

Function:

Served as sarcophagus to protect Tutankhamun's mummified body.

What is the title of the artwork that depicts Hu-Nefer's judgment?

Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer

What is the medium of the Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer?

Painted papyrus scroll

In what period was the Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer created?

New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty

Where was the Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer found?

Thebes, Egypt

What is Hu-Nefer's heart weighed against during the judgment?

Ma'at's feather

What creature waits for Hu-Nefer if he fails the judgment?

Ammit (crocodile/lion/hippo monster)

What does the Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer reflect about Egyptian beliefs?

Moral order, divine justice, and the journey to eternal life

What is the function of the Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer?

To guide Hu-Nefer through the afterlife

What artistic technique is used in the depiction of human figures in the Last Judgment of Hu-Nefer?

Composite view of the human body (frontal eyes, profile heads)

Lamassu from the citadel of Sargon II

Identifiers:

Date: c. 720-705 BCE

Period: Neo-Assyrian

Medium: Alabaster (monolithic stone)

Location: Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad, Iraq)

Content:

Human-headed winged bulls (lamassu).

Five legs (so they appear standing firm from the front, striding from the side).

Stylized beard, detailed wings, horned headdress.

Context:

Guarded the gates of Sargon II's citadel.

Embodied Assyrian kingship: intelligence (human head), strength (bull body), swiftness (wings).

Form:

Monumental relief sculptures carved from single stone blocks.

Combination of naturalism (musculature, feathers) and stylization (patterned beard, ornament).

Composite form combining animal and human features.

Function:

Protective guardians of palace entrances.

Demonstrated king's power and divine protection.

Intimidated visitors and enemies.

Athenian Agora

Identifiers:

Date: 600 BCE-150 CE (Archaic through Hellenistic periods)

Period: Archaic-Hellenistic Greek

Medium: Plan (marble, stone, open space with buildings)

Location: Athens, Greece

Content:

Open central space surrounded by buildings: stoas (covered walkways), temples, administrative buildings, marketplace.

Key structures: Bouleuterion (council house), Tholos (round building for executive council), Temple of Hephaestus.

Paths and monuments for civic and religious activity.

Context:

Political, commercial, and social heart of Athens.

Form:

Irregular layout that evolved over centuries.

Mixture of functional buildings (stoas, administrative halls) and sacred temples.

Open-air plan designed for assembly and interaction.

Function:

Civic and political center of Athens, birthplace of democracy.

Served as marketplace, religious site, and location for public debate.

Symbol of Athenian identity and communal life.

Anavysos Kouros

Identifiers:

Date: c. 530 BCE

Period: Archaic Greek

Medium: Marble

Location: Anavysos, Greece

Content:

Nude male youth standing in a rigid, frontal pose with left foot forward.

Archaic smile on face; idealized muscular body.

Grave marker for fallen warriors (funerary context).

Context:

Represents the idealized male form in Archaic Greece.

Functioned as a grave marker honoring a young man who died in battle.

Reflects Greek cultural emphasis on heroism, physical perfection, and commemoration.

Form:

Marble sculpture with frontal symmetry.

Stylized hair and geometric features; rigid stance typical of Archaic kouroi.

Archaic smile suggests life and well-being.

Function:

Funerary monument commemorating a fallen warrior.

Demonstrated idealized youth and physical perfection.

Served religious and cultural purposes in honoring the dead.

Peplos Kore from the Acropolis

Identifiers:

Date: c. 530 BCE

Period: Archaic Greek

Material: Marble, painted details (traces of color remain)

Location: Acropolis, Athens (now in the Acropolis Museum, Athens)

Content:

A clothed young maiden (kore).

Originally brightly painted, holding an offering (left arm now broken).

Wears a peplos (simple garment) but scholars debate if it could actually represent a goddess in more elaborate dress.

Context:

Votive statue dedicated on the Acropolis.

Kore figures often given to Athena as gifts, emphasizing devotion and piety.

Female figures in this period are always clothed (unlike nude male kouroi).

Function:

Votive offering to the goddess Athena.

May have represented either an idealized young woman or a goddess (possibly Artemis).

Form:

Stiff, upright pose.

Stylized hair and the Archaic smile.

Traces of vibrant paint show Greek statues were not originally pure white.

Arms extended forward (engaged with the viewer).

Sarcophagus of the Spouses

Identifier:

Date: c. 520 BCE

Culture: Etruscan

Medium: Terra cotta

Location: Cerveteri, Italy (Banditaccia necropolis)

Form:

Life-size terra cotta coffin of a reclining couple.

Stylized hair, almond-shaped eyes, elongated features.

Archaic smile (similar to Greek kouros/kore figures).

Bodies rendered flat and abstract, not naturalistic.

Once brightly painted.

Content:

Depicts a husband and wife reclining together on a dining couch (banquet pose).

Their hands suggest gestures of offering or holding objects (perfume or eggs).

Emphasizes intimacy and equality — both figures are nearly the same size.

Context:

Etruscan funerary practice: cremated remains placed inside.

Etruscans were known for elaborate tombs and lively depictions of afterlife banquets.

Contrasts with Greek contemporaries, who rarely portrayed men and women together.

Reflects relatively high status of women in Etruscan society.

Function:

Funerary object — served as a sarcophagus for the ashes of the deceased.

Meant to celebrate life, togetherness, and the continuation of banqueting in the afterlife.

Audience Hall (Apadana) of Darius and Xerxes

Identifier:

Date: c. 520-465 BCE

Culture: Persian (Achaemenid)

Medium: Limestone

Location: Persepolis, Iran

Form:

Hypostyle hall: 72 columns, each about 60 feet tall.

Monumental scale — covered ~250 ft x 350 ft.

Columns had animal protomes (bulls, lions, eagles) supporting wooden roof beams.

Relief carvings along staircases depict tribute bearers.

Content:

Reliefs show representatives of 23 subject nations bringing tribute to the Persian king.

King depicted enthroned, attended by elite guards and nobles.

Imagery emphasizes order, power, and loyalty to the Persian Empire.

Context:

Built under Darius I and expanded by Xerxes I.

Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire.

Architecture reflects influences from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greek Ionian styles.

Destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE.

Function:

Ceremonial space — used for receptions, festivals (esp. Nowruz, the Persian New Year).

Symbolized the king's authority over diverse peoples.

Served as a physical embodiment of imperial power and unity.

Temple of Minerva

Identifier:

Temple of Minerva

Veii, near Rome

Etruscan culture

ca. 510-500 BCE

Made of wood, mud brick, and terra cotta

Notable sculptural elements: terra cotta statues on the roof (e.g., Apollo of Veii)

Context:

Etruscan civilization, pre-Roman Italy

Temples were central to civic and religious life

Influenced later Roman temple architecture, though Romans used stone more extensively

Religious devotion to gods like Minerva (wisdom, war, crafts)

Content:

Elevated podium with a deep porch (pronaos)

Three-cell structure (cellae) for housing deity statues

Terra cotta statues (Apollo, other gods) decorated the roof

Sculpture shows dynamic, animated movement characteristic of Etruscan style

Form:

Materials: wood columns, mud brick walls, terra cotta roof decorations

Distinctive Etruscan style: front-facing façade, deep porch, high podium

Sculptures: painted, vibrant, and energetic

Emphasis on the roofline rather than the overall mass

Function:

Religious: a temple dedicated to Minerva for worship and offerings

Civic: demonstrated the wealth and power of the city-state of Veii

Symbolic: terra cotta sculptures conveyed divine presence and civic pride

Tomb of the Triclinium

Identifier:

Tomb of the Triclinium

Tarquinia, Italy

Etruscan culture

ca. 480-470 BCE

Rock-cut tomb with frescoes

Context:

Etruscan funerary practices emphasized commemorating the dead and their social status

Tarquinia was a wealthy Etruscan city with elaborate necropolises

Frescoes reflect a festive, social, and ritualistic lifestyle of Etruscans

Content:

Frescoes depicting banquets, dancing, and reclining figures (triclinium = dining couch)

Stylized, colorful figures with lively gestures

Symbolism of celebration of life, afterlife, and social status

Form:

Painted frescoes on plastered rock walls

Figures in profile, stylized and elongated

Use of vibrant colors, movement, and rhythm to depict scenes of feasting and leisure

Tomb itself cut into rock with small chambers

Function:

Funerary: honored the deceased and ensured a pleasant afterlife

Social: displayed the status and wealth of the tomb's occupants

Ritualistic: provided a space for commemorative feasts and remembrance

Niobides Krater

Identifier

Artist: Attributed to the Niobid Painter

Date: c. 460-450 BCE

Period: Classical Greece

Material: Clay, red-figure technique (white highlights)

Location: Louvre, Paris

Context

Produced in Athens during the early Classical period.

Vase painting often depicted mythological scenes to explore moral lessons.

The painter's style shows experimentation with depth and space, influenced by wall painting (Polygnotos of Thasos).

Content

One side: Apollo and Artemis killing the children of Niobe (punishment for her hubris in boasting she was superior to Leto, their mother).

Other side: Hercules surrounded by heroes, possibly alluding to seeking strength/protection.

Figures are placed on different ground lines — suggesting depth.

Function

A large vessel (calyx krater) used to mix wine and water at symposia (banquets).

Decorative purpose, but also educational — conveying moral lessons about hubris and divine punishment.

Form

Red-figure technique: figures in red against a black background with details painted in.

Complex composition: multiple ground lines (not just one baseline like in Archaic vases).

Figures are stiff but beginning to suggest naturalistic poses.

Interest in space and depth — a step toward illusionism.

Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

Identifier

Title: Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

Artist: Polykleitos

Date: Original c. 450-440 BCE; Roman marble copies survive (Greek original was bronze).

Period: High Classical Greece

Material: Original bronze (lost); known through marble copies

Location: Naples National Archaeological Museum (famous Roman copy)

Context

Polykleitos wrote The Canon, a treatise on ideal mathematical proportions of the human body.

Embodies High Classical ideals of harmony, balance, and perfection.

Created at a time when Athens was asserting dominance (Periclean age).

Content

Nude male athlete/warrior once held a spear (now missing).

Represents the idealized male form, not an individual portrait.

Contrapposto stance (weight shifted on one leg) conveys balance and movement.

Function

Demonstration piece for Polykleitos' Canon.

Served as an example of physical perfection and Greek humanism.

Later Romans copied it widely as a model of strength and beauty.

Form

Contrapposto: weight shift creates asymmetry in hips and shoulders.

Idealized anatomy: muscles carefully proportioned.

Mathematical ratios used for harmony (head is 1/7 of body).

Naturalism + idealization = "perfected" human body.

Originally bronze, allowing for freer stance and open pose; marble copies require support struts.

The Parthenon, Athens

Identifier

Artists/Architects: Iktinos & Kallikrates (Parthenon); Phidias (sculptural program)

Date: c. 447-410 BCE

Period: High Classical Greece

Materials: Marble

Location: Athens, Greece

Context

Built under the leadership of Pericles after the Persian Wars.

Symbol of Athenian power, wealth, and cultural supremacy.

Served as a religious center dedicated to Athena, patron goddess of Athens.

Pericles funded it partly with Delian League treasury (political controversy).

Content

Parthenon: temple to Athena, with sculptural decoration by Phidias.

East pediment: birth of Athena.

West pediment: contest of Athena vs. Poseidon.

Ionic frieze: Panathenaic procession.

Propylaia: monumental gateway.

Erechtheion: temple with Caryatids (female column figures).

Temple of Athena Nike: small Ionic temple celebrating victory.

Function

Religious: to honor Athena.

Civic: symbol of Athenian democracy and cultural dominance.

Political: propaganda of Athens' power and glory.

Ceremonial: site of Panathenaic procession.

Form

Doric order dominates, with some Ionic elements (fusion of orders).

Marble construction with refined proportions and optical corrections (slight curvature of stylobate, entasis on columns).

Sculptural program emphasizes harmony, balance, and idealized human forms.

Monumental scale, visually dominating Athens.

Grave Stele of Hegeso

Identifier

Artist: Attributed to Kallimachos

Date: c. 410 BCE

Period: Classical Greece

Material: Marble and paint

Location: Dipylon cemetery, Athens

Context

Funerary art became prominent in Athens after the Peloponnesian War.

Private gravestones (stelai) showed family wealth and values.

Reflects role of women in Classical Athens: domestic sphere, family identity.

Content

Depicts Hegeso seated, examining jewelry from a box handed to her by a servant.

Jewelry was painted (now lost), symbolizing wealth.

Quiet, intimate domestic scene.

Commemorates the deceased not through battle or public life, but through her role in the household.

Function

Grave marker honoring Hegeso.

Memorialized her status, family, and role in Athenian society.

Expressed values of family lineage and domestic virtue.

Form

High relief carving in marble, once painted.

Architectural frame like a temple (post-and-lintel structure).

Figures are naturalistic, draped in finely carved, fluid clothing (wet drapery style).

Calm, solemn mood — Classical restraint and dignity.

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Identifiers

Dates: c. 190 B.C.E.PlacesEurope / Southern Europe / Greece

Period, Culture, Style: Ancient Greek / Hellenistic

Artwork Type: Sculpture

Material: Marble

Technique: Carving, Polychromy

Facts

Nike is personification and goddess of victory

Shown alighting on a war ship

She was found in pieces but was reconstructed

Lost the head and both of the arms

Originally placed in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on the Island of Samothrace in the northeastern Aegean Sea

It is not known where it was originally placed

Pergamon Altar

Identifiers

Dates:

c. 200-150 B.C.E.

Places: Asia / West Asia / Turkey

Period, Culture, Style: Ancient Greek / Hellenistic

Artwork Type: Architecture

Material:Marble

Technique: Carving

Facts

Depicting the battle between gods and giants, from miniature engraved gemstones and vase paintings, to over-life-sized architectural sculptures

The Altar once stood in a sacred precinct on the acropolis of the ancient city of Pergamon, which was ruled by the Attalid dynasty from 282-133 B.C.E.

The Altar's architectural framework is a monumental Π-shaped structure surrounded by columns and accessed by a grand staircase.

It functioned primarily as a place for animal sacrifices and religious rites.

House of the Vettii

Artist/Culture: Roman

Date: c. 2nd century BCE, rebuilt c. 62-79 CE

Medium: Stone and fresco

Location: Pompeii, Italy

Content: Domestic house with atrium, peristyle, and elaborate frescoes.

Context:

Wealthy merchant house in Pompeii.

Reflects Roman domestic architecture and lifestyle.

Shows social status through decoration and layout.

Function: Private residence; display of wealth.

Form: Atrium-peristyle plan; frescoes with mythological and garden scenes; symmetry and axiality.

Alexander Mosaic

Alexander Mosaic

Artist/Culture: Roman, Republican

Date: c. 100 BCE (copy of c. 310 BCE Greek painting)

Medium: Mosaic

Location: House of the Faun, Pompeii, Italy

Content: Battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III; dynamic figures and horses.

Context:

Celebrates Greek military heroism.

Roman elite imitated Greek art.

Demonstrates Hellenistic influence in Roman culture.

Function: Decorative floor mosaic; status symbol.

Form: Tesserae mosaic; foreshortening; dramatic movement; overlapping figures.

Seated Boxer

Artist/Culture: Hellenistic Greek

Date: c. 100-50 BCE

Medium: Bronze

Location: Rome, Italy (originally Greece)

Content: Aging, defeated boxer; muscular body with realistic injuries; seated pose.

Context:

Hellenistic interest in realism and emotional expression.

Reflects admiration for athleticism and human struggle.

Contrast with idealized Classical forms.

Function: Commemorative sculpture of athletic achievement.

Form: Realistic anatomy; detailed facial expression; naturalistic posture; textured surface showing wounds.

Head of a Roman Patrician (Veristic Male Portrait)

Artist/Culture: Roman Republic

Date: c. 75-50 BCE

Medium: Marble

Location: Rome, Italy

Content: Elderly man with deeply wrinkled, realistic features.

Context:

Reflects Roman values of wisdom, experience, and civic duty.

Verism emphasizes moral character over ideal beauty.

Funerary or commemorative purpose for family prestige.

Function: Political and social propaganda; ancestral commemoration.

Form: Marble; highly realistic; exaggerated age features; frontal pose.

Augustus of Prima Porta

Augustus of Prima Porta

Artist/Culture: Roman Imperial

Date: c. 20 BCE

Medium: Marble

Location: Rome, Italy

Content: Augustus in idealized military pose; breastplate decorated with allegorical figures.

Context:

Political propaganda linking Augustus to divine authority.

Combines Classical Greek idealization with Roman realism.

Celebrates military victories and Pax Romana.

Function: Public monument; political and propagandistic.

Form: Contrapposto; idealized proportions; detailed relief on breastplate; symbolic gestures.

Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater)

Artist/Culture: Roman Imperial

Date: c. 70-80 CE

Medium: Concrete and stone

Location: Rome, Italy

Content: Elliptical arena for gladiatorial combat; tiered seating; vaults and arches.

Context:

Built by Flavian emperors to display power and provide public entertainment.

Demonstrates Roman engineering innovations.

Symbol of imperial authority and social control.

Function: Amphitheater for public spectacles and games.

Form: Concrete and travertine construction; barrel and groin vaults; Doric, Ionic, Corinthian orders stacked.

Forum of Trajan + Column of Trajan

Artist/Culture: Roman Imperial

Date: Forum c. 106-112 CE; Column c. 113 CE

Medium: Marble

Location: Rome, Italy

Content: Forum with basilica, libraries, and Trajan's Column with spiral relief showing Dacian wars.

Context:

Celebrates Emperor Trajan's military victories.

Demonstrates Roman urban planning and monumental architecture.

Column serves as visual storytelling for propaganda.

Function: Civic and ceremonial center; commemorative narrative.

Form: Marble; high-relief spiral frieze; axial symmetry; monumental scale.

Pantheon

Artist/Culture: Roman Imperial

Date: c. 118-125 CE

Medium: Concrete with stone facing

Location: Rome, Italy

Content: Circular temple with massive domed rotunda; oculus at the center.

Context:

Temple dedicated to all Roman gods.

Demonstrates Roman mastery of concrete and dome engineering.

Symbol of imperial power and architectural innovation.

Function: Religious temple; later Christian church.

Form: Rotunda; hemispherical dome; portico with Corinthian columns; harmonious proportions.

Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus

Artist/Culture: Roman Late Imperial

Date: c. 250-260 CE

Medium: Marble

Location: Rome, Italy

Content: Dense relief of Roman soldiers battling Goths; chaotic overlapping figures.

Context:

Reflects turmoil and instability of 3rd-century Rome.

Commemorates military victory of Roman elite.

Emphasis on emotion and movement over classical serenity.

Function: Funerary sarcophagus for wealthy or military elite.

Form: Deep relief; crowded composition; dramatic movement; high contrast between light and shadow.