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Ancient Roman Art: Part 1, Introduction
ANCIENT ROMAN ART
I.
ANCIENT ROMAN ART
A. A Brief History
1. 753 BC – Romulus (the legendary founder of Rome)
builds the first wall around the Palatine Hill.
2. Followed by “Seven Kings” the last of whom was
Tarquinius Superbus who was driven out after rape of
Lucretia
3. 509 BC – Rome set up a Republic, a government in
which citizens have the right to vote to choose their
leaders.
4. 451 BC – A group of ten officials wrote down Rome’s
laws. These laws were carved on 12 great tablets or
tables and hung in the Forum.
5. 390 BC – Rome’s walls were successfully stormed by
marauding Gauls. The Gauls sacked Rome, leaving it in
ruins. But, Rome quickly recovered. The city would not
be sacked again for 800 years.
6. 211 BCE: Roman general Marcellus conquers Greek
city of Syracuse (in Sicily) and brings back artwork as
part of plunder. Exposes Romans to Greek art and
starts “craze” for Greek art that would last for the rest
of the Roman Empire.
7. 275 BC – Rome defeats a Greek army led by Pyrrhus.
Pyrrhus won every battle but lost the war. Ever since, a
victory gained at too high a price has been known as a
“Pyrrhic victory.” After 275 BC, the Romans were
masters of all Italy.
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Ancient Roman Art: Part 1, Introduction
8. 264 – 146 BC – Rome defeats Carthage in a series of
Punic Wars. As a result of these wars, Rome becomes
the master of the western Mediterranean Sea.
9. 146 BC – Rome makes Greece a Roman province
10. 133 BC – Rome inherits Pergamon
11. 59 – 49 BC – Julius Caesar conquers Gaul
12. 44 BC – Julius Caesar is assassinated
13. 31 BC – Octavian, Caesar’s adopted son, defeats
Cleopatra and Mark Antony.
14. 27 BC – 14 AD – Octavian rules Roman Empire
15. 27 BC – 180 AD Pax Romana
B. Let’s take a look at three maps
1. Geographic setting
Note that Rome was located 15 miles from the
Mediterranean Sea. Far enough to provide warning of
sea raiders, but near enough to give it ready access to
the sea.
2. The Empire
3. The City
II.
THE WONDERS OF ROME
A. Overview of the city
1. Large population
2. “Caput Mundi”: Head of the World, Capital of the
World.
B. Forum Romana
1. A FORUM is a public square or marketplace. It was
the civic center of an ancient Roman city, containing
temples, a marketplace, and government buildings.
2. As Rome was the center of the Empire, so the Forum
Romana was the center of Rome
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Ancient Roman Art: Part 1, Introduction
3. The row of columns contains statues honoring the gods.
The city of Rome had over 10,000 statues.
4. The Golden Milestone – Have you ever heard the saying
“All roads lead to Rome?” It was literally true. Caesar
Augustus made the building of highways a major
project and they all led to the Golden Milestone.
C. Meeting the Roman people
1. BUST – a portrait showing the head and neck detached
from the rest of the body.
2. It was traditional for Roman families to preserve wax
or marble portraits of their ancestors.
3. Busts were sufficient as a record of a person, unlike
Greek statues that showed the whole body. Roman
artists did attach busts to full size statues.
4. Roman busts were usually carved in marble, often from
a wax death mask.
5. Roman portrait sculptures have intentional realism.
a. They are VERISTIC – which means they are
very true to the actual appearance. Portrait
busts even show imperfections.
b. The face’s express GRAVITAS – which means
they express seriousness and duty.
c. Why did relatives want a record of their
deceased family members this way?
6. These portrait busts were commissioned by affluent
Romans who traced their ancestors back to the
founding fathers of Rome. These Romans were called
PATRICIANS.
7. It was an insult to a patrician to say that he had no
portrait busts in his home. This meant that he could not
truly trace his ancestors and wasn’t a true patrician.
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