Roman Art and Civilization

UNIT 3.2: ROMAN ART

Time Periods

• Years: 753 B.C.E to 500 C.E. (encompasses early Roman Kingdom, Republican, and Imperial eras).

Enduring Understandings

• Characteristics of Roman Art: - Roman art is defined by a pantheon of gods reflected in substantial civic and religious architecture, often serving political and propaganda purposes.

  • Roman art is categorized into distinct periods, each with unique stylistic tendencies:

  • Republican Period (c. 509-27 BCE): Characterized by verism in portraiture and a practical approach to architecture.

  • Early Imperial Period (27 BCE - 180 CE): Saw the rise of idealized portraiture (e.g., Augustus), grand public works, and the influence of the Pax Romana.

  • Late Imperial Period (180-330 CE): Marked by a shift towards abstraction, frontality, and a move away from classical naturalism, reflecting political instability and the rise of new religious ideas.

  • Late Antique Period (330-500 CE): Transitional period heavily influenced by the spread of Christianity, leading to new iconographies and architectural forms.

  • Roman architecture prominently features a public dimension, emphasizing utilitarian structures like basilicas, baths, and aqueducts, and draws significant influence from Etruscan and Greek models, often combining them with Roman innovation.

  • Displays significant variety and a spirit of experimentation in design and execution, particularly with the use of concrete and arch/vault systems.

  • Experienced a revival in the 18th century due to Neoclassical interest in Roman law, governance, and philosophy, inspiring art and architecture in Europe and America.

Literature and Writing

• Much ancient writing survives across multiple domains, offering invaluable insights into Roman society and its relationship with art:

  • Literature: Epic poems (e.g., Virgil's Aeneid), histories (e.g., Livy, Tacitus), and philosophical texts (e.g., Cicero, Seneca).

  • Law: Codification of laws (e.g., Twelve Tables, Justinian Code).

  • Politics: Orations, senatorial decrees, and imperial edicts.

  • Business: Inscriptions, commercial records, and personal letters.

• These documents illuminate Roman civilization and its artistic practices, sometimes even detailing commissions or artistic critiques.

• Roman art incorporates early contemporary accounts concerning art and artists, providing names and insights into their techniques and patrons.

• Epics: Formed the backbone of Roman literary tradition, transitioning from oral transmission to written forms, often celebrating Roman virtues and mythological origins, influencing visual narratives.

Roman Civilization

• Described as a "melting pot":- Romans absorbed cultures from conquered peoples, notably influencing their art with Greek (Hellenistic), Etruscan, and Egyptian styles and iconographies, often adapting them to suit Roman ideologies.

Timeline of Roman History

• Founding of Rome: 753 BCE (traditional date).

• Roman Republic: 509 - 27 BCE (governed by elected magistrates and a senate, influencing public art to emphasize civic virtue).

• Roman Empire: 27 BCE - 476 CE (began with Augustus, marked by imperial rule, vast expansion, and monumental artistic commissions).

Introduction to Roman Art

• Focus on Roman art following previous study of Greek art underscores the continuous dialogue and adaptation of classical traditions by the Romans, who often considered themselves heirs to Greek culture.

Key Terminology

• Roman Patrician: An aristocrat or nobleman, belonging to the elite class of Roman society; essential figure in society, often depicted in portraiture to emphasize their lineage and status.

• Bust: A sculpture focusing on the head, neck, and upper chest of a figure, popular for portraiture in Rome, often used for ancestral portraits displayed in private homes.

• **Veristic: A style representing extreme realism, often highlighting facial imperfections, wrinkles, and signs of age; prominent in Roman Republican sculptural art to convey wisdom, experience, and gravitas, reflecting traditional Roman values.

Significant Sculptures

Head of a Roman Patrician

• Date: ca. 75–50 BCE (Republican Period)

• Material: Marble

• Description: Captures the essence of Roman verism, depicting an elderly man with deeply furrowed brow, sunken cheeks, and a stern expression. This realism served to emphasize the subject's wisdom, experience, and dedication to public service, key virtues of the Roman Republic.

Augustus of Prima Porta

• Date: Early 1st century C.E (Early Imperial Period, reign of Augustus)

• Material: Marble

• Description: 6’ 8” tall marble representation, a copy of a bronze statue from circa 20 BCE. This statue is a powerful piece of imperial propaganda, presenting Augustus as an idealized, god-like figure and a victorious military commander. It combines classical Greek idealism with Roman realism.

• Pax Romana: Referring to a historical period of peace and prosperity from 27 BCE to 180 CE, initiated by Augustus's reforms. The Augustus of Prima Porta visually embodies the ideals of this era, portraying the emperor as the bringer of peace and stability.

Iconographic Elements of Augustus of Prima Porta

• Right arm raised signaling military leadership and the act of addressing his troops, emphasizing his role as imperator.

• Cupid depicted riding a dolphin at his feet symbolizes divine heritage, claiming descent from Venus through Aeneas, linking Augustus directly to the gods and Rome's mythical past.

• Military regalia speaks to his authority and power, including a cuirass (breastplate) adorned with allegorical figures depicting diplomatic victories (e.g., the return of Roman standards by the Parthians, symbolizing peace) and heavenly deities.

• Bare feet suggest his deified status or heroic stature, indicating his connection to the divine.

Roman Wall Painting

• Heavily influenced by earlier Greek painting, particularly in creating realistic three-dimensional illusions, but Romans developed their own distinct styles and techniques to adorn domestic and public spaces.

• Techniques for 3D Representation:

  • Early linear perspective: Foreground elements positioned lower, while background elements are placed higher on the visual field, creating a sense of recession.

  • Diminution: Objects in the foreground appear larger and closer than those in the background, which are rendered smaller to suggest distance.

  • Overlapping: Objects are arranged in front of one another to show spatial relations and depth.

  • Light rendering: Focusing on directions of shadows and shading for dimensionality and to model forms, creating a semblance of natural light.

  • Atmospheric/aerial perspective: Objects appear more vibrant and detailed in the foreground compared to the hazier, less distinct background, mimicking how atmosphere affects vision over distance.

Alexander Mosaic

• Title: Battle of Issus

• Date: c. 100 B.C.E

• Material: Mosaic from the House of Faun, Pompeii; a remarkably detailed Roman version of a lost Greek painting from circa 315 B.C.E. by Philoxenos of Eretria or Apelles.

• This mosaic, composed of over 1.5 million tiny tesserae, depicts the climactic moment of the battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. Each square tessera measures about 2 ext{ mm} thick.

• Techniques included in this mosaic:

  • Modeling: Using shades of color to create volume and form.

  • Foreshortening: A technique used to create the illusion of an object receding strongly into the background, as seen in the spearmen and horses.

  • Use of a traditional Greek palette: Utilizing a limited but sophisticated range of colors to achieve vibrant effects and naturalistic depictions.

Types of Roman Wall Paintings in Pompeii (as classified by August Mau)

First Style: Incrustation Style (c. 200-80 BCE)

• Features colorful faux-marble constructions creating patchwork wall effects, often by painting simple stucco to resemble expensive marble veneers. This style aimed to imitate the appearance of prestigious Greek public buildings.

Second Style: Architectural Style (c. 80-15 BCE)

• Utilizes faux marble blocks in the lower zone and presents expansive, illusionistic architectural views, landscapes, or mythological scenes that appear to open up the wall, creating a sense of depth and extending the room's space. Windows and vistas are common motifs.

Third Style: Ornate Style (c. 15 BCE - 50 CE)

• Focuses on a flat surface appearance with intense monochromatic background colors (e.g., deep red or black) and delicate, detailed embellishments, such as small floating vignettes, slender candelabra, and small landscapes, emphasizing elegance and refinement.

Fourth Style: Intricate Style (c. 50-79 CE)

• Integrates elements from the previous three styles, characterized by rich decoration, combination motifs, and often crowded compositions. It often features large narrative panels, architectural fantasies, and a wide array of ornamentation, sometimes described as a baroque culmination of earlier styles.

Roman House Structure: The Typical Domus

Sample Anatomy of a Roman House

• Fauces: The narrow entryway or passage leading from the street into the atrium, often elaborately decorated.

• Atrium: The main reception hall, typically open to the sky in the center (impluvium below), serving as the public core of the house and a source of light and air.

• Impluvium: A shallow basin or pool in the center of the atrium, designed to collect rainwater for household use.

• Alae: "Wings" or open rooms off the atrium, often used for displaying family portraits or storage.

• Cubiculum: A small bedroom or private chamber, often arranged around the atrium or peristylium.

• Tablinum: The office or study, usually located at the back of the atrium, often open to both the atrium and the peristylium, serving for business and display of family archives.

• Triclinium: The formal dining area, typically featuring three couches (klinai) arranged in a U-shape around a central table, where Romans would recline to eat.

• Culina: The kitchen, often small and located discreetly, focused on practical food preparation.

• **Peristylium: A colonnaded garden or open courtyard, typically at the rear of the house, surrounded by columns and often featuring a garden (hortus) with fountains, sculptures, and murals, providing a private, serene space.

• Piscina: A small ornamental pool or fishpond, often found within the peristylium or hortus.

• Hortus: The garden itself, within the peristylium, often cultivated with flowers, herbs, and small trees.

The Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater)

• Date: ca. 70-80 CE (commissioned by Emperor Vespasian, completed by Titus).

• Materials: Massive structure of stone (travertine for the exterior) and concrete (for internal vaults and radial walls).

• Notable dimensioning: Approximately 48m high, 189m long & 156m wide, capable of holding around 50,000 to 80,000 spectators for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles.

• Construction details:

  • Employed an innovative system of arches, vaults, and concrete, making it an engineering marvel. It used pozzolanic ash-based cement, which provided exceptional durability and strength, allowing for its immense scale.

  • Featured a sophisticated system of underground tunnels (hypogeum) beneath the arena floor, and a pulley system for elevating animal cages, stage sets, and gladiators into the arena.

  • The exterior facade was adorned with three levels of arcades, each featuring different orders: Doric on the ground floor, Ionic on the second, and Corinthian on the third, with a fourth story of engaged Corinthian pilasters.

• Ticketing:

  • Spectators received numbered tokens corresponding to gates and seating sections, facilitating efficient entry and exit for tens of thousands of people.

The Pantheon

• Date: 118 – 125 CE (rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian).

• Materials: Concrete with stone facing (brick faced concrete for walls, marble veneer for interior details). The dome itself is a concrete marvel.

• Design includes a massive cylindrical rotunda, covered by the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome up until modern times, with a diameter of 43.3 ext{ meters} matching its height. The dome features a unique coffered design with a prominent oculus.

• Oculus: A circular opening at the very apex of the dome, approximately 9 ext{ meters} in diameter, serving as the sole source of natural light and ventilation, and acting as a symbol of connection to the heavens.

• The Pantheon originally served as a temple to all gods, showcasing Roman engineering prowess and architectural design, with a harmonious relationship between interior space and light. The concrete composition of the dome becomes progressively lighter as it approaches the oculus, using lighter aggregate like pumice.

Trajan's Forum: Architectural Significance

• Designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, dates 106-112 C.E., during the height of the Roman Empire.

• Construction material comprised of brick and concrete, with extensive use of marble veneer for decoration.

• Trajan's Forum was a massive complex, a testament to Trajan's military victories (especially over the Dacians) and his benefaction. It included a monumental entrance arch, a large public square (forum), the Basilica Ulpia, two libraries (Greek and Latin), Trajan's Column, and ultimately the Temple of Divine Trajan.

• Basilica Ulpia: A main architectural feature, an oblong-shaped, multi-aisled hall supported by columns, used for judicial and public assemblies, business transactions, and other civic functions. Its grand scale and rich decoration set a new standard for imperial basilicas.

Glossary of Terms

• Coffered: Refers to the sunken panels, typically square or octagonal, in a ceiling or dome, which reduce the weight of the structure and provide decorative patterns. Seen prominently in the Pantheon's dome.

• Oculus: A round opening in the dome structure that allows natural light to enter, and in the case of the Pantheon, serves as the main source of illumination and a cosmic symbol.

• Horror Vacui: Latin term meaning “fear of empty spaces,” referring to the densely filled ornamentation, lack of open background space, and crowded compositions found on some Roman artwork, such as the Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus, where every available surface is carved with figures and details.

Nabataean Architecture and Petra

• Petra, significant for its rock-cut architecture, integral to the Nabataean trade routes. Located in modern-day Jordan, it was the capital of the Nabataean kingdom and a crucial hub for frankincense, myrrh, and spice trade. Its monumental facades are carved directly into sandstone cliffs.

• The architecture notably revealed wealth and political influence in the region, blending indigenous Nabataean elements with prominent Hellenistic and Roman styles, reflecting the cultural interactions of the time. Key structures like Al-Khazneh (The Treasury) and Ad Deir (The Monastery) are iconic examples.

• A complex of structures blending various architectural influences, including elaborate funerary monuments (e.g., tombs carved into the rock mimicking temples), living quarters, and public buildings for the Nabataeans, demonstrating their skill in hydraulic engineering and urban planning.