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With the expulsion of the Etruscan Kings in 509 B. C., the Romans began a
gradual development and consolidation that would eventually make Rome the center of the
world's largest empire. The political supremacy of Athens had lasted for only about fifty
years; Rome's endured for almost five hundred. Rome was a melting pot of cultures and
ideas.· The political genius of Rome lay in the ability to encompasss, govern and
assimilate cultures very different from its own. They worshipped power and military
glory. The Roman culture became essentially e c I e ct i C, especially in their art. An
anonymous Roman poet best summed it up long after their legions conquered Greece when
he said, "captive Greece made Rome captive."
Architecture:
Temples were based on Greco-Etruscan types, houses,
apartments, baths, amphitheaters, basilicas, bridges, aqueducts, and city-planning were
also important. Known
for their innovations in structural
engineering, the Romans created large complex structures. The discovery
of concrete as well as the development and refinement of the arc h are notable
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contributions. Articulation was influenced by Greek decorative language
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Painting:
wall paintings were
developed to a high degree from Greek proto-types. Panel
" J paintings were produced in large numbers in tempera and
encaustic. The mixing of pigment with egg yolk or hot wax
was not altogether new for Rome
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Sculpture: Roman artists
were
known
for
emphasized extreme
portraits
which
realism, reliefs which
depicted civic and military events, statues of their
rulers and scarcophagi. They also made copies and
ada tations of Greek ori inals.
Roman art cont'd.
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A. Republican Period c. 509-27 B. C.
Building types: Most of the building types used by the Romans were introduced
duril'!g the Republican Period and developed under the Empire.
1. T e m pie s· The Pantheon
Model of Pantheon
2. Houses
Media & Technigues:
1. Travertine limestone and tufa used for
foundations and facings of buildings.
2. Concrete was invented/discovered (made
possible by the use of potsolonia sand)
and used for walls, vaults and domes. Concrete
cores faced with veneers
of brick or
stone became a Roman standard which
still enjoys immense popularity today.
*on a plaque by the doorway of the ancient building "Aedificium
Toto Orbe
Celeberrimum"
3. The use of the arch and vault in combination with concrete led to vast
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increases in the strength and size of the
structure.
Vaulting
Systems
B. The Empire Period c. 27 B. C.-A. D. 476
1. Apartment houses (up to 5 stories in height) Insula. reconstruction
2. Bridges and aqueducts (some still in use today) Ponte du Gard
3. Amphitheaters and theaters- Aerial View of the Colosseum
4. Baths (more than a place for a wash-up)
Restoration drawing of the Baths of Caracalla
S. Basilica (government buildings, assembly
halls.
6. Triumphal arches Arch of Constantine
lecture quote by Professor D. Threlkeld, B.A.C., 1994
Roman art cont'd.
City
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Planning:
The Romans devoted major efforts to the construction of new cities and the
rebuilding of old ones. Cities were laid out around a civic center or for u m . The two
main streets ran north-south, and east-west, dividing the city into four equal quadrants
which were subdivided into blocks by alleys and narrow streets. The rectangular grid
was a Greek concept in city planning.
Roman painting included wall paintings, which
decorated public buildings and houses, and panel
paintings, which decorated houses. Wall painting was
important and innovative. Its illusionistic effects
established the foundations of latter western painting
Purposes and Subject Matter:
1. Religious
2. Secular (non-religious, decorative)
a. Landscape, real and imaginery
b.
c. Genre scenes (everyday life) d.
e. Portraiture-~ Young Woman with a Stylus,
example of a Tondo painting in a
circular frame (page 1 of this handout)
Media and Technigues:
1. True fresco on wet plastered wall surfaces was prevealent.
Hecurles Strangling the Serpents. Pompeii
2. Tempera on wood panels was used for small portable pictures.
3. Encaustic on wood panels was also used for small pictures
and for the mummy portraits made in Egypt under Roman rule.
Design
Characteristics: (contributing to Roman illusionism)
1. Chi ar 0 s cur 0 -shading of forms from light to dark
2. Mod uIat ion of color within forms.
3. Spatial orientation - diminution of size from foreground
to background
4. Foreshortening of forms and figures.
5. Directed lighting forms cast shadows.
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6. Atmospheric perspective - forms
=-~--~come indistinct and bluish toward the horizon
Roman art contrd.
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As in other art forms, the Romans synthesized the developments of Greek and
Etruscan sculpture, and added elements of their own to produce a unique style.
Purposes:
Because of the combination of religion and politics in the Roman state, most of the
sculpture served as both religious and state propaganda.
Subject Matter:
1. Introduced during the Republican period
a. Portrait busts of ancestors and
rulers Bust of Juluis Caesar
b. Copies and adaptations of Greek originals
c. Wholesale import/plunder of Greek originals
2. Introduced during the Empire period
a. Official portraits of rulers:
1.) The orator addressing the people,
Augustus of Prima Porta
2.) The leader on horseback,
(equestrian statue) Marcus Aurelius
3.) The leader as pontefex m~ximus (priest) or god
b. Relief sculpture of actual or mythological events on
1.) Triumphal arches,Arch of Titus
2.) Commemorative columns, detail of Trajan's Column
3.) Sarcophagi, Promethus Sarcophagus
Media and Techniques:
1. Marble and bronze were used for free-standing sculpture
2. "Copies" of Greek originals were often adaptations rather direct copies
3. The early Empire period considered the peak of technical virtuosity
Location. Size and Scale:
1. Roman sculptures adorned both private and public buildings
2. Most sculptures were life-size or larger
3. Roman scul ture is known for extreme monumentalit