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The Roman Empire
Etruscan Art :: Roman Art: The Republic :: Pompeii And The Cities Of Vesuvius
:: Early Empire :: High Empire :: Late Empire Images courtesy of
Saskia Ltd.
ETRUSCAN ART
The Etruscan civilization flourished in the region of modern Tuscany in Italy for
approximately 900 years, from ca. 1000 to ca. 100 BCE. It was finally overwhelmed by
the Romans, who absorbed many of its features.
The heartland of the Etruscans was the territory between the Arno and Tiber rivers of
central Italy that still bears their name - Tuscany. The origin of the Etruscan people is not
clear at all. Their language, although written in a Greek-derived script and extant in
inscriptions that are still in large part obscure, is unrelated to the Indo-European linguistic
family. It is likely they were the result of a gradual fusion of native and immigrant
populations. The mixing of peoples occurred between the end of the Bronze Age and the
so-called Villanovan era.
Etruscan Temples:
Etruscan temples were gable-roofed buildings built of wood and sun-dried brick that
stood on a high podium with entrance stairs on the front side only. A deep porch with
widely-spaced Etruscan (Tuscan) columns occupied the front half of the podium, and a
walled enclosure with up to three internal chambers occupied the other half. Exterior
decorations made of terracotta included life-size statues placed on the peak of the roof.
3-1: Model of a typical Etruscan temple of the sixth century BCE, as described by
Vitruvius. Istituto di Etruscologia e di Antichità Italiche, Università di Roma, Rome.
1. model
2. model
3. remains
An epic rooftop contest:
One example of a rooftop statue is the life-size image of Apulu from a temple in the
Portonaccio sanctuary at Veii.
3-2: Apulu (Apollo), from the roof of the Portonaccio Temple, Veii, Italy, ca. 51050:0 BCE. Painted terracotta, approx. 5' 11" high. Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia,
Rome.
1. sculpture
2. sculpture
1
Dining in the afterlife:
A sarcophagus made of terracotta was shaped into a life-sized banqueting couch on
which recline a man and woman.
3-3: Sarcophagus with reclining couple, from Cerveteri, Italy, ca. 520 BCE.
Painted terracotta, approx. 6' 7" X 3' 9 1/2". Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia,
Rome.
1.
2.
3.
4.
sarcofago degli sposi
sarcophagus
Louvre example
sarcophagus
Houses for the dead:
Etruscan tombs in the form of mounds with internal rock-cut chambers were arranged in
organized cemeteries. The chambers were carved to resemble the interiors of domestic
houses and may also be decorated with painted stucco reliefs. Other underground, rockcut tombs were painted with scenes of banqueting and outdoor scenes set in a natural
environment.
3-4: Interior of the Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri, Italy, third century BCE.
1. interior
2. interior
3. interior
Tarquinia's painted tombs:
Large underground burial chambers hewn out of the natural rock were also the norm at
Tarquinia. But the tumuli do not cover the Tarquinian tombs, and the interiors do not
have carvings imitating the appearance of Etruscan houses. In some cases paintings
decorate the tomb chamber walls.
3-5: Leopards, banqueters, and musicians, detail of mural paintings in the Tomb of
the Leopards, Tarquinia, Italy, ca. 480-470 BCE.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Tomb of the Leopards
Tomb of the Leopards
Tomb of the Leopards
Tomb of the Leopards
Tomb of the Leopards
Rome's Etruscan wolf:
The best-known of the later Etruscan statues - one of he most memorable portrayals of an
animal in the history of world art - is the Capitoline Wolf. The statue is a somewhat larger
than life-size hollow-cast bronze portrayal of the she-wolf that, according to legend,
nursed Romulus and Remus after they were abandoned as infants.
3-6: Capitoline Wolf, from Rome, Italy, ca. 500-480 BCE. Bronze, approx. 2' 7 1/2"
high. Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome.
1. Capitoline Wolf
2. Capitoline Wolf
3. Capitoline Wolf
Rome overwhelms Etruria:
The Ficoroni Cista was found in an Etruscan woman's tomb in Palestrina, the center of
Etruscan bronze industry. The fact that his piece was made by Novios Plautios, a Roman
artist, signifies the growing importance of Rome as an Italian cultural and political center.
3-7: NOVIOS PLAUTIOS, Ficoroni Cista, from Palestrina, Italy, late fourth
century BCE. Bronze, approx. 2' 6" high. Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ficoroni Cista
Ficoroni Cista
Ficoroni Cista
Ficoroni Cista
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Etruscan Art :: Roman Art: The Republic :: Pompeii And The Cities Of
Vesuvius :: Early Empire :: High Empire :: Late Empire
ROMAN ART: THE REPUBLIC
Kings, senators, and consuls:
A Republic was established following the expulsion of the Etruscan kings in 509 BCE.
Power was vested mainly in a senate and in two elected consuls.
The craze for Greek art:
During the Republic, the Romans developed a special interest in and taste for Greek art.
Eclecticism on the Tiber:
Eclecticism is the primary characteristic of the Republican temple on the east bank of the
Tiber. The architecture shows a blending of Etruscan and Greek features, and emphasizes
the front of the building.
3-8: Model of the city of Rome during the early
fourth century CE. Rome, Museo della Civiltà Romana.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Model
Model
Model
Model
3-9: Temple of "Fortuna Virilis" (Temple of Portunus), Rome, Italy, ca. 75 BCE
1.
2.
3.
4.
several views
several views
more images
more images
Republican verism:
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The surviving portraits of prominent Roman Republican figures appear to be literal
reproductions of individual faces. Although their style derives to some degree form
Hellenistic and Etruscan, and perhaps even Ptolemaic Egyptian, portraits, Republican
portraits are one way the patrician class celebrated its elevated position in society. These
patricians did not ask sculptors to make them appear nobler than they were. Instead, they
requested brutally realistic images of distinctive features.
3-10: Head of a Roman patrician, from Otricoli, Italy, ca. 75-50: BCE. Marble,
approx. 1' 2" high. Museo Torlonia, Rome.
1. head
2. head
POMPEII AND THE CITIES OF VESUVIUS
Oscans, Samnites, and Romans:
Pompeii was first settled by the Oscans and later by the Samnites. Sulla founded a new
Roman colony on the site in 80 BCE.
The heart of Pompeii:
The typical Roman town was planned originally with a centrally located public square or
civic center (forum) located at the intersection of the main north-south street, the cardo,
and the main east-west street, the decumanus.
3-11: Aerial view of the forum, Pompeii, Italy, with Temple of Jupiter (Capitolium),
and Basilica, second century BCE and later.
1.
2.
3.
4.
aerial view
aerial view
aerial view
various views
Gladiators and wild animals:
Shortly after the Roman's took control of Pompeii, two of the towns wealthiest officials
used their own funds to erect a large ampitheater at the southeastern end of town. It is the
earliest such structure known and could easily seat 20,000 spectators.
A painting on the wall of a Pompeian house records a brawl between the Pompeians and
their neighbors, the Nucerians, during a gladiator contest. The fighting left many
seriously wounded and led to the closing of the amphitheater for a decade.
3-12:
Aerial view of the amphitheater, Pompeii, Italy, ca. 70 BCE.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
view
view
view
view
Townhouses for the wealthy:
A domus, or single-family house, had a plain exterior; the focus was on the interior
spaces. The parts of the house are fauces, atrium, impluvium, cubicula, tablinum,
triclinium, and peristyle. The House of the Vetti had a large peristyle, but no tablinum.
3-13: Atrium of the House of the Vettii, Pompeii,
Italy, second century BCE, rebuilt 62-79: CE.
1.
2.
3.
4.
atrium
atrium
atrium
atrium
The First Style and Greece:
The First Style imitates marble panels using painted stucco relief. The wall is divided into
three parts, with a dado at the bottom, a middle section (with the large, imitation marble
panels), and an upper part of the wall with a cornice, a frieze, and another cornice. Each
panel is outlined with stucco. The cornices are also modeled in stucco.
3-14: First Style wall painting in the fauces of the Samnite House, Herculaneum,
Italy, late second century BCE.
1.
2.
3.
4.
painting
painting
painting
painting
The Second Style illusionism:
The Second Style shows imaginary three-dimensional worlds. The illusion is that the wall
surface has receded.
An example of Second Style painting is found in the Villa of the Mysteries, where rites
associated with the Dionysiac Mysteries are celebrated in a continuous frieze running
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round all four walls of the room. The life-size figures appear as if on a shallow ledge
against a backdrop of painted panels.
3-15:
Dionysiac mystery frieze, Second Style wall paintings in Room 5 of the Villa of the
Mysteries, Pompeii, Italy, ca. 60-50: BCE. Frieze approx. 5' 4" high.
1. frieze
2. frieze
Perspective Painting:
The Second Style painting in Cubiculum M of the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor
shows "picture-window" vistas with illusionistic architecture on side and back walls.
Sacred precincts with images of Diana-Lucina (goddess of the moon) and Hecate (ruler
of the night), each flanked by picturesque architectural vistas, appear near the room's
entrance. The buildings are piled one above the other and painted in pastel colors. The
vistas of colonnades and temples appear on the rear wall.
3-16: Second Style wall paintings (general view and detail of tholos) from
Cubiculum M of the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor, Boscoreale, Italy, ca. 50-40:
BCE. Approx. 8' 9" high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
cubiculum
cubiculum
cubiculum
cubiculum
cubiculum
Livia's painted garden:
The Second Style wall painting from the Villa of Livia, Primaporta, shows a continuous
illusionistic gardenscape on all four walls.
3-17: Gardenscape, Second Style wall painting, from the Villa of Livia,
Primaporta, Italy, ca. 30-20: BCE. Approx. 6' 7" high. Museo Nazionale RomanoPalazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
painting
painting
painting
painting
painting
Third Style elegance:
The Third Style shows delicate linear fantasies against monochrome backgrounds.
Cubiculum 15 of the Villa of Agrippa Postumus is decorated with elegantly attenuated
architectural forms that frame small, floating landscapes. The painting from the Vatican
Virgil shows framed panels with atmospheric landscapes.
3-18: Detail of a Third Style wall painting, from Cubiculum 15 of the Villa of
Agrippa Postumus, Boscotrecase, Italy, ca. 10 BCE. Approx. 7' 8" high.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
1. painting
2. painting
The Fourth Style:
The Fourth Style includes illusionistic elements and framed panels against a monochrome
(white) background. The lower zone (dado) has geometric panels, and the middle section
has larger panels with architectural views in perspective. Monochrome panels are
decorated with delicate floral borders with figures of maenads and satyrs floating in the
center. Figurative panels with mythological scenes, and elaborate architectural scenes in
perspective appear at frieze level.
3-19: Fourth Style wall paintings in the Ixion Room (Triclinium P) of the House of
the Vettii, Pompeii, Italy, ca. 70-79: CE.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
paintings
paintings
paintings
paintings
paintings
Painting the inanimate:
Still life with peaches shows illusionistic effects of light and shadow.
3-20: Still life with peaches, detail of a Fourth Style wall painting, from
Herculaneum, Italy, ca. 62-79: CE. Approx. 1' 2" x 1' 1 1/2". Museo Nazionale,
Naples.
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1. Still life
2. Still life
Etruscan Art :: Roman Art: The Republic :: Pompeii And The Cities Of
Vesuvius :: Early Empire :: High Empire :: Late Empire
EARLY EMPIRE
The murder of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, 44 BCE, plunged the Roman world
into a bloody civil war. The fighting had lasted 13 years and ended only when Octavian
(Augustus), Caesar's grandnephew and adopted son, crushed the naval forces of Mark
Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. Octavian became the undisputed master of the
Roman world as the Emperor Augustus. The battle signaled the end of the absorption of
the Hellenistic kingdoms into the Roman Empire. The old Roman Republic ended in 27
BCE when the Senate conferred on Octavian the title of Augustus.
The Pax Romana:
The peace and prosperity Augustus brought to the Mediterranean world and which
prevailed for two centuries is known as the Pax Romana. During this time a number of
public works were commissioned throughout the empire.
Augustus, son of a god:
When Octavian inherited Caesar's fortune in 44 BCE, he was not yet 19 years old. The
following portrait of Augustus is a copy of an original bronze in the traditional Greek
idealized manner.
3-21: Portrait of Augustus as general, from Primaporta, Italy, copy of a bronze
original of ca. 20 BCE. Marble, 6' 8" high. Vatican Museums, Rome.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
various views
various views
various views
various views
various views
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A shrine to peace:
The Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) celebrates the establishment of peace
by Augustus. The processions carved in relief on the north and south sides depict a
specific event.
3-22: Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace), Rome,
Italy, 13-9: BCE. (View from the southwest).
1.
2.
3.
4.
various views
various views
various views
various views
3-23: Procession of the imperial family, detail of
the south frieze of the Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome, Italy, 13-9: BCE. Marble, approx.
5' 3" high.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
frieze
frieze
frieze
frieze
frieze
Rome in France:
The Forum of Augustus is in ruins today, but the conservative neoclassical Augustan
style it epitomizes may be seen in an exceptionally well preserved temple at Nimes in
southern France. The classicizing style of the so-called Maison Carrée was admired by
Thomas Jefferson, who used it as the model for his design of the State Capitol in
Richmond, Virginia.
The Romans also built aqueducts, roads, and bridges to serve colonies throughout the farflung empire. The three-story aqueduct-bridge known today as the Pont-du-Gard
demonstrates the skill of Rome's engineers.
Pont-du-Gard, Nîmes, France, ca. 16 BCE.
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3-24:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
bridge
bridge
detail
detail
bridge
bridge
Nero and civil war:
The suicide of Nero in 68 CE brought an end to the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Following a
period of civil strife, Vespasian emerged as the new emperor. Vespasian, whose family
name was Flavius, was succeeded by his Titus. After Titus's death in 81 CE, Vespasian's
second son, Domitian, became emperor.
Colossus and Colosseum:
The Flavian Amphitheater, as it was known in its own day, was one of Vespasian's first
undertakings after becoming emperor. The site chosen was the artificial lake on the
grounds of Nero's Domus Aurea, which was drained for the purpose. The Colosseum
takes its name not from its size - it could hold more than 50,000 spectators - but from its
location beside the Colossus of Nero, the huge statue of the emperor portrayed as the sun
god, at the entrance to his urban villa.
3-25: Aerial view (bottom) and facade (top) of the Colosseum (Flavian
Amphitheater), Rome, Italy, ca. 70-80: CE.
1. various views
2. exterior
3. exterior
4. entrance
5. entrance
6. interior
7. various views
8. exterior
9. exterior
10. interior
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Flavian portraiture:
A portrait bust of a young woman is notable for its elegance and delicacy and for the
virtuoso rendering of the differing textures of hair and flesh.
3-26: Portrait bust of a Flavian woman, from Rome, Italy, ca. 90 CE. Marble,
approx. 2' 1" high. Museo Capitolino, Rome.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
bust
bust
rear
rear
similar
The god Titus:
Erected after Titus's death by Domitian, the single arched opening is framed by engaged
columns with Composite capitals. The spandrels contain reliefs of winged female Victory
figures.
1.
2.
3.
4.
3-27: Arch of Titus, Rome, Italy, after 81 CE.
various views
view
view
various views
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5. drawing
The spoils of Jerusalem:
Two large, deeply carved relief panels on the inside of the passageway show the
triumphal parade of Titus down the Sacred Way after his return from the conquest of
Judaea at the end of the Jewish Wars in 70 CE.
3-28: Spoils of
Jerusalem, relief panel from the Arch of Titus, Rome, Italy, after 81 CE. Marble,
approx. 7' 10" high.
1.
2.
3.
4.
relief
relief
relief
relief
Titus in triumph:
The seeming historical accuracy of the spoils panel (10-38:) that closely corresponds to
the contemporary description of Titus's triumph by the Jewish historian Josephus - gave
way in the following panel to allegory.
3-29:
Triumph of Titus, relief panel from the Arch of Titus, Rome, Italy, after 81 CE.
Marble, approx. 7' 10" high.
1.
2.
3.
4.
relief
relief
relief
relief
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Etruscan Art :: Roman Art: The Republic :: Pompeii And The Cities Of
Vesuvius :: Early Empire :: High Empire :: Late Empire
HIGH EMPIRE
Under Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines in the second century CE, the Roman Empire
reached its greatest geographic extent and the height of its power.
Rome's greatest Forum:
The huge Forum of Trajan in Rome includes a triumphal arch, a colonnaded open square,
a basilica, a temple, two libraries, and a giant commemorative column with a tomb at its
base.
3-30: Apollodorus of Damascus, model of Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated
112 CE. Museo della Civiltà Romana, Rome.
1.
2.
3.
4.
forum
forum
forum
ruins
Trajan's column:
The colossal freestanding column is decorated with a continuous spiral narrative frieze
depicting Trajan's two successful campaigns against the Dacians.
3-31: Column
of Trajan, Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated 112 CE.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
column
detail
detail
detail
detail
detail
Shopping in Imperial Rome:
The Markets of Trajan, built as a multilevel complex on the slope of the Quirinal hill,
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house both shops and administrative offices.
3-32:
APOLLODORUS OF DAMASCUS, interior of the great hall, Markets of Trajan,
Rome, Italy, ca. 100-112 CE.
1. interior
2. interior
3. reconstructed hall
Hadrian and the Pantheon:
The Pantheon, a huge temple dedicated to all the gods, is one of the best-preserved
buildings of antiquity. The cylindrical drum enclosing the interior space is topped by a
concrete hemispherical dome pierced in the center by an oculus.
3-33: Aerial view of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy,
118-125 CE.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
exterior
model
various views
various views
aerial view
3-34: Longitudinal and lateral sections of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118-125 CE.
1.
2.
3.
4.
drawing
drawing
drawing
drawing
3-35: Interior of the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118-125 CE.
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
interior
interior
interior
interior
interior
Imperial majesty on horseback:
The larger-than-life-size, gilded-bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius shows the
emperor weary and thoughtful.
3-36: Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius,
from Rome, Italy, ca. 175 CE. Bronze, approx. 11' 6" high. Musei Capitolini, Rome.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
statue
statue
statue
statue
statue
Roman mummy portraits:
In Roman Egypt the traditional stylized portrait mask buried with the dead in mummy
cases was replaced with realistic portraits painted in encaustic on wood.
3-37: Mummy portrait of a man, from Faiyum, Egypt, ca. 160-170 CE. Encaustic on
wood, approx. 1' 2" high. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo.
1. mummy portrait
2. mummy portrait
3. mummy portrait
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Etruscan Art :: Roman Art: The Republic :: Pompeii And The Cities Of
Vesuvius :: Early Empire :: High Empire :: Late Empire
LATE EMPIRE
At the end of the 2nd century CE the power of Rome was beginning to decline.
Severan Rome:
The African-born emperor Septimius Severus, his wife, Julia Domna, and their two sons,
Caracalla and Geta, appear in a tondo portrait from Egypt painted in tempera. The head
of Geta was later erased by Caracalla.
3-38: Reconstruction drawing of the
central hall (frigidarium) of the Baths of Caracalla, Rome, Italy, 212-216 CE.
1. frigidarium
2. frigidarium
A suspicious portrait:
A marble head shows the ruthless character and suspicious nature of Caracalla.
3-39: Portrait of Caracalla, ca. 211-217 CE. Marble, approx. 1' 2" high.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
1. portrait
2. portrait
3. portrait
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The Soldier Emperors (235-284 CE)
During the turbulent third century CE, many emperors ruled only briefly before being
murdered. Portraits of the soldier emperors in the third century CE are notable for their
emotional content and for their technical virtuosity.
3-40: Portrait bust of Trajan Decius, 249-251 CE. Marble, approx. 2' 7" high.
Museo Capitolino, Rome.
1. bust
From cremation to burial:
Beginning under Trajan and Hadrian, and especially during the rule of the Antonines, the
Romans began to favor burial over cremation, leading to a sudden demand for
sarcophagi.
3-41: Sarcophagus with battle of Romans and barbarians (Ludovisi Battle
Sarcophagus), from Rome, Italy, ca. 250-260 CE. Marble, approx. 5' high. Museo
Nazionale Romano-Palazzo Altemps, Rome.
1. sarcophagus
2. sarcophagus
Power Shared, Order Restored:
Diocletian established the tetrarchy and adopted for himself the title of Augustus of the
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East. He ruled the East together with a Caesar of the East. The other two tetrarchs ruled
as the Augustus and the Caesar of the West.
3-42: Portraits of the four tetrarchs, from Constantinople, ca. 305 CE. Porphyry,
approx. 4' 3" high. Saint Mark's, Venice.
1.
2.
3.
4.
tetrarchs
tetrarchs
detail
detail
Constantine and Christianity:
Following the defeat of Maxentius at the battle at the Milvian Bridge, Constantine ended
the persecution of Christians. In 325 CE, at the Council of Nicaea, Christianity became
the official religion of the Roman Empire.
Colossus
Constantine's
The colossal marble head of Constantine shows a face with enormous eyes carved in
broad and simple planes. The huge Basilica Nova in Rome, where the complete seated
statue was originally placed, was a brick-faced concrete structure with a high groinvaulted central nave and aisles with coffered barrel vaults.
3-43: Portrait of
Constantine, from the Basilica Nova, Rome, Italy, ca. 315-330 CE. Marble, approx.
8' 6" high. Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
head
head and fragments
head
head
head
Rome's new basilica:
The reconstruction drawing of the Basilica Nova effectively suggests the immensity of
the interior, where the great vaults dwarf not only humans but also the emperor's colossal
portrait. The drawing also clearly reveals the fenestration of the groin vaults, a lighting
system akin to the clerestory of a traditional stone-and-timber basilica.
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3-44: Reconstruction drawing of the Basilica Nova (Basilica of Constantine), Rome,
Italy, ca. 306-312 CE.
1. basilica
2. basilica
3. various views
New arch, old reliefs:
The Arch of Constantine utilized refashioned reliefs from earlier monuments. The
shallow Constantinian reliefs show poorly modeled undistinguished figures that are squat
in proportion and have mechanical gestures and repeated stances.
3-45: Arch of Constantine, Rome, Italy, 312-315 CE (south side).
1.
2.
3.
4.
various views
various views
various views
various views
3-46: Distribution of largess, detail of the north frieze of the Arch of Constantine,
Rome, Italy, 312-315 CE. Marble, approx. 3' 4" high.
1.
2.
3.
4.
frieze
frieze
frieze
frieze
Etruscan Art :: Roman Art: The Republic :: Pompeii And The Cities Of
Vesuvius :: Early Empire :: High Empire :: Late Empire
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