Knowt
ART - LESSON 3
ANCIENT ROMAN ART
The Roman Empire was renowned for its military prowess and extensive conquests. Initially, the Roman Republic, which preceded the empire, began expanding through Italy and eventually conquered much of the Mediterranean region. The Roman legions, well-disciplined and highly organized, played a crucial role in these conquests.
Under the empire, Rome continued to expand its borders, incorporating territories in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The military was a cornerstone of Roman society, and conquests were often motivated by the desire for wealth, resources, and strategic advantage. The Roman army utilized innovative tactics, engineering, and siege warfare techniques to overcome adversaries.
Roman conquests brought diverse cultures and peoples under Roman rule, leading to the spread of Roman civilization, law, and culture throughout the empire. However, maintaining control over such vast territories also presented challenges, including rebellion, resistance, and eventual overextension, which contributed to the decline of the empire.
Rome as a Republic (509-27 BCE)
Italy na kasama yung Corsica
Rome’s acquisition of Carthaginian territory
Roman Empire
France,
ROMAN ART IN GENERAL…
Spanned for 1,000 years in three continents – Europe, Asia, and Africa
- Kaya ganon din yung abot
Used a broad spectrum of media including marble, painting, mosaic, gems, silver and bronze work, and terracotta
Mostly has Greek, Etruscan, and Egyptian influences
IN REPUBLICAN ROME…
Art was produced in the service of the state, depicting public sacrifices or celebrating victorious military campaigns
It entails a lot of taxes
Pag walang nakikitang victory ang taong bayan, magtatka yan
Portraits depicted the collective goals of the Republic
Patrons chose to have themselves represented with balding heads, large noses, and extra wrinkles, demonstrating that they had spent their lives working for the Republic as model citizens, flaunting their acquired wisdom with each furrow of the brow
Leaders want to immortalize themselves through art specifically in sculptures
Gusto nila mukang matanda
IN IMPERIAL ROME…
Aggrandized the ruler and his family
Nung naging empire na ang rome, nag
Binabayaran nila yung nag q-question
Or sa art. Pinapakita yung vioctory nila
Often hearkened back to the Classical art of the past
The characteristics of Late Antique art include frontality, stiffness of pose and drapery, deeply drilled lines, less naturalism, squat proportions and lack of individualism. Important figures are often slightly larger or are placed above the rest of the crowd to denote importance.
Larger than life
MINOR ART
JEWELRY
Jewelry equates to richness. Most were worn by women but there were also men who wore jewelry
Kung sino ka sa society, ano ang lisfetyle o status mo
Jewelry were made of precious stones such as opals, emeralds, diamonds, topaz and pearls
Inilibing kasama ang personal na gamit para pag nabuhay siyang muli magagamit niya, o katya sa afterlife ready na siya na gamit
Bracelets of bronze, bone and jet are frequently found. Some were made of shale
Children and babies also wore bangles.
Bracelets were often buried with the dead and are therefore found as grave goods.
Rings were worn by men, women and children. They were made of silver, gold, bronze, iron and jet and sometimes had precious stones and intaglios set in them. Some are plain bands but others have more intricate designs
Band and insignia
POTTERY
Ancient Roman fine wares were called terra sigillata. These were characterized by red-colored pottery with glossy surface slips
Smoothand glossy
Flourished in Italy and Gaul (modern-day France) during the Roman Empire
- Bowl na Nakita sa England
- 1st – hunting
- 2nd – likod inuutusan ng soldier
The 2nd image is a close up of the 1st bowl shown. Depicting hunting scenes, this piece of pottery was found in Kingsmead Quarry (Horton, England), and dates to about 120-145 CE
- naka side view
- WINGED VICTORY
- Red gloss terra sigillata ware with relief decoration
PAINTING
Roman interiors were lavishly painted and had stucco. For the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, the largest body of evidence comes from Pompeii and Herculaneum, both destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius
Yung mganakaka afford lamg mag pa-paint sa bahay, ang ginagamit ay ang Frescoe
Roman wall painters (or perhaps their clients) preferred natural earth colors such as darker shades of reds, yellows, and browns
Expensive color – red, orange, and yellow
Subjects included portraits, scenes from mythology, architecture, flora, fauna, and even entire gardens, landscapes, and townscapes
Examples:
FRESCOES FROM THE VILLA OF LIVIA (2ND HALF OF THE 1ST CENTURY BCE)
CUBICULUM FRESCOE, VILLA OF THE FARNESINA
Bacus = roman equivalent of Dionysus
CUPID FRIEZE, HOUSE OF THE VETTII, POMPEII
Cupid
Ginagawa sa isang araw
MOSAICS
Mosaics, otherwise known as opus tessellatum, were made with small black, white, and colored squares of marble, tile, glass, pottery, stone, or shells
Favorite nila ay marbles
Each individual piece measured between 0.5 and 1.5 cm but fine details, especially in the central panel (emblemata) were often rendered using even smaller pieces as little as 1mm in size
Popular subjects included scenes from mythology, gladiator contests, sports, agriculture, hunting, food, flora and fauna, and sometimes they even captured the Romans themselves in detailed and realistic portraits
Examples:
MOSAIC OF A GYPSY GIRL
ALEXANDER MOSAIC, HOUSE OF THE FAUN, POMPEII
Mars on his vest, the Roman god of war
THE GREAT HUNT, VILLA ROMANA DEL CASALE
Trading ng goods
Sila ay isang empire kaya marami silang goods and animals
Nagpapakita ng power ng empire
Yung mga rare animals, dadalin nila sa rome mismo.
SCULPTURE
Roman sculpture blended the idealized perfection of earlier Classical Greek sculpture with a greater aspiration for realism and mixed in the styles prevalent in Eastern art
Inadopt nila yung sa ancient greece
They mostly used marble and bronze
Sculptures depicted prominent political figures in Rome or wealthy individuals. They were both manifestations of life and death
Larger than life sculptures were also carved for gods, emperors, and heroes
Examples:
THE ORATOR, 1ST CENTURY BCE
HEAD OF A ROMAN PATRICIAN, 75-50 BCE
AUGUSTUS OF PRIMAPORTA, 20 BCE
Augutus Cesar
Mas Malaki pa siya sa angel
Kung kalaban ka niya, anong chance mong Manalo sa isang diyos?
FONSECA BUST, 2ND CENTURY CE
EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF MARCUS AURELIUS, 175 CE
General ni Julius cesar na eventually magiging emperos ng Rome
ARCHITECTURE
Continued the legacy left by the earlier Greek architects
Inadopt yung architecture ng Greek
If it ain’t broke, why fix it kaya inadopt na lang nila
Largely favored marble especially for state-funded projects. Some of the varieties used were Carrara marble came from Italy, Parian marble from Paros, Pentelic from Athens, yellow Numidian marble from North Africa, purple Phyrgian from Turkey, red porphyry from Egypt, nd green-veined Carystian marble from Euboea
Gawa sa marble
Sa lawak ng empire, adami rin nilang source ng marble
Makasakop ng lugar at yung yaman ay mapunta sa kanila
Naghihirap yung mga nasakop, yung central which is rome
Some notable architects were Apollodorus of Damascus, Hadrian, Severus, Celer, and Vitruvius
Roman Composite - mixed the volute of the Ionic order with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian
Roman Tuscan – a form of Doric column but with a smaller capital, more slender shaft without flutes, and a molded base
WALANG FLUTES
Walang lines, makinis lang siya
Examples:
Arch of Septimius Severus (203 CE)
Isa sa pag kwento ng victory, ay arches
Kwento, sinong empero
Then kwento ulit but drawings
VERSION NILA NG TARPAULIN
Kung anong nangyaring monumental, pinapagawa nilang arches
Pont du Gard (Middle of the 1st Century CE)
Auck wi dac
Dahil lumawak, kailangan ng architecture para ma connect
ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME
Maison Carrée (16 BCE)
Pantheon (113-125 CE)
Built in honor of Jupiter
THEATRE
SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT
By 146 BCE, Rome had conquered Greece and absorbed its other territories
Romans were uninterested in theoretical questions, but they were among the greatest engineers, military tacticians, and administrators
Horace’s The Art of Poetry served as a manual on writing good plays – five-act plays; teach and please; unity, grace and decorum.
REPUBLIC vs EMPIRE
REPUBLIC
509-27 BCE
Discipline, economy, endurance, military precision, loyalty
Drama prospered
MAY KALAYAAN KAYA WALANG TAKOT YUNG THEATRE ARTIST NA GUMAWA NG DULA
EMPIRE
27 BCE-476 CE
Power from representatives to the emperor
Drama was abandoned
WALANG PANAHON PARA SA CULTURE
THEY HAVE TO BE STRONG, QUICK, BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO DO
ROMAN FESTIVALS
Ludi – official religious festivals
Pompa – religious procession
Munera – honorary festivals
In honor of leaders or generals
Ludi Romani – oldest of the festivals in honor of Jupiter every September. The festival started in 6th century BCE
OLDEST FESTIVAL IN ANCIENT ROME
Various types of performances – 364 BCE; Tragedy and comedy – 240 BCE
ROMAN COMIC PLAYWRIGHTS
LIVIUS ANDRONICUS
Birth of Roman literature
He may have come to Rome as a prisoner of war but was later freed
Intellectual na dinakip kaya eventually pinalaya
UNANG NAGSULAT NG ROMAN LITERATURE
Originally from Tarentum, a Greek territory in Southern Italy
Known for his tragedies more than his comedies
GNAEUS NAEVIUS
The first native playwright
PINANGANAK SA ROME
Began writing in 235 BCE
Known for his comedies more than his tragedies
Added Roman allusions into Greek originals and wrote plays on Roman stories
INADOPT YUNG GREEK THEATRE AT GUMAWA NG ORIGINAL
TITUS MACCIUS PLAUTUS
First important successor to Livius Andronicus and Naevius in comedy
130 plays were attributed to him
The Comedy of Asses, The Merchant, The Braggart Warrior
Admired for his Latin dialogue, varied poetic meters, and witty jokes
ROMAN TRAGIC PLAYWRIGHTS
TRAGIC PLAYWRIGHTS OF THE REPUBLIC
There were only three recorded Roman tragedians from 200-75 BCE: Quintus Ennius, Marcus Ocuvius, Luccius Accius
Fabula crepidata – tragedies based on Greek originals
Fabula praetexta – tragedies based on Roman subjects
LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA
Seneca’s works were the only ones to have survived from this period
Famous for his works in philosophy and rhetoric
The Trojan Women, Medea, Oedipus, Phaedra, Thyestes, Hercules on Oeta, The Mad Hercules, The Phoenecian Women, and Agamemnon
Octavia - only surviving fabula praetexta
ROMAN ACTORS
Histriones – actors; Cantores – declaimers
ROMANS NARRATE WHAT HAPPENS IN THEIR HISTORY - HISTRIONES
Male actors; Women performed in mimes
The playwright left the production at the hands of managers
Manager – producer and director
All in siya
Some actors belonged in guilds
They have another jobs
Day job then actor at night
In the 1st century BCE, emphasis shifted to the “star” performer
3 sa Greek
Main sa rome na hindi maiwasan na mabigyan ng special treatment
The most popular performers in late Rome were tightrope walkers, trapeze artists, jugglers, sword-swallowers, fire-eaters, and dancers
Other forms of entertainment
NAGMULA SA ROME
ACTING STYLE IN TRAGEDY AND COMEDY
Delivery in tragedy is slow, stately and declamatory; Delivery in comedy was conversational
Proficiency in speaking, singing and dancing
Movement in tragedy was slow and dignified; movement in comedy was lively
Gestures and movement were considered enlarged
Actors specialized in one dramatic form
If nag start ka sa tragedy, ang mga susunod na plays mo ay tragedy na rin
Actors in mime did not use masks
