Download The Roman Legacy - T. "Art" DeSantis

The Roman Legacy
The Art of Ancient Rome
Chapter 4
(Culture and Values)
Timeline – Ancient Rome
c 753 B.C – Founding of city (town) of Rome
c 700 B.C. - Development of Etruscan culture
616 – 510 B.C – Etruscan Occupation of Rome
509 – 31 B.C. – Republican Rome
146 B.C Romans capture city of Corinth, Greece becomes
Roman province
58-56 B.C. - Caesar conquers Gaul
c. 27 B.C.- A.D. - 14 Horace, Odes and Ars Poetica;
Vergil, Aeneid; Ovid, Metamorphoses
31 B.C. – 476 A.D – Imperial Rome
44 B.C Julius Caesar assassinated
79 - Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum
c. 126 - Pantheon, Rome
300-305 - Diocletian's Palace, Split
306-315 - Basilica of Constantine, Rome
476 – Deposition of final Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus
– End of Empire
The Roman World
Primary sources of Roman culture were the Greeks and
the Etruscans.
•The Etruscans built large burial yards called necropolises.
•They used the arch in their building projects.
•The Etruscan Apollo combines these two sensibilities:
a. Archaic smile
b. Greek dress
c. more dynamic than Kouroi (pl of Kouros)
The Etruscan Apollo
Apollo of Veii
c. 515 - 490 BC, painted terracotta, 5'11 h
Terracotta was used extensively for sculpture.
This Apollo originally decorated the roof of a temple
It was part of a sculptural group depicting
one of the labors of Hercules,
he was struggling with Hercules for possession of the
Cerynian Stag. The sculpture shows
strong Archaic Greek influence –
(compare with kouros figures)
Apollo very actively steps forward,
but he has a great Archaic smile and facial features
similar to the kouroi.
However Apollo is clothed and made of terracotta,
not marble.
Also he is very energetic as he strides forward
compared to the more static kouroi
Etruscan Necropolis (City of the Dead)
The geometric layout of
These "Cities for the Dead"
Provides an excellent
opportunity for the study
of ancient urban planning
Methods.
Crosifisso del Tufu, Necropolis at Orvieto
6th – 3rd centuries B.C.
This Etruscan tomb dates from the mid 6th
century BC to the 3rd century.
It consists of several burial chambers situated
among sepulchral roads
where the name of the dead is etched in stone
(unquestionably final)
at the entrance of the tomb.
(Family Name Written From Right to Left)
Etruscan tomb
Interior
Roman Philosophy
Epicureanism
Epicurus (Late Hellenistic Greek Philosopher 341 – 271 B.C.) developed an
unsparingly materialistic metaphysics, empiricist epistemology,
and hedonistic ethics. Epicurus taught that the basic constituents of the world
are atoms, uncuttable bits of matter, flying through empty space, and he tried
to explain all natural phenomena in atomic terms. Epicurus rejected the existence
of Platonic forms and an immaterial soul, and he said that the gods have no
influence on our lives. Epicurus also thought skepticism was untenable, and that
we could gain knowledge of the world relying upon the senses. He taught that
the point of all one's actions was to attain pleasure (conceived of as tranquility)
for oneself, and that this could be done by limiting one's desires and by
banishing the fear of the gods and of death.
Epicurus' gospel of freedom from fear proved to be quite popular,
and communities of Epicureans flourished for centuries after his death.
Lucretius (99 – 55 B.C), main proponent of Epicureanism among the Romans.
Emphasized the supremacy of rationalism and that the gods polayed no part in
human affairs. Proponent of complete freedom.
Stoicism
Roman Philosophy
Stoicism was one of the new philosophical movements of the Greek Hellenistic period.
The name derives from the porch (stoa poikilê) in the Agora at Athens decorated with
mural paintings, where the members of the school congregated, and their lectures
were held. Unlike ‘epicurean,’ the sense of the English adjective ‘stoical’ is not utterly
misleading with regard to its philosophical origins. The Stoics did, in fact, hold that
emotions like fear or envy (or impassioned sexual attachments, or passionate love
of anything whatsoever) either were, or arose from, false judgements and that the
sage--a person who had attained moral and intellectual perfection--would not
undergo them.
The later Stoics of Roman Imperial times, Seneca and Epictetus, emphasize the
doctrines (already central to the early Stoics' teachings) that the sage is utterly
immune to misfortune and that virtue is sufficient for happiness. Our phrase
‘stoic calm’ perhaps encapsulates the general drift of these claims.
It does not, however, hint at the even more radical ethical views which the
Stoics defended, e.g. that only the sage is free while all others are slaves,
or that all those who are morally vicious are equally so.
Roman Portraiture - Republican
Bust of Marcus Tullius Cicero
First Century B.C. marble
The portraiture of the late Roman
Republic demonstrates the mastery
of craft to a very high degree.
The Roman art of portraiture that
combines strong realism with the
addition of subtle yet powerful
attributes of personality and
character is unparalleled.
Many of the best Roman portraits serve as revealing psychological
documents, expressing fully human qualities. Realistic details, such
as the corners of the eyes and mouth, the hollows of the cheeks,
or the set of the lips are used to express both outer appearance
and inner character.
(Later used for political propaganda and PR)
An early type of architecture borrowed
From Greece is the Temple of Portunus; 100 B.C
•Unlike Greek temples it is not open on all sides
•Was entered from the front only
The style represents a merging of
both Etruscan and Greek temple
styles. Like Greek temples, it has a
porch with free-standing columns but
has only slender engaged Ionic
columns on the sides and back
since the cella wall
is moved toward the outside.
In plan, it is like Etruscan temples, with a clear front
and rear facade. On a high podium, it has stairs only
on the front facade.
Imperial Rome: 31 B.C – 476 A.D.
•The Republic of Rome ended with the assassination of
Julius Caesar and a new era called the “Empire” began.
•The Ara Pacis commemorates the peace of the reign of
Augustus.
a. design is Greek but use is Roman
b. allowed the Empire to borrow the ideals of Greece
for their own purposes
Imperial Values and their effect on Roman and Western Culture
•Dominant authoritarian worldly power respected above all.
•Materialistic world view – roads, architecture, urban planning, plumbing
•Strong central control yet allowances for local differences
•Political and economic realities rule decisionmaking
•Pragmatic, practical philosophy
•Roman Law as Basis for Civil Society
Romans developed art that glorified war
Built monuments for propagandistic reasons
Art and Architecture - tools to ensure and
dramatize power
Art and Empire
Augustan Age ; 27 B.C. – 14 A.D.
The imperator and creator of Pax Romana stands in a contrapposto that echoes the
one of classical Greek athletes, such as the Doryphoros of Polykleitos. The cupid on
the dolphin at his feet hints at the origin of the gens Julia, namely Venus or Afrodite,
the goddess of love. The dolphin itself refers to the naval victory at Actium.
Villa of Livia at Primaporta, c. 20 BC
Augustus of Primaporta, c. 20 BC
The peaceful scene, with its abundance
of fruit and flowers, reflects the interests
of Augustus as ennunciated by Vergil.
Triumphal Arches:
• The Arch of Titus is a solid architectural
reminder of floral and sword arches held
over the heads of returning conquerors
on the roads entering Rome
a. arches were built over roadway
b. generally had relief sculpture recounting
battles and victories
c. at the height of the Empire there were
said to be over 50 in Rome
•Ceremonial and Ritualistic reminders of authority
•The Arch as a visible symbol of the Empire
Arch of Titus
after 81 AD; marble, reliefs; about 7' 10“h
Located at the highest point of the
Via Sacra which leads to the Roman
Forum, this triumphal arch, with only
one passageway, commemorates
Titus' conquest of Judea
which ended the Jewish Wars (66-70).
Engaged fluted columns frame the
passageway, the spandrels depict
Victories in relief, the attic contains
an inscription and the internal faces
of the passageway depict in relief
triumphal processions.
The arch was erected posthumously,
after Titus had already become a "god."
Roman Colosseum: 70 – 82 AD
•Built on top of Nero’s gardens
•Also known as Flavian Ampitheater
•Built of concrete with stone facing
•Used arches and three different orders of columns
– doric, ionic,corinthian
•Held up to 50,000 spectators
•Had tunnel vaults underneath
•Could be flooded for mock naval battles
Roman Colosseum
The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater was begun by
Vespasian, inaugurated by Titus in 80 A.D. and completed
by Domitian. Located on marshy land between the
Esquiline and Caelian Hills, it was the first permanent
amphitheater to be built in Rome. Its monumental size
and grandeur as well as its practical and efficient
organization for producing spectacles and controlling
the large crowds make it one of the great
architectural monuments achieved by the ancient Romans.
The Roman Pantheon: c. 126 AD
• A temple devoted to all the gods.
•142 feet high and same in width
•Oculus in roof center open to sky, called the Eye of Jupiter
•IEssentially an arch rotated 360 degrees
•One of the few buildings from antiquity
to survive intact
"Interior of the Pantheon,"
painted by Paninni, c.1750.
Pantheon
Roman wall painting
•Surviving examples come mostly from
Pompeii and Herculaneum which were
buried in ash and lava in 79 AD
•Mural artists used linear perspective and
Modeling of forms with a high degree of
naturalism
Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii, 60 B.C
Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii
Slow Decline of Rome:
•Unwieldy bureaucratic machine
•Too many mercenary troops that were disloyal
•Power shift from Rome to Constantinople
in 33 AD with invasion of barbarians from north
•330 A.D. Emperor Constantine moved capital to Constantinople
•Final barbarian assault – end of empire, 476 A.D.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
Age of Constantine and Late Roman Period; 330 – 476 A.D.
•Decline of Realism
•Classical Style Abandoned
•Eastern iconoclastic influence
•Religious cults of Eastern Origin
Head of Constantine
315-330 C. E.
marble, head: 8 ½' h
Toward Byzantium
On both sides of the Emperor, his officials distribute money to the crowd below.
The simplified style, in which most of the puppetlike figures are shown frontally,
foreshadows Byzantine and medieval art and is certainly very different
from the style of earlier reliefs
This movement from realism to simplified stylization reflects the changes in worldview
from the Western influences on the Roman culture and the introduction and
Assimilation of Christianity and Eastern influence. The Roman Empire becomes
the Holy Roman Empire and slowly moves toward Byzantine and medieval culture.
Constantine Receiving Homage from the Senate, frieze on the Arch of
Constantine, Rome, AD 315, Marble relief