Download 6_Etruscan and Roman Art_Part3

Periods in Ancient ROME
The Republic (509 -27 BCE)
Early Empire (27 BCE - 96 CE)
High Imperial Art of Trajan and Hadrian (96 - 200 CE)
The Late Empire (200 - 300 CE)
The Romans: Early Empire
(27 BCE - 96 CE)
- Art in the age of Augustus created a new form of
idealism...revival of classical Greek art.
- Roman art in the early empire recorded historical events
AND pushed the ideas of Roman political propaganda.
- Shows Octavian (the first Roman emperor) and he was
given the title “Augustus” meaning “sacred.”
Unknown. Augustus of Primaporta (1st Century CE)
Marble. Height 6’ 8”. Primaporta (near Rome), Italy.
The Romans:
Early Empire
(27 BCE - 96 CE)
Unknown. Augustus of Primaporta (1st
Century CE) Marble. Height 6’ 8”.
Primaporta (near Rome), Italy. (left)
Unknown. Augustus of Primaporta
Reproduction (21st Century CE) Marble
with color. Height 6’ 8”. Vatican, Italy. (right)
- Octavian’s great uncle was Julius Caesar, who adopted him at 18 and realized he could be a leader.
- Uses the standard pose of a Roman orator (pointing) with classical Greek contraposto.
- Captures Augustus as young and powerful.
The Romans: Early Empire (27 BCE - 96 CE)
- Shows Cupid (god of love) riding a dolphin next to Augustus’ leg.
- Cupid = son of Venus
- Dolphin = Symbolic of
Venus emerging from the
sea during birth.
Unknown. Augustus of Primaporta (1st Century
CE) Marble. Height 6’ 8”. Primaporta (near
Rome), Italy.
The Romans: Early
Empire (27 BCE 96 CE)
- Augustus claimed to be of divine
lineage and related to Venus.
- Armor shows his 20 BCE victory
over the Parthians (ancient
kingdom in Iran).
- Was given title of “Pontifex
Maximus” at age 68 making him
the highest ranking political and
religious leader of Rome.
Unknown. Augustus of Primaporta
(1st Century CE) Marble. Height 6’
8”. Primaporta (near Rome), Italy.
The Romans: Early Empire (27 BCE - 96 CE)
- Altar was completed when Augustus
was 54 years old, and dedicated on his
wife, Livia’s, 50th birthday.
- Made entirely of marble based on
Greek architecture.
- The relief sculptures on the frieze
show the history of Rome and
Augustus’ ancestry.
Unknown. Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) (13 - 9 BCE) Marble.
Rome, Italy.
Unknown. Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) (13 - 9 BCE) Marble. Rome, Italy.
- The reliefs tell us how
Roman imperial rule
through Augustus will bring
peace.
imperial = relating to an
empire
- The altar was discovered
in 1568 in ruins b/c of
disuse.
Unknown. Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) (13 - 9 BCE) Marble. Rome, Italy.
- Complete excavation took
place in 1937 - 1938 under
order of Mussolini.
Unknown. Imperial Procession (13 - 9 BCE) Marble. From Ara Pacis, Rome, Italy.
- In this frieze we see members of Augustus’ extended family.
The Romans: Early Empire
(27 BCE - 96 CE)
- Gardens and nature were very popular with the
Romans.
- Roman cities were based on a layout similar to
army camps.
- Cities were laid out in a grid pattern.
- Housing was made up of brick apartment blocks
(clusters of housing units) called, insulae.
- Each block had courtyards, multiple floors, and
balconies.
- Pompeii was one of these cities and was very
wealthy.
Pompeii (Destroyed 79 CE) Pompeii, Italy.
The Romans: Early Empire (27 BCE - 96 CE)
- 10,000 to 20,000 people lived in Pompeii.
- An earthquake in 62 CE destroyed homes.
- Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE burying the city under 20 - 30 ft.
of volcanic ash.
- Archeologists discovered voids in the volcanic ash that were left
by decomposing bodies.
Pompeii (Destroyed 79 CE) Pompeii, Italy.
Plaster Casts of Bodies from Pompeii, Italy.
The Romans: Early Empire (27 BCE - 96 CE)
- Roman homes had several small rooms laid out around a small open courts; the atrium and the peristyle.
Peristyle = courtyard with plants
Atrium = a space with a pool for catching rain water.
Garden and Peristyle, House of
the Vettii Pompeii, Italy.
Dining Room
Garden
“Ixion Room”
Peristyle
Atrium
Entrance
The Romans: Early Empire
(27 BCE - 96 CE)
- The House of the Vettii was built by two brothers
(Vettius Corniva & Vettius Restitutus) who were
freed slaves that became wealthy.
- Roman houses had plain smooth plaster
walls...perfect surfaces for wall paintings.
- Throughout the home is artwork made to look like
framed paintings.
Wall Painting in the Ixion
Room, House of the Vettii
Pompeii, Italy.
- “Ixion” is the story of a man, Ixion,
who tries to seduce Hera...Zeus finds
out so he binds him to a spinning
wheel on fire.
- Ixion continues to spin on the
flaming wheel for eternity.
Wall Painting in the Ixion Room,
House of the Vettii. Pompeii, Italy.
Initiation Rites of the Cult of Bacchus, Villa of the Mysteries (c. 60 - 50 BCE). Wall painting. Pompeii, Italy.
- Bacchus was one of the most important gods in Pompeii.
The Romans: Early
Empire (27 BCE - 96 CE)
(bottom) Still-Life, House of the Stags (Cervi)
(Before 79 CE). Museo Archeologico
Nazionale, Naples, Italy.
(top) Garden Vista, Villa of Livia at Primaporta (Late 1st Century BCE).
Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome, Italy.
- Garden Vista in the Villa of Livia at Primaporta uses atmospheric
perspective.
Atmospheric Perspective (a.k.a. Aerial Perspective) = Gives
the viewer the perspective of being above the ground with the
background receding into space.
The Romans: Early Empire
(27 BCE - 96 CE)
- The man holds a scroll in his right
hand...a sign of educational achievement.
- The wife holds a stylus (writing tool) in
her right hand and a writing tablet.
- These are unique and actual people as
seen in their differences in skin tones,
facial features, etc.
- This was a wall painting found in a
home in Pompeii.
Portrait of a Married Couple (1st Century CE) Height 25 1/2”. Museo
Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy.
The Romans: Early Empire
(27 BCE - 96 CE)
- A new dynasty of Romans known as the
Flavians began in 69 CE with the emperor
Vespasian.
- The Flavians ruled from 69 - 96 CE.
- On top of the arch was once a giant bronze
statue of the emperor Titus and a 4-horse
chariot.
- The arch was built in honor of Titus
capturing Jerusalem and ending a Jewish
revolt in Palestine.
Arch of Titus (81 CE) Concrete and white marble. Height 50’. Rome, Italy.
Arch of Titus (81 CE) Concrete and white marble. Height 50’. Rome, Italy.
- In this relief on the passageway, we see Titus’ soldiers with all of the stolen valuables from Jerusalem,
and carrying them through Rome.
- At the top right you can see the Arch of Titus that they are about to pass through.
- The Arch of Titus is
part sculpture, part
architecture, and part
celebration.
Arch of Titus (81 CE)
Concrete and white marble.
Height 50’. Rome, Italy.
Arch of Titus (81 CE)
Concrete and white
marble. Height 50’.
Rome, Italy.
The Romans: Early Empire
(27 BCE - 96 CE)
- The emperor Vespasian began the construction of the
Flavian Amphitheater in 70 CE and emperor Titus
completed it in 80 CE.
- Become known as the “Colosseum” because a giant
statue of the emperor Nero (54 - 68 CE) called the
Colossus stood next to the amphitheater.
- The floor was laid over a series of rooms and tunnels for
the athletes, performers, animals, and equipment.
- Sand was used to cover the floor.
Arena (Latin) = Sand (English)
Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum) (70 - 80 CE).
Height 159’. Rome, Italy.
The Romans: Early Empire
(27 BCE - 96 CE)
- When the Flavian Amphitheater was opened
in 80 CE, the performances lasted 100 days,
which included gladiator battles, battles with
wild animals, and mock sea battles.
- During the 100 days after opening 9,000 wild
animals were killed and 2,000 gladiators died.
- 50,000 people could fit into the arena, which
provided perfect sight lines and crowd control.
- Most of the structure was dismantled in the
Middle Ages (1100 - 1453 CE) for the use of
marble and metal to use for churches.
Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum) (70 - 80 CE). Height 159’.
Rome, Italy.
The Romans: Early Empire (27 BCE - 96 CE)
Young Flavian Woman (90 CE). Marble. Height 25”. Rome, Italy.
- Roman patrons still wanted realism in their portraits...but liked to be idealized.
- Sculptures in marble required lots of chiseling and drilling to get the fine and exact details.