AP Art History: Greek and Roman Art

Great Alter of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon PLAN. Asia minor (present-day Turkey). Hellenistic Greek. 175 BCE. Marble.

(AP picture rotated 90 degrees to the right)

Basilica

A huge hall. Emerged in Rome, concrete.

Etruscans

A lost civilization of ancient Italy that set the stage for ancient Roman art, as well as the Italian Renaissance. A very happy people, known for providing the link between Greek and Roman art (predominantly during the Archaic Greek period). Fortunately for us, they cared much about equipping their dead with necessary extravagance for the after life. 700 - 509 BCE.

Classical Greece (480 - 323 BCE)

A peak of Greek art and architecture, symbolized by idealized figures which exemplify order and harmony. More relaxed face and stance, head often tilted to the side.

Archaic Greece (600 - 480 BCE)

A period of Greek art symbolized by tense sculptures with uneasy smiles, unnatural stances, stiff posture, the "Archaic Smile," Includes Kouros and Kore stone figures and vase painting.

Hellenistic Greece (323 - 31 BCE)

A period of Greek art symbolized by works of art which represent movement, emotion, theatricality, drama and realism.

Tabarne

A rental room of a house that opened up to a market in which people could sell their goods.

Kouros vs. Kore

While both Greek marble free-standing statues of human figures, with a frontal stance, left foot forward, clenched fists, and a grimace known as an "Archaic Smile," a Kouros is a nude male youth, while a Kore is a clothed woman.

Greek Architectural Features

Columns (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian) Rectangular Temples (Prostyle/Peristyle) Post and Lintel Pediment Marble Stoa (roofed colonnade) Acropolis (Acropolis, 530 BCE) Frieze Caryatids (sculptures as columns) Exterior sculptures Agora (Athenian Agora)

Omphiprostyle

Columns are in the front and back of the building.

Prostyle

Columns are in the front of the building, in one face of the facade.

Peristyle

Columns surround the perimeter. A type of Greek and Roman architecture in which a continuous porch, formed by a row of columns surrounding the inside perimeter of the building or courtyard.

Pediment

The triangular upper part of the front of a building in classical style. Surrounded by the cornice.

Roman Columns (in order)

Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian (main styles) Composite

Krater

Used for mixing wine and water, since Ancient Greeks never drank pure water.

Oculus

A circular opening in the center apex of a dome or in a wall.

Acropolis

A citadel or fortified part of an Ancient Greek city, typically built on a hill.

Forum

A place, meeting, or medium in Ancient Rome where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged.

Triglyphs

Alternating pattern with the metopes, within the frieze.

Atrium

An open-roofed entrance hall or interior courtyard in a Roman house.

Apse, Transept, and Nave

Apse - The semicircular arch, ususally with a domed roof, vaulted at the end of the church. Contains the alter. Transept - In a cross-shaped church, the the two parts of the church that form the arms of the cross, projecting right angles with the nave. Nave - The place of conjugation within the church, intended to accommodate the most people.

Triclinium

Kitchen area; a dining table with couches along three sides used in Ancient Rome.

Sterobate

Stairs

Etruscan influence on Ancient Rome

Teaching the Romans the alphabet, and spreading literacy throughout the Italian peninsula, the Etruscans had a major influence on Ancient Roman art and culture: gladiator apparel, hydraulic engineering, temple design, religious ritual

Stylobate

Floor

Sculpture of Apollo. Veii (near Rome), Italy. 510 - 500 BCE. Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufa (volcanic rock) and terra cotta sculpture.

(Etruscan)

Temple of Minerva. Veii (near Rome), Italy. Vulca. 510 - 500 BCE. Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufa (volcanic rock) and terra cotta sculpture.

(Etruscan)

Doric Order (Architecture)

From the bottom-up: Stereobate (stairs) Stylobate (floor) Column Shaft Capitol Architrave Frieze Triglyphs, Metopes Pediment Cornice (Entablature)

Roman Architectural Features

Heated baths Concrete (Colosseum, Pantheon) Apartment Houses Pilaster Columns with arches (Groin Vault) Mosiac (Alexander Mosiac from the House of Faun) Basilica (Basilica Ulpia. Forum of Trajan. Rome, Italy) City Planning Forum's (Forum of Trajan. Rome, Italy) Atrium Barrel Vaulting (Colosseum) Groin Vaulting (Colosseum) Stadium (Colosseum / Flavian Amphitheater) Amphitheater (Colosseum / Flavian Amphitheater) Triumphal Arch

Agora

In Ancient Greece, a public or open space used for assemblies and markets.

Clerestory

The decorated upper windows of the nave, choir, or transept; admits light to the central parts of the church.

Frieze

The decorative half of the entablature (the other half being the pediment/cornice) which is a horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration.

Entablature

The horizontal, continuous, upper section of Ancient Greek Architecture that rests on the main columns; encompasses the architrave, frieze, and cornice.

Facade

The primary face of the building, especially the principal front that looks onto a street or open space.

Metopes

The rectangular architectural element that fills the space between the triglyphs; above the architrave.