Roman Art and Architecture - Lecture Notes

Equestrian Portrait of Marcus Aurelius

  • Referencing the Equestrian Portrait of Marcus Aurelius.

Column of Marcus Aurelius

  • Referencing the Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Arch of Constantine

  • Arch of Constantine, photo by Carol Farquhar.

  • Features a "Great Trajanic Master."

  • There's also what's referred to as the "Trajanic Master."

  • Arch of Constantine, photo by Carol Farquhar.

Basilica of Constantine & Maxentius

  • Bays of Basilica of Constantine, photo by Carol Farquhar.

  • Basilica of Constantine, Bay, photo by Carol Farquhar.

  • Basilica of Constantine Bays of Side Aisle, Clerestory, Photo by Carol Farquhar.

  • Coffered barrel vault ceiling of side aisle of Basilica of Constantine; photo by Carol Farquhar.

Hadrian

  • Discussion of Hadrian.

  • Sabina, wife of Hadrian.

  • Antinoos. Antinoos as Bacchus; additional mention of Antinoos.

Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli

  • The "island villa" was Hadrian's personal retreat.

  • He could escape from the cares of state and engage in his favorite artistic pursuits without being disturbed.

  • Access to the villa was limited to two small bridges to protect the emperor's privacy.

  • Features include a circular colonnade and libraries.

  • Mentions the scale of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, noting it as the largest and most elaborate ever built in the Roman world.

  • Emphasizes the innovative architecture and Hadrian's potential personal involvement in the planning.

  • Water was a central feature in Hadrian's overall plan.

  • The lake was artificially created to help feed the baths, fountains, and pools scattered throughout the complex.

  • Model shows the complex's full glory, with the main villa at the center.

  • Visitors reached the villa via a terrace overlooking the river and progressed to formal reception areas like the golden square.

  • The villa includes a vast audience chamber, a private area with guest wing, libraries, dining rooms, and an "island villa."

  • Other buildings were set in the grounds behind the main villa.

  • Detail from the epistyle at the north end of the Canopus, a canal-like stretch of water lined with statues, with a temple dedicated to Serapis at its far end.

  • Mentions other features like the Piazza d'oro (reception suite), private suite including libraries, baths, academy, recreational stadium, Canopus, theater, Rocca Bruna tower, and Poikile.

  • Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, Maritime Theatre.

Canopus

  • Canopus of Hadrian.

  • The Carytids, copies of the Korai from the Erechtheon on the Athenian Acropolis.

  • The Semicircular end with statuary, including copies of Greek originals.

  • Alternating lintels and arches.

  • Statuary, possibly Ares or Hermes with caduceus.

  • Greek and Latin Libraries.

  • Copy of the Wounded Amazon by Phidias for the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.

  • Crocodile from Tivoli, part of a fountain.

  • Sculptures include personifications of the Nile and Tiber, a sphinx, and the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus.

  • Mosaic, tessera (ae) from Hadrian's Villa

  • Mosaic from Hadrian's villa near Tivoli, dating 118-138 AD.

  • Floor Mosaics

Ostia and Pompeii

  • Ostia Apartment Building: Insula= l"island" or often a whole block.

  • Illustrations reference terms like atrium, peristylium, vestibulum, impluvium, ala tablinum, piscina, and exedra.

  • Ostia Street Scene and Reconstruction of Ostia Street Scene.

  • Ostia Neighborhood and Ancient Tavern.

  • Pompeii Gaming and Food Service in Pompeii.

  • Music in Ostia.

  • Mount Vesuvius & Pompeii Reconstruction.

  • Map of Italy indicating Rome, Naples, Mount Vesuvius, Baiae, Misenum, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabiae, and Surrentum.

  • Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae experienced a serious earthquake in 62 A.D., 64 A.D. Mt. Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 A.D.

  • During the eruption, the first few hours were best to escape by boat; by evening, the cities were covered in six feet of ash.

  • Excavations began in 1709 with the discovery of a theatre at Herculaneum.

  • In 1738, the Bourbon Kings of France initiated treasure hunting, with findings placed in the National Museum, Naples.

  • King of Naples, Charles III, sponsored some excavations.

  • Pompeii was discovered in 1748.

  • Proper Excavations were instituted by Giuseppe Fiorelli from 1860-75, who came up with the idea of making plaster casts of victims & preserving objects instead of simply taking them away.

Pompeii Victims

*Victims waiting for a boat that never came.
*Dog with a collar.
*Pig.
# Pompeii Structures

  • House of the Faun, Drainage channels, Stepping stones , Temple of Fortuna.

  • Small Theatre Pompeii, Caryatid

  • Ruins of Pompeii, Cardo: N/S & Decumanus: E/W

  • Pompeii Forum Reconstruction:

  • Temple of Apollo in Pompeii.

  • Pompeii Forum Today.

  • Pompeii Ruins of a Basilica; Basilica Pompeii

  • Temple of Fortuna Augusta, Pompeii.

Forum Baths Pompeii

  • Layout and features of the Forum Baths in Pompeii.

  • Includes areas such as the latrina, portico, atrium, guardroom, corridors, frigidarium, apodyterium, natatio, tepidarium, concamerata sudata, balneum, laconicum, praefurnium, furnace, and boilers.

  • Forum Baths Pompeii, Caldarium, 1st century A.D.

  • Marble Tub in Men's Caldarium.

  • Tepidarium Forum Baths Pompeii.

Pompeii Amphitheatre

  • Exterior and interior views of the Pompeii Amphitheatre.

  • References to "VIA MARINA", "VIA DEL FORO", "VIA DEGLI AUGUSTALI", and "VIA DELL'ABBONDANZA" in relation to the Forum at Pompeii.

Pompeian Wall Painting Styles

  • First style wall painting from the Samnite House, Herculaneum (late 2nd / early 1st c. BC).

  • Second Style Pompeian Wall Painting, Trompe l'oeil, "Architectural Style" from the House of the Griffins, Rome, Palatine Hill, 1st cent. B.C.

  • Boscoreale, near Pompeii, Met, NYC, 1 st cent. B.C., P. Fannius Synistor

Domus Layout

  • Cubiculum-bedroom

  • Domus: single family home Vestibulum: recessed entrance before house door Fauces: corridor behind the vestibulum Atrium: square courtyard with inward sloping room with aperture or compluvium; orig. Atrium was a dining room then became a reception room.

  • Had orca=family strongbox bolted to floor; also, had Lares=family gods. Portraits of ancestors.

  • Impluvium: catches the water, underground cistern Tablinum: area closed off by sliding doors, or it could be open could be a dining room or reception room; best decorated.

  • Triclinium: formal dining room. Exedra: garden room Alae: wing(s) of a building leading to other rooms.

  • Illustrations indicating atrium, peristylium, vestibulum, impluvium, ala, tablinum, piscina, and exedra.

House of the Silver Wedding & House of the Faun

  • House of the Silver Wedding, Impluvium, Compluvium, Atrium Style House, 2nd. Cent. B.C.

  • House of the Faun, Pompeii

  • Reconstruction of the façade and plan of the House of the Faun, detailing the Tuscan atrium, alae, tablinum, dining rooms, peristyles, sleeping rooms, kitchen, and other features.

  • Alexander and Darius Mosaic, Tessera, Battle of Issus, c.90 B.C.

Mystery Villa Reconstruction

  • Pompeii, Rekonstruktion der Mysterienvilla

Wall Painting Styles

  • House of the Vettii with Lararium shrine in framing aedicule and agathodemone serpent; Genius of the Paterfamilias flanked by two lares.

  • Third Style Pompeian Wall Painting

  • Fourth Style Pompeian Wall Painting.

House of the Tragic Poet

  • House of the Tragic poet Pompeii
    *CAVECANEM

Villa dei Misteri (Villa of the Mysteries)

  • Excavated 1929-30, with 200 years of building history.

  • Features include the viridarium et porticus, ingresso, quartiere rustico, peristilio, atrium, porticus, area pensilis, exedra, cortile delle cucine, and grande portico meridionale.

Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli

The "island villa" was Hadrian's personal retreat.

He could escape from the cares of state and engage in his favorite artistic pursuits without being disturbed.

Access to the villa was limited to two small bridges to protect the emperor's privacy.

Features include a circular colonnade and libraries.

Mentions the scale of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, noting it as the largest and most elaborate ever built in the Roman world.

Emphasizes the innovative architecture and Hadrian's potential personal involvement in the planning.

Water was a central feature in Hadrian's overall plan.

The lake was artificially created to help feed the baths, fountains, and pools scattered throughout the complex.

Model shows the complex's full glory, with the main villa at the center.

Visitors reached the villa via a terrace overlooking the river and progressed to formal reception areas like the golden square.

The villa includes a vast audience chamber, a private area with guest wing, libraries, dining rooms, and an "island villa."

Other buildings were set in the grounds behind the main villa.

Detail from the epistyle at the north end of the Canopus, a canal-like stretch of water lined with statues, with a temple dedicated to Serapis at its far end.

Mentions other features like the Piazza d'oro (reception suite), private suite including libraries, baths, academy, recreational stadium, Canopus, theater, Rocca Bruna tower, and Poikile.

Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, Maritime Theatre.

Canopus

Canopus of Hadrian.

The Carytids, copies of the Korai from the Erechtheon on the Athenian Acropolis.

The Semicircular end with statuary, including copies of Greek originals.

Alternating lintels and arches.

Statuary, possibly Ares or Hermes with caduceus.

Greek and Latin Libraries.

Copy of the Wounded Amazon by Phidias for the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.

Crocodile from Tivoli, part of a fountain.

Sculptures include personifications of the Nile and