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Roman Art
753 BCE – 5th Century CE
“The Roman Empire existed by virtue of
the grandest application of technology
that the world had hitherto seen.”
- Alfred North Whitehead, Philosopher
Time Periods
¤  Founding of Rome by
Romulus and Remus
¤  753 BCE
¤  Roman Republic
¤  509 BCE – 27 BCE
¤  Early and High Roman
Empire
¤  27 BCE – 192 CE
¤  Late Roman Empire
¤  192 BCE – 410 CE
Key Concepts
¤  Roman art reflects the ambitions of a powerful empire –
monumental buildings and sculptures reflect the glory of the
gods and the state.
¤  Roman architecture is revolutionary in its understanding of
the powers of the arch, the vault, the dome, and concrete.
¤  A history of Roman painting survives on the walls of
Pompeiian villas.
¤  Romans show an interest in the basic elements of
perspective and foreshortening.
¤  Roman sculpture is greatly indebted to Greek sculpture.
Background
¤  According to legend, Romulus and Remus, abandoned twins, were suckled by a
She-Wolf, and later established the city of Rome on its fabled seven hills.
¤  At first the state was ruled by kings, who were later overthrown and replaced by a
Senate and two elected consul.
¤  The Romans then established a democracy of a sort, with magistrates ruling the
country in conjunction with the Senate, an elected body of privileged Roman
men.
¤  Various well-executed wars increased Rome’s fortunes and boundaries.
¤  Greek colony of Syracuse in Sicily (211 BCE) and then Greece (146 BCE) were
absorbed into Roman life.
¤  Civil war in the late Republic caused power to shift to rule by emperors (Augustus
Caesar in 27 BCE, etc.) until it was sacked in 410 CE.
Patronage
¤  Roman state and wealthiest individuals were the major
patrons of the arts: spending lavishly for themselves and
for the general good with public projects.
¤  Workshops were established to meet the demands for
Greek works.
¤  Homes of wealthy Romans demonstrated power and
privilege.
¤  Artists were considered low members of the social scale
and were treated poorly.
Innovations in Roman Architecture
Barrel Vault:
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Groin Vault:
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Dome:
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Republic Rome
509 BCE – 27 BCE
Temple of Portunus
¤  Republican temple
on the east bank of
the Tiber River
¤  Combination of
cultures: Etruscan
and Greek.
Veristic Sculpture
¤  Standard Republican
superrealistic fashion.
¤  Stern frontal portraits of
prominent Roman
Republican figures.
¤  Subjects were almost
exclusively men of
advanced age.
¤  Features may have been
exaggerated to suggest
the Republican virtues.
Pompeii and the Cities of
Vesuvius
Domestic/Residential Architecture
q  Atrium –
q  Compluvium –
q  Impluvium –
q  Cubicula -
Restored view and plan of a typical Roman house
(domus) of the Late Republic and Early Empire.
(1) fauces, (2) atrium, (3) impluvium, (4) cubiculum, (5) ala,
(6) tablinum, (7) triclinium, (8) peristyle.
First Pompeian Style
¤  First Style (masonry style) was
intended to imitate costly
marble panels using painted/
modeled stucco relief.
Villa of Mysteries
Second Pompeian Style
Boscoreale Frescoes
Second Pompeian Style
Third Pompeian Style
¤  Characterized by small scenes
set in a field of color.
¤  Framed by delicately traced
columns.
Ixion Room (Fourth Style)
q Fourth Style combines
elements from the
previous three:
q  Painted marble from First
Style,
q  Large scenes of the
Second Style,
q  Delicate small scenes of
the Third Style.
q Fragmentary
architectural vistas
(central and upper
zones) are unmistakably
Fourth Style.
Private Portraits
q  Portrait of a husband
and wife.
q  The man holds a scroll
and the woman holds
a stylus and a wax
writing tablet
(standard attributes in
Roman marriage
portraits).
q  Sensitive study of the
man and woman’s
individual faces.
Still Life with Peaches
q  Frequent inclusion of still-life
paintings in the mural
schemes of the Second,
Third, and Fourth Styles.
q  Attention to shadows and
highlights.
q  Art historians have not
found evidence of
anything like these Roman
studies of food and other
inanimate objects until the
Dutch still lifes from the 17th
and 18th centuries.