Download Roman Art and Architecture

Roman Art and Architecture
Key types studied
Types of Roman Architecture
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Temples
Aqueducts
Forum
Theatres
Amphitheatres
Baths
Palaces
Types of Roman Art
•
•
•
•
Frescoes
Mosaics
Sculpture
Pottery
Temples
• Different styles all based on Greek fashion
Maison Carree in Nimes,
France
Pantheon, Rome
Aqueducts
• Engineering feats designed to bring
drinking water long distances to Roman
cities and towns
Note the use of arches. Why are they needed?
Forum
• The central meeting and market place of
any Roman town. Often important people
commissioned these for the public
A reconstruction of the
forum at Pompeii (Bay
of Naples, Italy)
Note the colonnades.
What are these?
Amphitheatres
• The great stadia of Imperial Rome Twickenham, Eden Park and Homebush
rolled into one!
The Flavian
Amphitheatre (aka
Colosseum)
-a reconstruction.
-What common
Roman building
feature is used?
Theatres
• Adapted from the classic Greek style: used
for dramatic presentations
Theatre at Lepcis
Magna, North
Africa (modern
Libya) - a long
way from Rome
but note the scale!
Baths
• The hallmark
of Roman
civilisation:
elaborate hot
and cold
bathhouses
with plunge
pool, saunas
and gymnasia
Floor plan of Hadrian’s Baths at
Lepcis Magna
Baths
The outdoor swimming
pool at Lepcis Magna.
Note the statuary and
columns. They were
visually stunning, not just
useful.
Palaces, Imperial houses
• Lifestyles of the rich and famous! Many
low-level buildings, gardens, water features.
A reconstruction of
Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli,
just outside Rome. Much
can be seen today
Roman Art
Frescoes
• Another name for wall painting (as in
Michaelangelo’s ceiling on the Sistine
Chapel)
A frescoe from Pompeii, buried after
the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79.
Note the theme: an exterior scene
designed to make the interior seem
more spacious
Mosaics
• Art created with tiles (tesserae) of glass,
stone. These might appear on walls and
floors
Sculpture
• Statues created in marble or, if good
enough, bronze (using ‘lost wax’ method)
Pottery, glassware
• Romans enjoyed emulating the style of
Greek painted vases and pottery
• Roman glass was also of a very high quality
• Metal (gold, silver) dinnerware was also
highly decorated
Examples
• Red slip vase with image of Orpheus
Column orders
•
•
•
•
•
Tuscan - plain, unfluted drum or tambour
Doric - fluted, plain capital
Ionic - fluted, volutes on capital
Corinthian - fluted, acanthus leaves on capital
Composite - fluted, acanthus leaves and volutes
on capital
• Three parts to column: base, drum (tambour),
capital (top)