Roman arts images

Pantheon

a Roman temple dedicated to all gods, showcasing impressive architecture and a large dome.

3 elements:

• Porch

• Intermediate block

• Rotunda

Inscription: Marcus Agrippa, the son of Lucius, three times consul, built this

• Rotunda supported by an excellent concrete drum

• Appears to be a solid circular wall, but is structurally far more complex

• Eight compound piers that alternate with seven niches and the entrance create a rhythm along the interior

Column of Trajan

• Victory column

• Serves three purposes

  1. Height records the depth of the excavation needed to create enough level space for building the forum complex

  2. Serves as a triumphal monument for the Dacian campaign

  3. Serves as a tomb for Trajan and Plotina– cremated remains were placed in golden urns in a chamber at the base of the column (not the original intention)

• The top originally had a bronze statue of Trajan, replaced with St. Peter

  100 Roman feet tall

• Decorated with a visual record of Trajan’s Dacian campaigns

• 23 spiral bands of c. 1 m in height each

• 2650 human figures, 155 separate scenes narrating key events in the Dacian war

  •  Largest continuous narrative sculpture in Rome

Anaglypha Traiani

• “Sculptural Reliefs of Trajan”

• Marble reliefs carved on both sides (unusual)

• Each has a suovetaurilia on the reverse and a different historical relief on the front

  • Both are set in the Forum Romanum

  • Classicizing Roman historical relief with figures conforming to Classical proportions 

Relief of Antinous

a sculptural representation commemorating the youth and beauty of Antinous, often associated with Hadrian.

• Met Hadrian at some point in the 120s.

• By 128, he was Hadrian’s favourite

  • Probably only 16/17 years old at the time; Hadrian was 52

• Antinous travelled with Hadrian wherever he went

  • Italy, Greece, North Africa, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Libya

  • Hadrian saw him as intelligent, they shared a love of hunting, etc.

Deified by Hadrian after his death

• Over 100 statues of Antinous were found all over the Empire

• made out of marble

Bust of Marcus Aurelius

• Key characteristics:

  • Long face

  • Hooded eyes and bags under his eyes

  • Wrinkled forehead

  • Distant gaze

• Note the individually carved locks of hair, with hollow cores made by a drill

Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius

• Best-preserved example of a bronze equestrian statue

  • Survives because in the Middle Ages, it was thought to be Constantine

• Wearing civilian dress

• His right hand is outstretched as a gesture of clemency

• Probably part of a group with a fallen or kneeling German warrior or commander in front of the horse

• Or, perhaps, representing his achievements and personal attributes more generally

Bust of Faustina the Younger

• Wife of Marcus Aurelius

• Daughter of Antoninus Pius

• Portraits age as she does

• This portrait from the earliest period, at age 17

• Named Augusta after she gave birth to the first child (of 13)

• Hairstyle similar to Hardian’s wife’s

  • Reflective of a Greek goddess

• made out of marble

Statue of Faustina the Younger

• Last year of her life

• Notice her fuller face

• Her eyes were more heavily lidded, with bigger bags under her eyes

• Pupils more deeply drilled

• Body and pose similar to that used of imperial women since the type of Augustus

Bust of Commodus

• Wears the lion skin and carries the club of Hercules, holding the Golden Apples of the Hesperides

  • Representing the Labour of Hercules that brought the promise of eternal life for all who believe in him as a saviour figure

• Support features the globe, cornucopia, and a kneeling Amazonian figure

• Commodus reinforced his position as the son of a god (like Hercules) by dressing as Hercules in staged animal hunts 

Column of Antoninus Pius

• Erected by Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus

• The column itself was not carved, but the base was elaborately decorated with three reliefs and a dedicatory panel

• Celebrating the deification of Antoninus Pius

• Military units riding in a spectacle known as a decursio

  • May be part of the funerary ceremonies

• Cavalry encircles a group of 10 soldiers

Clemency and Triumph panels, Arch of Marcus Aurelius

• Perhaps comes from an arch (or two)

• Show the achievements and personal qualities of Marcus Aurelius in traditional ways 

  • Justice, clemency, martial prowess, piety

• The clemency panel has a similar style to Trajan’s Column

Storm god scene, Column of Marcus Aurelius

• Reliance on spiritual intervention to help them win

• Compare this with the way Roman soldiers are depicted subduing the Danube on Trajan’s Column

Portrait of Septimius Severus, his wife, Julia Domna, and sons

• Combination of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman traditions 

  • Two types of paint, wax-based encaustic and egg-based tempera

  • Encaustic makes more realistic portraits because it is translucent and takes longer to dry

  • Greek Classical artistic styles

  • Red, white, black, and yellow are used in various combinations

  • Naturalistic portraiture, single light source, asymmetrical compositions (one side turned slightly)

• Frontal figures, oversized eyes gazing into the distance

• Distinguished as imperial by their diadems, gold-bordered tunics, cloaks, sceptres, and Julia Domna’s pearl necklace and earrings

Portrait of Septimius Severus

• Portraits initially follow the style of Marcus Aurelius

• But, later portraits display features of the Egyptian god, Serapis

  • Note the parted beard and the four corkscrew locks of hair on his forehead

• Antonine-inspired portraiture based on that of Antoninus Pius and, most strongly, Marcus Aurelius.

• Classicism

• made out of marble

• Elements of Aurelius’ portraiture are seen in the curly hair and short, parted beard affected by Septimius

Portrait of Julia Domna

• Dating to the beginning of Septimius Severus’s reign

• Based on the portraits of Faustina the Younger (wife of Marcus Aurelius)

• Widely spaced eyes, long nose, connecting brows, curving mouth with soft folds of skin at the corners

• Centre-parted helmet-style hair with a large bun at the base of her neck

• She is recognizable from her distinctive facial features, but with major differences in her hairstyle. 

Portrait of Caracalla

• Dramatic shift in portrait style

• Hair and beards reduced

• Focus instead on the elasticity of the skin

  • Deep lines, chiselled wrinkles, whiskers

• Twisted necks, apparent internal conflict, concerned looks

Compared with the distant look of the Antonines

demonstrate a rejection of the Antonine traditions and point the way to the portrait style of the remainder of the third century ce

Baths of Caracalla

• The bathing block was a spectacular building, huge in scale and lavishly covered with marble floors and wall panels

• Brick-faced concrete with complex roofing systems including domes, half domes, cross vaults, barrel vaults 

Farnese Hercules

• Shows Hercules with the Golden Apples of Hesperides

• Similar in scale to the Farnese Bull

Forma Urbis Romae

• It was a large map of ancient Rome, created in the early third century AD,

• that displayed the city's streets, buildings, and layouts in intricate detail,

• providing valuable insights into urban planning and architecture during that period.

• Also known as the Severan Marble Plan

• Birthplace of Septimius Severus

• Serves to legitimize his rule

• How Romans viewed their city like a map/plan

Relief of Emperor Valerian kneeling before Shapur I

• 253-260

• Proclaimed emperor by troops and the Senate

• Great upheaval throughout the reign

  • Invasions by outside groups

• Spent most of his time fighting the Persians along the border

• Captured by the Persian Emperor Shapur I during a campaign in the east against Persian incursions

• First and only emperor to be captured and die in captivity abroad

Tetrarchs statue group

• Carved in porphyry

  • Purple is the colour of emperors

• Shows the political organization of the tetrarchy

  • Paired figures in collegial embrace, one Augustus (senior) and one Caesar (junior)

• Each senior emperor is bearded while his junior emperor is clean-shaven.

Constantius Caesar, Laureate bust right

• creating imagery that celebrated each member of the four in the context of the entire group.

• The enclosure has four turrets, symbolizing the Tetrarchs and their military association.

• The obverse shows the standard profile portrait of the bearded Caesar or junior emperor, wearing a laurel wreath with his name and title, Constantius Caesar.

Good Shepherd statue

• The pose of the shepherd with a lamb across his shoulders is seen as far back as the Greek Archaic period (6th c. BCE)

• Idealized, youthful, clean-shaven

Sarcophagus with the Good Shepherd

• depicts scenes from the life of Christ, often including motifs of resurrection and salvation.

• made out of marble

• The Good Shepherd symbolically represents Jesus Christ as a caretaker and protector of his followers, illustrating themes of faith and guidance.

Colossal portrait of Constantine the Great

• Originally an acrolithic seated image of the emperor

  • The body is constructed of a wooden framework covered with drapery

  • Only the exposed limbs are carved in stone 

• representing his status and divine authority. It emphasizes the grandeur and power associated with his reign.

Basilica at Trier

• Plain brick with two superimposed stories of windows that terminate in semi-circular tops, giving the appearance of a two-story structure

• Recessed windows cause the intervening buttresses to appear to project more than they do

  • Emphasizes the vertical lines and, therefore, the height of the building 

• Largest surviving room from the Roman period

• The semi-circular apse served to frame the seated emperor as he received his audience

  • Apse originally covered in mosaics

Arch of Constantine

• Triple passage arch with tall central passage flanked by two smaller ones

  • Like the Arch of Septimius Severus

• A large amount of sculptural relief decoration is reused material 

  • Spolia

• Stock poses for a ruler

• Speeches, sacrifice, battles, mercy, hunting. 

• Facial features recut to look like Constantine

• Battle of Milvian Bridge

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus

• Not narrative, but thematic

• Composition traditionally Roman

• The artistic style is very classicizing

• Alternating semi-circular and triangular pediments are Asian

• Notice that Christ is youthful and unbearded