Learning Objectives:
End of the Bronze Age (about 1000 BCE)
Villanovans occupied northern and western regions of Italy. The central region was home to people who spoke what is closest to Latin today.
Beginning in the 8th-century people, the Greeks had established colonies here and controlled this area.
During the 7th century, people known as the Etruscans (related to Villanovans) gained control of the north and much of central Italy as it's known today.
Etruscans reached their height of power in the 6th century and expanded throughout Italy.
Etruscan wealth came from fertile soil and an abundance of metal ore.
They were farmers, metal workers, sailors, and merchants and traded with the Greeks.
The Etruscan artists drew great inspiration from the Greeks and Near Eastern art
Etruscans made extraordinary items for domestic use, such as this one....
Cistae
Is a cylinder containers used by women in the home for toiletry articles - this is an example of one above.
Visual expression through art
Throughout this period, artists created many forms including metal ware, pottery, statues, drawings, frescos and architecture.
Subject matter depicted religious themes, everyday themes, mythological themes, political ones, etc.
Sometimes we see a combination between not only subject matter but also how to express forms and concepts.
For instance, you often see representational objects (humans, animals, plants, etc.) WITH abstract, non-objective forms (designs, patterns, etc.)
Representations of humans are naturally posed and even individualized, having a visual connection to Greek art. Many of whom are in a contropasto pose (an asymmetrical balancing on one foot)
The visual imagery displays the Etruscans' interest in Greek myths.
Architecture and city planning was massive!
Think about why??
Etruscans established patterns of buildings that would be adopted by Romans later.
Cities were laid out on grid patterns (similar to Egypt and Greece) - thus the cities were organized and could easily be expanded.
Cities were divided into quarters with the town's business district centralized in the center of the intersection.
We know about their domestic living quarters because of the house-shaped funerary urns.
One major difference of Ancient Etruscans and Ancient Greeks were where they placed their temples. Instead of being built high on hill tops and mountains in order to be close to heaven as the Ancient Greeks did, the Etruscans and later the Ancient Romans built their temples within the cities themselves, usually at intersections of road ways. This way, you can interpret this as being "with the gods at all times."
Houses were designed around a central courtyard or atrium, open to the sky, with a cistern or pool fed by rainwater
Inventions of the Etruscans in Ancient Rome
Evidence of first spotting The Roman Arch that connects two towers and Roman Vaulting with circular panels or roundels
with the Roman ARCH WE ARE NOW ABLE TO CREATE THESE!
Olympian Gods & Goddesses
Etruscan Temples
Etruscans incorporated Greek deities and heroes into their pantheon (a building where the illustrious dead of a nation are buried and/or honored).
Temple of Minerva p. 131
Archaeological evidence for the Temple of Minerva
p.160
The Archaic smile
Apollo, terracotta figure resembles the kouroi from Ancient Greece. Here, however, the body is covered by a draped robe, the body advances forward, overall has a sense of energy in purposeful movement.
This type of natural movement is found in Etruscan paintings as well.
Temple of Minerva further information
The temples were built with mud-brick walls, wood and sometimes quarried volcanic rock called tufo
Tuscan order was the Etruscan variation of the Doric column, but was unfitted and had a simple base.
The Etruscans built rectangular temples (like the Greeks) but the difference was they embedded them into an urban setting.
Temples were embellished with painting and terra-cotta sculpture.
Temple roofs served as a base for large statue groups (instead of pediments, as was the method of the Greeks)
A temple's ridgepole is the horizontal beam at the peak of the roof often decorated with figures
Honoring their dead
Like the Egyptians, Etruscans had concealed tombs as homes for the dead.
Tomb paintings illustrate with a tangible world in the afterlife, in their vivid scenes of playing, feasting, dancing, hunting, etc. in fresco
Some tombs were carved out of the area rock to resemble rooms in a house with couches carved from the stone while other areas were plastered and painted (fresco).
Developed a new medium called stucco = slow drying plaster that can be molded and carved.
The Etruscans made their "homes" for the dead look as natural and believable as possible, with cats, dishes of food sitting on painted tables, etc.
Their tombs were often of the couple, laying on a couch or laying in a bed in a natural embrace and exchanged love.
THE ROMANS
While Etruscans were inhabiting Italy, the Latin-speaking that settled around Rome were gaining power. Etruscan Kings ruled them but in 509 BCE the Romans overthrew them and formed the Republic centered in Rome, absorbing Etruscans into the Republic by the end of the 3rd century BCE.
Recall Etruscan rule and note where the early Romans were located.
Also, note the location of Jerusalem and northern Africa
You will find helpful study tips, please read this link overview from the Kahn Academy
Introduction to Roman art
THE ROMANS
2nd century CE the Roman Empire reached Euphrates River to Asia to Scotland - it was indeed huge!
The Euphrates River (pronounced: [yoo-frey-teez]), located in the Middle East, reaching 1740 miles, the longest river in SW Asia.
Those who were conquered by the Romans assimilated to their ways throughout culture including political, economic and cultural structures.
The Roman Republic would last some 450 years in peace, or what they called PAX ROMANA
The Romans assimilated to the Greeks through the adoption of their myths, gods and religious beliefs and practices. While worshipping gods they also paid honor to past rulers.
Some Romans adopted the "mystery religions" of the people they conquered: Worship of Isis and Osiris from Egypt, Cybele (The Great Mother) from Anatolia, the hero-god Mithras from Persia.
The single, all-powerful God of Judaism and Christianity from Palestine challenged the Roman spiritual establishment.
During the stable form of government, by 275 BCE Rome controlled the entire Italian peninsula.
2nd century BCE Romans took Macedonia and Greece.
Egypt remained independent until Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE.
During the Republic, art remain rooted in its Etruscan heritage and most certainly Greece.
ROMAN PORTRAIT SCULPTURE -- p. 135
Sculptors of the Republican period were inspired by creating lifelike images based on observation of their subjects.
They also completed death masks to honor their deceased ancestors. The NEW Roman idealization was inspired to show advanced years of the sitter and "distinguishing aspects of individual likenesses," for such an appearance embodies wisdom and timely life experience. Roman artists remained to celebrate Hellenistic art from the Greeks but adding to it an individualization of the human being.
ROMAN TEMPLES p. 136
Architecture reflected both Etruscan and Greek practices.
The Romans built their urban temples in commercial areas, thus embedding worship as part of everyday life.
Rectangular cella (structures) and a front porch, an inviting flight of front stairs.
By 1 century BCE, nearly 1,000,000 people lived in Rome and formed the capital that had great commercial and political power, while the Republic grew overseas.
The Republic of Rome was a large city-state that had a Senate.
The Denarius of Julius Caesar (b. 100 BCE > murdered, MAR 15, 44 BCE)
44 BCE Julius Caesar used and a widely circulated coin bearing his profile facing right and looking "ahead while looking back."
Symbolic of looking into the future, while recognizing the past.
The inscription on the coin "Caesar, dictator forever"
Addition of text conceptually galvanized the propaganda values of the ruler. Roman rulers adopted this practice and coins continued to be minted in this way.
In 44 BCE Julius Caesar refused the Senate's offer of the imperial crown and was murdered by a group of conspirators on March 15th.
Octavian moved into his place and became a brilliant general, politician, statesman and public relations genius.
By 27 BCE the Senate referred to Octavian as "Augustus" which means: one who is exalted or sacred.
Following his appointment "Augustus" with the help of his wife Livia led the Empire for 45 years!
Rome was ruled efficiently and the country was in a period of stability, domestic peace and economic stability is known as Pax Romana ("Roman Peace") which lasted beyond Augustus for another 150 years to 180 CE.
The Early Roman Empire 27 BCE - 96 CE (AD) p.171
Octavian was the first emperor of the Rome in 63 BCE at the age of 19. His great-uncle was Julius Caesar who adopted him at 18 after recognizing his nephew's political/militant mind.
VIDEO: Augustus of Primaporta early 1st c. CE
Octavia: Augustus was given the title "Pontifex Maximus" (at 12 BCE), translating to: High Priest, becoming the Empire's highest religious official as a political leader.
Augustus was a careful planner, inspired leader, had great administrative skills which allowed him to conquer and maintain an enormous empire.
Our own system of law, our governmental and administrative structures, our civil engineering and architecture reflect the contributions of Augustus.
Augustus built widely making city life comfortable and attractive for all citizens.
Having centralized legal and administrative buildings = forums and basilicas, recreational facilities (stadiums), temples, theatre, markets, public baths, middle-class housing and even entire new towns outside of Rome.
The Romans built roadways and bridges, some of the Roman bridges are still in use today!
They also created lead pipe plumbing for urban dwellers which was an enormous accomplishment then! Just think about it...
p. 172
Art in the Age of Augustus
The new Roman form of idealism that was grounded in an individualized appearance of every day, with a revival of Greek Classical ideals: adding mythological imagery, historical events. The sculptures, in particular, narrated completed stories of the Roman Empire's psyche.
The Romans enriched portraiture (official figures and private folks), recorded contemporary historical events in the form of public monuments.
Sculptural forms were rich in propagandistic attitudes to the Empire and its leaders to express their authority and how they want to be seen by their audience posthumously.
Art forms seemed to be a synthesis of the Classical style: combining Greek's Golden Age with the historical references and identifiable figures of Augustus and the empire.
------------------------------------------------------------
Ara Pacis Augustes (Altar of Augustan Peace)
Rome 13 BCE - 9 CE
Is an architectural monument that celebrates the Roman rule in Gaul and Hispanic following three years of war.
It is an enclosure surrounding an open-air alter that looks like a Greek temple in some respects.
Note the port (entranceway), the subtractive carvings that surround the exterior and interior, the organization of the visual narrative by way of registers and THE GREEK KEY!
VIDEO: Ara Pacis Augustae
Reliefs of political propaganda carved in marble unite religion with politics and show portraiture and allegory of the mythical history of Rome.
The portraits in this work are of Augustus' imperial family. The monument unifies the public life of the Empire with the private.
Note, the overlap of carved figures in the background are not as deep nor detailed as the foreground figures to create the illusion of a spatial field.
This altar embodies the Roman ideology of peace and imperial rule of the family of Augustus, with his successors shown, implying that stability of the empire, peace, and prosperity will continue.
Augustus dies in 14 CE and Roman Senate is succeeded by his stepson, Tiberius (ruled 14 - 37 CE)
The process of making a cameo.
Onyx or seashell, other semi-precious stones.
Carving of subtractive material.
Depending on the depth of the carved relief, will produce a variety of color from some stones and seashells.
Find the cameo below on page 140
VIDEO: Carving a Cameo: BAD SOUND!
p. 141
Roman Cities and Home
Romans loved to have contact with the natural world.
The establishment of the middle class enjoyed their courtyards and gardens.
The wealthy had rural estates, the Roman emperors had country villas.
Wealthy Romans commissioned artists to paint landscapes on the interior walls - frescoes.
Cities were planned and built on a grid structure, like the Etruscans.
Pompeii was a thriving center of 10,000 - 20,000 inhabitants.
In 79 CE Mount Vesuvius erupted burying the city under more than 20' of ash, preserving it until the beginning of the 18th century when excavation began by archeologists.
Wealthy city dwellers had their homes here with enclosed gardens and often fasted shops on the street.
They emphasized the interior more than the exterior of their domestic life.
People entered the home off the street and stepped into an atrium that had an impluvium (a pool with running water and/or rainwater).
Off the atrium was the office for the household called the tablinum, where the head of the household.
Portrait busts may be found in these two areas.
Private rooms; dining, sitting rooms and bedrooms (cubical), servant areas were arranged around the atrium.
The peristyle, or courtyard, was often turned into an outdoor living room with fountains and gardens.
Think of some of our Italianate gardens today!
Wall painting in Pompeii
Interior walls brought the outside in, in a controlled and idealized way. Some artists used mosaic (broken pieces of small glass and ceramic tile forming patterns and images).
The pigment was added to the water-based solution of lime and soap, sometimes with a little bees' wax. Thus, allowing for the shine to be established from the walls once dried and buffed with a soft cloth.
Romans delighted in their close observation of the natural world, but as well as their knowledge and life of mythology.
The walls of Pompeii show this exquisitely.
This was the civilization that resurrected The Classical world - which was a return and re-birth to Ancient Greece, the interest in the natural sciences and observation, and the birth of a new religion called Christianity.
Expanding Illusionary Space
Use of intuitive perspective = artists who have a general impression of real space beyond the wall. They were highly painted in the interior walls of Pompeii as murals.
The beginnings of linear perspective happen here with two point perspective - walls of the garden around the tree. This creates the illusion of three dimensionality on a flat plane.
Villas at Primaporta illustrate on the walls a sense of deep space through murals.
VIDEO: Painted Garden Vista, Villa of Livia at Primaporta
Atmospheric perspective another spatial illusionary tool, where the artist depicts deep space as being less in focus and detail than the foreground.
Roman Realism in Still Life and Portraiture details
Genre scenes - scenes depicting everyday activities and still life.
Double portrait (above) of husband and wife from
Pompeii 1st c. CE p. 151
The couple looks out at us into the room, instead of a scene beyond the architectural wall.
A woman holds a stylus and man holds a roll of writing, both are literate. Style of the painting depicts amazing details, for instance, look at the high light on the nose and shadowing.
Pigment with bees' wax on walls.
p. 145
The ARCH OF TITUS (above)
when Domitian assumed the throne in 81 CE, he commissioned a triumphal archway to honor the capture of Jerusalem in 70 CE by his brother, Titus.
It is a free-standing gateway, 50 feet tall that served as a base for a now lost bronze statue of the Titus in four-horse chariots. Made of concrete and marble.
Wowza! Now that's enormous!!
Reliefs depict procession in Rome, the capture of the Temple of Jerusalem and all the treasures that were carried off!
AMPHITHEATER --
Roman were huge sports fans. Flavian emperors catered to their taste by building wonderful facilities. The Flavian Amphitheater is Rome's greatest arena that began construction in 70 CE completed by Titus in 80 CE.
Vaulting - Romans became experts in devising methods of covering open spaces.
Barrel vault, constructed like the Roman Arch. It is a series of arches that are connected.
Groin Arch - when two archways intersect. Weight and outward thrust are concentrated on the four corner piers. Only the piers require buttressing for extra support.
Dome - perfected by the Romans. The rim of the dome is supported on a circular wall (the Pantheon for instance) and sometimes a circular opening at the top for the emission of light and air. This opening is called the oculus (eye).
- Etruscan art celebrates the vitality of the human experience, how?
- What are the distinctive visual representations of the human figure in Etruscan and Roman art?
- Identify the major trends in the monuments of Imperial Roman art and architecture.
- Identify the visual design changes in the Late Roman Empire and their architecture.
But first, where in the world are we?
End of the Bronze Age (about 1000 BCE)
Villanovans occupied northern and western regions of Italy. The central region was home to people who spoke what is closest to Latin today.
Beginning in the 8th-century people, the Greeks had established colonies here and controlled this area.
During the 7th century, people known as the Etruscans (related to Villanovans) gained control of the north and much of central Italy as it's known today.
Etruscans reached their height of power in the 6th century and expanded throughout Italy.
Etruscan wealth came from fertile soil and an abundance of metal ore.
They were farmers, metal workers, sailors, and merchants and traded with the Greeks.
The Etruscan artists drew great inspiration from the Greeks and Near Eastern art
Etruscans made extraordinary items for domestic use, such as this one....
Ficoroni Cista 4th c. BCE bronze p. 128
Is a cylinder containers used by women in the home for toiletry articles - this is an example of one above.
Visual expression through art
Throughout this period, artists created many forms including metal ware, pottery, statues, drawings, frescos and architecture.
Subject matter depicted religious themes, everyday themes, mythological themes, political ones, etc.
Sometimes we see a combination between not only subject matter but also how to express forms and concepts.
For instance, you often see representational objects (humans, animals, plants, etc.) WITH abstract, non-objective forms (designs, patterns, etc.)
Representations of humans are naturally posed and even individualized, having a visual connection to Greek art. Many of whom are in a contropasto pose (an asymmetrical balancing on one foot)
The visual imagery displays the Etruscans' interest in Greek myths.
Architecture and city planning was massive!
Think about why??
Etruscans established patterns of buildings that would be adopted by Romans later.
Cities were laid out on grid patterns (similar to Egypt and Greece) - thus the cities were organized and could easily be expanded.
Cities were divided into quarters with the town's business district centralized in the center of the intersection.
We know about their domestic living quarters because of the house-shaped funerary urns.
One major difference of Ancient Etruscans and Ancient Greeks were where they placed their temples. Instead of being built high on hill tops and mountains in order to be close to heaven as the Ancient Greeks did, the Etruscans and later the Ancient Romans built their temples within the cities themselves, usually at intersections of road ways. This way, you can interpret this as being "with the gods at all times."
Houses were designed around a central courtyard or atrium, open to the sky, with a cistern or pool fed by rainwater
Inventions of the Etruscans in Ancient Rome
Evidence of first spotting The Roman Arch that connects two towers and Roman Vaulting with circular panels or roundels
with the Roman ARCH WE ARE NOW ABLE TO CREATE THESE!
Olympian Gods & Goddesses
Greek Gods & Goddesses to their Roman counterparts --- Please know those that are highlighted here...
- Zeus = Jupiter > Jupiter - King of the Gods - Crystalinks. Jupiter is the supreme god of the Roman pantheon, called dies pater, "shining father". He is a god of light and sky, and protector of the state and its laws. He is a son of Saturn and brother of Neptune and Juno (who is also his wife).
- Poseidon = Neptune > Neptune was the name that ancient Romans gave to the Greek god of the sea and earthquakes, Poseidon. He was the brother of Jupiter (Zeus) and of Pluto (Hades).
- Hades = Pluto
- Hera = Juno (no children)
- Demeter = Ceres
- Hestia = Vesta (no children)
- Ares = Mars > In ancient Roman religion and myth, Mars (Latin: Mārs, [maːrs]) was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter and he was the most prominent of the military gods in the religion of the Roman army.
- Aphrodite = Venus > In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility. She was the Roman counterpart to the Greek Aphrodite. However, Roman Venus had many abilities beyond the Greek Aphrodite; she was a goddess of victory, fertility, and even prostitution.
- Athena = Minerva*** > It is presumed that her Roman name, Minerva, is based on this Etruscan mythology. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, war, art, schools, and commerce. She was the Etruscan counterpart to Greek Athena.
- Hephaestus = Vulcan
- Hermes = Mercury > God of shopkeepers and merchants, travelers and transporters of goods, and thieves and tricksters. He is commonly identified with the Greek Hermes, the fleet-footed messenger of the gods. Parents = Maia and Jupiter
- Dionysus = Bacchus > Bacchus was the Roman god of agriculture, wine, and fertility, copied from the Greek god Dionysus. Dionysius was said to be the last god to join the twelve Olympians. Supposedly, Hestia gave up her seat for him. His plants were vines and twirling ivy.
- Apollo = Apollo > The ideal of the kouros (a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis.
- Pan = Faunus > In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Pan (/pæn/; Ancient Greek: Πάν, Pan) is the god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature of mountain wilds, rustic music and impromptus, and companion of the nymphs. He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr.
- Hecate = Trivia
- Hebe = Juventas
- Hypnos = Somnus
- Enyo = Bellona
- Persephone = Prosperina
- Nyx = Nox
- Tyche = Fortuna
- Eros = Cupid > In Roman mythology, Cupid (Latin cupido, meaning "desire") is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is often portrayed as the son of the goddess Venus, with a father rarely mentioned. His Greek counterpart is Eros. Cupid is also known in Latin as Amor ("Love").
- Nike = Victoria / Victory > Nike was the goddess of victory in Greek mythology and Victoria in Roman mythology. She is depicted as having wings, hence her alternative name "Winged Goddess". She was the daughter of the Titan Pallas and the goddess Styx, sister of Kratos (power), Bia (Force) and Zelus (zeal).
- Mnemosyne = Moneta
- Amphitrite = Salacia
- Artemis = Diana (no children) > Artemis is known as the goddess of the hunt and is one of the most respected of all the ancient Greek deities. It is thought that her name, and even the goddess herself, may even be pre-Greek. She was the daughter of Zeus, king of the gods, and the Titaness Leto and she has a twin brother, the god Apollo.
- Boreas = Aquilo
- Themis = Justitia
- Zephyrus = Favonius
Roman only...
- Janus/Quirinus
- Pomona
- Vejovis
Etruscan Temples
Etruscans incorporated Greek deities and heroes into their pantheon (a building where the illustrious dead of a nation are buried and/or honored).
Temple of Minerva p. 131
" The archaeological evidence that does remain from many Etruscan temples largely confirms Vitruvius’s description. One of the best explored and known of these is the Portonaccio Temple dedicated to the goddess Minerva (Roman=Minerva/Greek=Athena) at the city of Veii about 18 km north of Rome. The tufa-block foundations of the Portonaccio temple still remain and their nearly square footprint reflects Vitruvius’s description of a floor plan with proportions that are 5:6, just a bit deeper than wide.
The temple is also roughly divided into two parts—a deep front porch with widely-spaced Tuscan columns and a back portion divided into three separate rooms. Known as a triple cella, this three-room configuration seems to reflect a divine triad associated with the temple, perhaps Minerva as well as Tinia (Jupiter/Zeus) and Uni (Juno/Hera).
In addition to their internal organization and materials, what also made Etruscan temples noticeably distinct from Greek ones was a high podium and frontal entrance. Approaching the Parthenon with its low rising stepped entrance and encircling forest of columns would have been a very different experience from approaching an Etruscan temple high off the ground with a single, defined entrance." RE: Smart History.com
Video: Temple of Veii and the Temple of Minerva
Video: Temple of Veii and the Temple of Minerva
 |
| Master Sculptor Vulca (?), Apollo From the Temple of Minerva at Veii Terracotta (hollow) c. 510 - 500 BCE page 131 |
 |
| Comparative: Boy of Kouros, Ancient Greece Stiff, nude, rather geometric c. 600 - 590 BCE |
The Archaic smile
Apollo, terracotta figure resembles the kouroi from Ancient Greece. Here, however, the body is covered by a draped robe, the body advances forward, overall has a sense of energy in purposeful movement.
This type of natural movement is found in Etruscan paintings as well.
Temple of Minerva further information
The temples were built with mud-brick walls, wood and sometimes quarried volcanic rock called tufo
Tuscan order was the Etruscan variation of the Doric column, but was unfitted and had a simple base.
The Etruscans built rectangular temples (like the Greeks) but the difference was they embedded them into an urban setting.
Temples were embellished with painting and terra-cotta sculpture.
Temple roofs served as a base for large statue groups (instead of pediments, as was the method of the Greeks)
A temple's ridgepole is the horizontal beam at the peak of the roof often decorated with figures
 |
| Burial Chamber, tomb of the Reliefs Cerveteri, Italy c. 300 BCE p. 132 |
Honoring their dead
Like the Egyptians, Etruscans had concealed tombs as homes for the dead.
Tomb paintings illustrate with a tangible world in the afterlife, in their vivid scenes of playing, feasting, dancing, hunting, etc. in fresco
 |
| Dancers and Diners Tomb of the Triclinium, c. 480 - 470 BCE |
Developed a new medium called stucco = slow drying plaster that can be molded and carved.
The Etruscans made their "homes" for the dead look as natural and believable as possible, with cats, dishes of food sitting on painted tables, etc.
Their tombs were often of the couple, laying on a couch or laying in a bed in a natural embrace and exchanged love.
 |
| Reclining Couple on a sarcophagus from Cerveteri, c. 520 BCE Terracotta p. 133 |
 |
| Carved marble sarcophagus lid of an embracing couple |
THE ROMANS
While Etruscans were inhabiting Italy, the Latin-speaking that settled around Rome were gaining power. Etruscan Kings ruled them but in 509 BCE the Romans overthrew them and formed the Republic centered in Rome, absorbing Etruscans into the Republic by the end of the 3rd century BCE.
Also, note the location of Jerusalem and northern Africa
The Roman Empire would soon grow to this size below!
You will find helpful study tips, please read this link overview from the Kahn Academy
Introduction to Roman art
THE ROMANS
2nd century CE the Roman Empire reached Euphrates River to Asia to Scotland - it was indeed huge!
The Euphrates River (pronounced: [yoo-frey-teez]), located in the Middle East, reaching 1740 miles, the longest river in SW Asia.
Those who were conquered by the Romans assimilated to their ways throughout culture including political, economic and cultural structures.
The Roman Republic would last some 450 years in peace, or what they called PAX ROMANA
The Romans assimilated to the Greeks through the adoption of their myths, gods and religious beliefs and practices. While worshipping gods they also paid honor to past rulers.
Some Romans adopted the "mystery religions" of the people they conquered: Worship of Isis and Osiris from Egypt, Cybele (The Great Mother) from Anatolia, the hero-god Mithras from Persia.
The single, all-powerful God of Judaism and Christianity from Palestine challenged the Roman spiritual establishment.
During the stable form of government, by 275 BCE Rome controlled the entire Italian peninsula.
2nd century BCE Romans took Macedonia and Greece.
Egypt remained independent until Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE.
During the Republic, art remain rooted in its Etruscan heritage and most certainly Greece.
 |
| Portrait Head of an Elder from Scoppito 1st c. BCE Marble 11" high |
ROMAN PORTRAIT SCULPTURE -- p. 135
Sculptors of the Republican period were inspired by creating lifelike images based on observation of their subjects.
They also completed death masks to honor their deceased ancestors. The NEW Roman idealization was inspired to show advanced years of the sitter and "distinguishing aspects of individual likenesses," for such an appearance embodies wisdom and timely life experience. Roman artists remained to celebrate Hellenistic art from the Greeks but adding to it an individualization of the human being.
ROMAN TEMPLES p. 136
Architecture reflected both Etruscan and Greek practices.
The Romans built their urban temples in commercial areas, thus embedding worship as part of everyday life.
Rectangular cella (structures) and a front porch, an inviting flight of front stairs.
By 1 century BCE, nearly 1,000,000 people lived in Rome and formed the capital that had great commercial and political power, while the Republic grew overseas.
The Republic of Rome was a large city-state that had a Senate.
 |
| Denarius with Portrait of Julius Caesar 44 BCE silver 3/4" in diameter p.134 |
44 BCE Julius Caesar used and a widely circulated coin bearing his profile facing right and looking "ahead while looking back."
Symbolic of looking into the future, while recognizing the past.
The inscription on the coin "Caesar, dictator forever"
Addition of text conceptually galvanized the propaganda values of the ruler. Roman rulers adopted this practice and coins continued to be minted in this way.
Octavian moved into his place and became a brilliant general, politician, statesman and public relations genius.
By 27 BCE the Senate referred to Octavian as "Augustus" which means: one who is exalted or sacred.
Following his appointment "Augustus" with the help of his wife Livia led the Empire for 45 years!
Rome was ruled efficiently and the country was in a period of stability, domestic peace and economic stability is known as Pax Romana ("Roman Peace") which lasted beyond Augustus for another 150 years to 180 CE.
 |
| Augustus of Primaporta Early 1st century CE Perhaps a copy of a bronze statue of c. 20 BCE Made of marble, originally painted p. 138 However, as the Empire grew larger, the government began to shift towards competing senators and military commanders. Thus, the Republic began to weaken with fewer and fewer leaders and was finally ruled by one man, an emperor, rather than a Senate. |
The Early Roman Empire 27 BCE - 96 CE (AD) p.171
Octavian was the first emperor of the Rome in 63 BCE at the age of 19. His great-uncle was Julius Caesar who adopted him at 18 after recognizing his nephew's political/militant mind.
VIDEO: Augustus of Primaporta early 1st c. CE
Octavia: Augustus was given the title "Pontifex Maximus" (at 12 BCE), translating to: High Priest, becoming the Empire's highest religious official as a political leader.
Augustus was a careful planner, inspired leader, had great administrative skills which allowed him to conquer and maintain an enormous empire.
Our own system of law, our governmental and administrative structures, our civil engineering and architecture reflect the contributions of Augustus.
Augustus built widely making city life comfortable and attractive for all citizens.
Having centralized legal and administrative buildings = forums and basilicas, recreational facilities (stadiums), temples, theatre, markets, public baths, middle-class housing and even entire new towns outside of Rome.
The Romans built roadways and bridges, some of the Roman bridges are still in use today!
They also created lead pipe plumbing for urban dwellers which was an enormous accomplishment then! Just think about it...
p. 172
Art in the Age of Augustus
The new Roman form of idealism that was grounded in an individualized appearance of every day, with a revival of Greek Classical ideals: adding mythological imagery, historical events. The sculptures, in particular, narrated completed stories of the Roman Empire's psyche.
The Romans enriched portraiture (official figures and private folks), recorded contemporary historical events in the form of public monuments.
Sculptural forms were rich in propagandistic attitudes to the Empire and its leaders to express their authority and how they want to be seen by their audience posthumously.
Art forms seemed to be a synthesis of the Classical style: combining Greek's Golden Age with the historical references and identifiable figures of Augustus and the empire.
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Ara Pacis Augustae - Altar of Augustan Peace
Rome, 13 BCE - 9 CE, marble p. 139 the Roman goddess of Peace. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honor the return of Augustus to Rome |
Ara Pacis Augustes (Altar of Augustan Peace)
Rome 13 BCE - 9 CE
Is an architectural monument that celebrates the Roman rule in Gaul and Hispanic following three years of war.
It is an enclosure surrounding an open-air alter that looks like a Greek temple in some respects.
Note the port (entranceway), the subtractive carvings that surround the exterior and interior, the organization of the visual narrative by way of registers and THE GREEK KEY!
VIDEO: Ara Pacis Augustae
Reliefs of political propaganda carved in marble unite religion with politics and show portraiture and allegory of the mythical history of Rome.
The portraits in this work are of Augustus' imperial family. The monument unifies the public life of the Empire with the private.
Note, the overlap of carved figures in the background are not as deep nor detailed as the foreground figures to create the illusion of a spatial field.
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| Imperial Processional with members of Augustus' family |
Reliefs also reveal Greek allegory
Note the "walking cross" formed from the Greek Key
Above, the Tellus panel depicts the relief of Tellus nursing Romulus and Remus
In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus are twin brothers, whose story tells the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus.
The killing of Remus by his brother, and other tales from their story have inspired artists throughout the ages.
RE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_and_Remus
Romulus was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries.
Remus = is his twin brother
The process of making a cameo.
Onyx or seashell, other semi-precious stones.
Carving of subtractive material.
Depending on the depth of the carved relief, will produce a variety of color from some stones and seashells.
Find the cameo below on page 140
VIDEO: Carving a Cameo: BAD SOUND!
p. 141
Roman Cities and Home
Romans loved to have contact with the natural world.
The establishment of the middle class enjoyed their courtyards and gardens.
The wealthy had rural estates, the Roman emperors had country villas.
Wealthy Romans commissioned artists to paint landscapes on the interior walls - frescoes.
Cities were planned and built on a grid structure, like the Etruscans.
Pompeii was a thriving center of 10,000 - 20,000 inhabitants.
In 79 CE Mount Vesuvius erupted burying the city under more than 20' of ash, preserving it until the beginning of the 18th century when excavation began by archeologists.
Wealthy city dwellers had their homes here with enclosed gardens and often fasted shops on the street.
They emphasized the interior more than the exterior of their domestic life.
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| Peristyle = open air courtyard |
People entered the home off the street and stepped into an atrium that had an impluvium (a pool with running water and/or rainwater).
Off the atrium was the office for the household called the tablinum, where the head of the household.
Portrait busts may be found in these two areas.
Private rooms; dining, sitting rooms and bedrooms (cubical), servant areas were arranged around the atrium.
The peristyle, or courtyard, was often turned into an outdoor living room with fountains and gardens.
Think of some of our Italianate gardens today!
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| Peristyle open air courtyard with impluvium |
Interior walls brought the outside in, in a controlled and idealized way. Some artists used mosaic (broken pieces of small glass and ceramic tile forming patterns and images).
The pigment was added to the water-based solution of lime and soap, sometimes with a little bees' wax. Thus, allowing for the shine to be established from the walls once dried and buffed with a soft cloth.
Pompeii Wall painting in the Villa of Livia
Romans delighted in their close observation of the natural world, but as well as their knowledge and life of mythology.
The walls of Pompeii show this exquisitely.
This was the civilization that resurrected The Classical world - which was a return and re-birth to Ancient Greece, the interest in the natural sciences and observation, and the birth of a new religion called Christianity.
Expanding Illusionary Space
Use of intuitive perspective = artists who have a general impression of real space beyond the wall. They were highly painted in the interior walls of Pompeii as murals.
The beginnings of linear perspective happen here with two point perspective - walls of the garden around the tree. This creates the illusion of three dimensionality on a flat plane.
Villas at Primaporta illustrate on the walls a sense of deep space through murals.
VIDEO: Painted Garden Vista, Villa of Livia at Primaporta
Atmospheric perspective another spatial illusionary tool, where the artist depicts deep space as being less in focus and detail than the foreground.
Pompeii Wall painting
Roman Realism in Still Life and Portraiture details
Genre scenes - scenes depicting everyday activities and still life.
Double portrait (above) of husband and wife from
Pompeii 1st c. CE p. 151
The couple looks out at us into the room, instead of a scene beyond the architectural wall.
A woman holds a stylus and man holds a roll of writing, both are literate. Style of the painting depicts amazing details, for instance, look at the high light on the nose and shadowing.
Pigment with bees' wax on walls.
p. 145
The ARCH OF TITUS (above)
when Domitian assumed the throne in 81 CE, he commissioned a triumphal archway to honor the capture of Jerusalem in 70 CE by his brother, Titus.
It is a free-standing gateway, 50 feet tall that served as a base for a now lost bronze statue of the Titus in four-horse chariots. Made of concrete and marble.
Wowza! Now that's enormous!!
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| Arch of Titus |
Reliefs depict procession in Rome, the capture of the Temple of Jerusalem and all the treasures that were carried off!
AMPHITHEATER --
Roman were huge sports fans. Flavian emperors catered to their taste by building wonderful facilities. The Flavian Amphitheater is Rome's greatest arena that began construction in 70 CE completed by Titus in 80 CE.
Vaulting - Romans became experts in devising methods of covering open spaces.
Barrel vault, constructed like the Roman Arch. It is a series of arches that are connected.
Groin Arch - when two archways intersect. Weight and outward thrust are concentrated on the four corner piers. Only the piers require buttressing for extra support.
Dome - perfected by the Romans. The rim of the dome is supported on a circular wall (the Pantheon for instance) and sometimes a circular opening at the top for the emission of light and air. This opening is called the oculus (eye).
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| Pantheon Rome c. 110-128 CE p. 149 |
Oculus of the Pantheon
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Solomon R. Guggenheim. NYC. Frank Lloyd Wright
235 CE assassination of the last several emperors, Rome is thrown into anarchy that lasted 50 years.
286 CE Diocletian divided the empire into two parts ruled by two Diocletians named "Augustus"
293 CE decided the territory should be "ruled by four" also known as tetrarchy, here each Augustus held the title of Caesar, Roman Empire now ruled by four individuals
p. 153
Tetrarchic portraiture (tetrarch singular) followed creating political sculptures in a radically new style of geometric abstraction.
Many art historians agree that this new style, that distanced itself from the individualism that we saw in earlier Roman art, embodies the stylistic shift against the earlier Classicism to embody the concepts of Diocletian's new government.
The new geometric abstraction shows a shift in the concept that was militaristic, severe and abstract, rather than "suave, slick, and classicizing." The tetrarchs ruled the empire from the following administrative headquarters:
Milan, Italy
Trier, Germany
Thessaloniki, Greece
Nicomedia, Turkey
The enormous architecture was created to house government and military in the new capital cities.
Constantius Chorus (Caesar, r. 293-305 CE) and his son Constantine (305-337 CE) fortified the walls of the cities.
Augustus (305-306 CE)
Constantine the Great
From the basilica of Maxentius and Constantine
Rome 325 - 326 CE
Marble
The Romans built huge audience halls which later was used as a Christian church.
 
Audience Hall of Constantius Chorus = Basilica todayThe Basilica's large-scale illustrated the aesthetic that was large in size, simple and plan and no-nonsense
Constantine the Great > 305 CE
He emerged victorious in 312 CE defeating Maxentius (son of Maximian) in Rome.
According to Christian tradition, "Constantine had a vision the night before the battle in which he saw a flaming cross in the sky and heard these words: "In this sign, you shall conquer."
The next morning he ordered that his army's shields be inscribed with the XP (chi-rho in Latin)
 
The labarum (Greek: λάβαρον) was a vexillum (military standard) that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, a Christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" (Greek: ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, or Χριστός) — Chi (χ) and Rho (ρ). It was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
Following his triumph win of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge at the entrance of Rome, Constantine the Great showed his gratitude by ending the persecution of Christians and recognized Christianity as a lawful religion. He may have been influenced by his mother Helena who was a devout Christian.
By 313 CE issued the Edict of Milan, a model of religious tolerance among all.
Constantine is the Pontifex Maximus of Rome, this is the religious leader of the country.
He also reaffirmed his devotion to the military's favorite god, Mithras, and to the Invincible Sun, Sol Invictus
In 324 CE Constantine defeated his last rival, Licinius, and ruled Italy as sole ruler until his death in 337 CE.
  
The Arch of Constantine, Rome, the Senate erects the triumphal arch
Considering comparative scale, the Arch of Titus we saw earlier is dwarfed.
"Emperor Constantine from the Senate and the Roman People. Since through divine inspiration and great wisdom he has delivered the state from the tyrant and his party by his army and noble arms, we dedicate this arch, decorated with triumphal insignia."
Reliefs were made to narrate the story of Constantine's victory and symbolize his power.
The sculptors recycled earlier sculpture - thus, upcycling at an early time.
Panels were taken from an earlier monument celebrating Marcus Aurelius over the Germans in 174 CE.
Tondo = circular relief compositions take from a monument dedicated to Hadrian.
Tondi = plural circular reliefs
Basilica Nova
Built to have multiple functions: the administrative building of the imperial government, and provided an "over-the-top" setting for the emperor when he appeared to speak.
Groin vaults, side aisles were covered with lower barrel vaults that acted as buttresses (projecting supports)
Roman Art after Constantine
Constantine baptized at his deathbed in 337, he brought Christianity into Rome as the official religion by the end of the fourth century CE.
Non-Christians had now become targets in Rome.
Not all Romans converted, some remained polytheists (pagans)
The ivory diptych = a pair of panels attached by hinges
triptych = a group of three panels attached by hinges of some kind
The Priestess of Bacchus, c. 390 - 401 CE served as a type of an on-going writing tablet.
The interior was filled with wax, and with a stylus, messages could be written into its soft material.
The receiver of the message would read it, smooth out the wax, and re-inscribe it with a new message that was returned to the originator by a servant.
Think of it as an ancient form of "texting."
Here, she wears a wreath of ivy, dedicated to the god Bacchus on her head, like earlier officials before her to show her devotion to that god.
The classical subject matter remained attractive to artists as well as their patrons. Christian symbols mixed with polytheist gods and goddesses. Both stories remained in the secular realm in the late Roman period.
*Your further study notes need to be thorough on regarding technique and processes of creating works of art and vocabulary associated with that process:
- Mosaics (small bits of ceramic/glass put together to make a larger composition)
- Fresco = a wall painting
- Imperial portraits as objects of propaganda
- Constantine the Great (important!)
- Roman Art after Constantine
FYI, 1st century Roman Emperors
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