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

-       1^st – hunting

-       2^nd – 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:

1. FRESCOES FROM THE VILLA OF LIVIA (2^ND HALF OF THE 1^ST CENTURY BCE)

2. CUBICULUM FRESCOE, VILLA OF THE FARNESINA

   • Bacus = roman equivalent of Dionysus

3. 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:

1. MOSAIC OF A GYPSY GIRL

2. ALEXANDER MOSAIC, HOUSE OF THE FAUN, POMPEII

   • Mars on his vest, the Roman god of war

3. 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:

1. THE ORATOR, 1^ST CENTURY BCE

2. HEAD OF A ROMAN PATRICIAN, 75-50 BCE 

3. AUGUSTUS OF PRIMAPORTA, 20 BCE 

   • Augutus Cesar

   • Mas Malaki pa siya sa angel

   • Kung kalaban ka niya, anong chance mong Manalo sa isang diyos?

4. FONSECA BUST, 2^ND CENTURY CE

5. 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:

1. 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

2. Pont du Gard (Middle of the 1^st  Century CE)

   • Auck wi dac

   • Dahil lumawak, kailangan ng architecture para ma connect

   • ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME

3. Maison Carrée (16 BCE)

4. 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 6^th 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 1^st 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