APAH CH7 The Roman Empire

Nero's Golden House

"Domus Aurea," designed by Severus and Celer; many rooms decorated with frescoes in Fourth Style, others with marble paneling or painted and gilded stucco reliefs; ceiling of octagonal room is a eight-sized dome opening in oculus; smaller rectangular rooms radiate outward from five inner sides, three covered by barrel vaults and two by earliest known concrete groin vaults; these rooms lit by spaces between their vaulted ceilings and the central dome's exterior; for the first time, architects have thought of the walls and vaults not as limiting space but as shaping it; today, octagonal hall no longer has stucco decoration and marble incrustation (veneer); grouping of spatial units of different sizes under a variety of vaults creates 3D composition that is both complex and unified

Caput Mundi

"Head (capital) of the world;" Roman Empire spanned 3 continents; monuments of art and architecture were the most conspicuous and numerous remains of any ancient civilization (temples, basilicas (law courts), concrete vaults, amphitheaters, ports, roads), use of art (especially portrait and reliefs) manipulated the public opinion for political campaigns.

The Republic

509 BCE: Romans overthrew Tarquinius Superbus and established a constitutional government. Vested power in the senate (council of elders, senior citizens) and in two elected consuls. Under extraordinary circumstances, a dictator would be appointed for a limited time and a specific purpose (like commanding the army in a crisis). Patricians were wealthy landowners and plebeians were small farmers, merchants, and freed slaves.

Groin vaults

AKA Cross vaults, formed by intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults of equal size. Requires less buttressing, as thrust is not continuous along entire length of supporting wall but just lines at the juncture of two barrel vaults; only needed at points where groins meet the vault's vertical supports (usually piers)

Barrel Vaults

AKA Tunnel vault; extension of simple arch, creating semi-cylindrical ceiling over parallel walls; stronger than ashlar masonry, could cut windows out for light without lessening structural integrity. Required buttressing (lateral support) of walls below the vaults to counteract their downward and outward thrust.

Severan Portraiture

Adopted himself as Marcus Aurelius's son to establish legitimacy; bronze and marble portraiture depict him with long hair and beard of Marcus. Had tondo (circular format) portraiture painted with tempera (pigments in egg yolk) on wood, depicted with wife (Julia Domma, daughter of Syrian priest, and two sons, Caracalla and Geta.) Importance: had grey hair to indicate advancing age and erasure of Geta's face (Caracalla succeeded his father, killed Geta and his wife, had Senate damn Geta's memory); shows political tool of domnatio memoriae and Roman authority

First Style/Masonry Style

Aim was to imitate costly marble panels using painted stucco relief; style is Greek in origin and another example of Hellenized Republican architecture. Approximated look and shape of genuine wood paneling

Ara Pacis Augustae

Altar of Pax Augusta; dedicated by Augustus to Livia; precinct walls adorned by figural reliefs and acanthus tendrils; four panels on east and west ends depict mythological events, including Aeneas (forefather of Augustus) making a sacrifice. Show earth and empire in order; Shaped like Roman temple; has engaged columns and continuous friezes and central axis entrance

Forum of Trajan

Architect Apollodorus of Damascus. Trajan also completed projects of remodeling Circus Maximus (chariot-racing stadium) and constructing new bathing complex near Colosseum. Forum glorified Trajan's victories of two wars against Dacians; spoils funded project. The plan incorporated main features of most early forums, except the basilica (not a temple) dominated the colonnaded open square; temple stood behind the basilica facing two libraries and giant commemorative column. Entered through gateway resembling triumphal arch. Larger than life size gilded bronze equestrian statue stood in the center of the court. Statues of captive Dacians stood above columns in the forum porticos. The basilica Ulpia had apses (semicircular recesses) on each short end; two aisles flanked the nave on each side, entrances were on long side facing forum. Building was 400x200 feet. Light entered through clerestory windows, made possible by elevating the timber-roofed nave above colonnaded aisles.

Pont-du-Gard

At Nîmes; aqueduct bridge to carry water from mountain sources to city on Tiber River; water flowed by gravity alone from channels with a continuous gradual decline over entire route; three-storied; top story is a row of smaller arches (3 above each of the large openings below) that carry the water channel itself; harmonious proportional relationship between larger and smaller arches reveals Roman hydraulic engineer's aesthetic sense

Pompeii and the cities of Vesuvius

August 24th, 79 CE: Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroyed many places around the Bay of Naples but preserved the ruins. Pompeii first settled by Oscan people, but at the end of the 5th C BCE, Samnites took over. Under influence of Greeks; explained original settlement, gave monumental shape to city center. 80 BCE Sulla founded a new Roman colony at the site, Latin became official language. 63 CE, earthquake caused extensive damage. Estimated population at 20 thousand.

Caracalla

Bust, depicted in heroic nudity except for mandle over one shoulder and sword sheath across chest. Hair and beard is curly but shorter, initiating new fashion in male coiffure; moving characterization of personality in knotted brow, turning head of energy and strength; suspecting danger from behind (assassinations)

Forum

Center of civic life (public square) of any Roman town, located at the physical center of the city at the intersection of the cardo and decumanus, the two main roads. Generally only allowed pedestrians. Took on a monumental form at Samnites in 2nd C BCE; Romans converted the temple to a Capitolium. The Temple is constructed of tufa, covered with fine white stucco, combining Etruscan plans and Corinthian columns; had a chief side. Area within porticos were empty except for statues of local dignitaries and emperors; where daily commerce and festivities were held. All around the square were administrative offices, like basilica; which resembled the forum itself (long, narrow, two stories of internal columns dividing the space into central nave and flanking aisles)

Boscoreale

Cubicle from Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor; spatial illusionism confined the painted platform that projects into the room, created 3D setting that also extends beyong the wall; painted walls with vistas of Italian towns, marble temples, colonnaded courtyard, doors, gates; demonstrated familiarity with linear perspective (receding lines in a composition converge on a single point along painting's central axis to show depth and distance (skenographia)).

Damnatio memoriae

Damnation of a past emperor by the Senate; they do not become gods and their images, names, etc. are erased from all artwork

Third style

Design that reasserted the primacy of wall surface, adorned walls with delicate linear fantasies sketched on predominantly monochromatic backgrounds

Arch of Titus

Domitian (younger brother) erected arch in Titus's honor on the Sacred Way leading to the Republic Forum Romanum. A Freestanding arch ("triumphal arch," a misnomer because it commemorates wide variety of events) with one passageway. Engaged columns frame arcuated opening, with Roman Composite capitals (ornate combination of Ionic volutes and Corinthian acanthus leaves), reliefs fill spandrels (area between arch's curve and framing columns/entablature). Dedicatory inscription to honor god Titus; in the vault of the passageway is relief of Titus's ascent into heaven (apotheosis). One relief panel represent triumphal parade of Titus down Sacred way after conquest of Judaea (end of Jewish wars in 70 BCE), soldiers carrying spoils, including sacred seven-branched candelabrum (menorah) from Juwish temple. Illusion of movement, energy and wing of column of soldiers suggest rapid march, high relief of foreground emphasizes shadows and different placement in space compared with background in low relief. Second relief is of Titus and a triumphal chariot; Victory rides with Titus and places wreath on his head; also has youthful personification of Honor (honos), female personification of Valor (Virtus) leads horses. Allegorical figures emphasize celebration of imperial virtue, first instance of divine beings interacting with humans in Roman historical relief (although Titus here is a god and not human)

Trajan

Domitian assassinated because of extravagant lifestyle and ego (addressed as dominus et deus "lord and god"); successor Nerva established pattern of succession. Nerva picked Trajan, a general from Italica, Spain (first non-Italian to rule Rome). Trajan Expanded territory and took responsibility for welfare by instituting social programs. Senate granted him the title of Optimus (the best), comparison measured success of later emperors

Villa of the Mysteries

Early example of second style of painting; celebrated rites of Greek god Dionysos (Roman Bacchus), focus on unofficial mystery religion popular among women in Italy at this time, painting as evidence of cult's initiation rites. Backdrop is series of painted panels imitating marble revetment, without modeling in relief, illusion of a shallow ledge on which the human and divine actors move around the room; figures interact at corners of the room

Julius Caesar

Early first century BCE, desire to advertise distinguished ancestry, placed portraits on coins while he was still alive and wrote "dictator perpetuo" or "dictator for life" on the denarius (standard silver coin), in conformity with veristic tradition; coins were used to mold public opinion in favor of rulers.

Temple of Vesta

Early first century BCE, round temple type, models for the Tivoli Temple's builders were the Greek tholos, but Roman building had a frontal orientation and concrete cella; plan is standard for shrines of Vesta. Has Corinthian columns and a frieze carved with garlands held up by ox heads; high podium and narrow singular staircase, axial alignment, used concrete, not marble blocks

Melfi Sarcophagus

Eastern type; attests to vibrant export market for sarcophagi; statuesque images of Greek gods and heroes in architectural frames on all four sides; e.g. Venus and Helen of Troy; lid is in Etruscan sarcophagi tradition, is a feature of the most expensive Western Roman coffins; deceased woman reclines on kline (bed) with dog at left and Cupid at right mournfully holding a downturned torch

Hadrian's Villa

Hadrian was amateur architect involved in design of his country villa at Tivoli. Had Canopus (pool) and artificial grotto (Serapeum); concrete grotto had unusual pumpkin-shape dome Hadrian designed himself. Demonstrates love of Greek ark through traditional columns and marble copies of famous statues, including Erechtheion caryatids, which lined the pool. Corinthian colonnade at curved end of pool lacks superstructure and has actuated lintels (not horizontal); simultaneous respect for Greek architecture and willingness to break traditional Greek designs typify High and Late Empire architecture.

Lepcis Magna

Hometown of Severans; constructed modern harbor and new forum, basilica, arch, and monuments; rebuilt Arch of Septimius Severus has friezes on attic of all 4 sides. Shows non-naturalistic and more abstract style of Late Antique styles with frontality (figures facing viewer) and floating figures (second row is not connected with ground), previously seen only in private art of freed slaves; one frieze depicts chariot procession of emperor and two sons; no sense of rushing motion, stately stillness, official style displaced Classical Greek-inspired style

Augustus as General

Imperial sculptors combined portrait heads with different statuary types depending on the position; models for many portraits of Augustus were Classical Greek statues; stands like doryphoros but with right arm raised to address troops like Etruscan orator Aule Metele; head shape idealized like Doryphoros; reliefs on his curiass advertise return of Roman military standards the Parthians had captured from a Republican general; Cupid at his feet proclaims his divine descent from Venus. The idealistic representation of youth, heroism, athleticism, etc. is typical of the Early empire.

Colosseum

Most representative building of Rome; political campaign to build on grounds of Nero's Domus Aurea, signified that Vespasian reclaimed the land Nero confiscated; used privately and for gladiatorial combats or other spectacles. Housed 50k spectators, who were seated by social hierarchy (citizens only, and then highest were for slaves, foreigners, and women). Built with concrete and utilized system of barrel-vaulted corridors to hold up enormous oval seating area. Also includes waiting rooms, animal cages, cleverly designed lifting machinery for raising and lowering stage sets or animals, and velarium. Exterior travertine shell is about 160 ft.; façade is divided into four bands. Ornamental Greek engaged column orders frame the large arches in lower three bands in standard Roman sequence for multistoried buildings: (from the ground up) Truscan, Ironic, and Corinthian. Corinthian pilasters circle the uppermost story. Use of engaged columns and lintel to frame openings was commonly used scheme from Late Republican times on. Combines Greek architecture with Roman.

Wall mosaics

Mythological themes, usually covered floors (Alexander mosaic on floor of exedra (recessed area)), occasionally decorated walls or ceilings (House of Neptune and Amphitrite at Herculaneum), foreshadowing extensive use of wall and vault mosaics in Middle Ages

The Flavians

Nero faced assassination in 68 BCE and committed suicide, brining Julio-Claudian dynasty to an end; renewed civil strife, Vespasian (general who had served Claudius and Nero) became ruler, as well as his sons Titus and Domitian. Also constructed the Flavian Amphitheater.

Political Tool

No other government used art more effectively as a political tool

Republic sculpture

Patrons of various temples and sanctuaries were men from old and distinguished families, often victorious generals who used spoils of war to finance public works. Aristocratic patricians are proud of their lineage, celebrated elevated position in society through portraiture (in homes and funerals). Painted with encaustic (beeswax and pigment).

Trebonianus Gallus

Portraits of Philip the Arabian (conventional, marble) and Trebonianus Gallus (atypical) survive; Gallus' larger than life size heroically nude statue, projects image of brute force, massive and heavyset physique of a powerful wrestler, face expresses nervousness

Flavian bust of a woman

Portraits of all kinds of people are found from Flavian period, not just wealthy elders; purpose to project idealized beauty through current fashion rather than reference to Greek goddesses, notable for delicacy and virtuoso way the textures of hair and flesh are rendered; elaborate coiffure with corkscrew curls as a dense mass of light and shadow set off boldly from soft and polished skin of face and swan-like neck; drill played increasing role in sculpture

Still life painting

Representation of inanimate objects artfully arranged; still life with peaches and carafe, illusionism and attention to shadows and highlights.

Late Empire

Roman power eroded by time of Marcus Aurelius; assassination of son Commodus in 192 CE ended Antonine dynasty; economy in decline, imperial bureaucracy disintegrating, official state religion losing ground to Christianity and Eastern cults. Historical era of pagan ancient world gradually giving way to Christian Middle Ages.

Tivoli General

Romans believed the head or bust alone constituted a portrait; Greeks thought the whole body was inseparable and idealized heroes and athletes. Roman copies often only reproduced the head; placed heads on bodies to which they could not possibly belong. Life size; curiass (leather breast plate) on his side acts as a prop for heavy marble statue; emblem of high rank; has typical stern and lined face but powerful youthful body; notion of patrician cultural superiority; nudity indicated heroic character

Archaic Period

Rome is essentially an Etruscan city both politically and culturally. The greatest shrine is on the Capitoline Hill, a temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus (entirely Etruscan in King patron, architecture, style, etc)

Augustus and the Julio-Claudians

Rule by elders of the Republic for 500 years came to an end with Augustus; Roman portraitists suddenly had to portray images of a youthful head; widely advertised himself as the son of god; portraits presented the image of a godlike leader who never aged his official image could be manipulated at will because few ever saw him.

Soldier Emperors

Severan dynasty ended at murder of Severus Alexander; followed with continuous civil war; no emperor in power long enough to begin architectural projects except Aurelian, constructed new defensive circuit wall for capital, a military necessity and commentary on decay of Roman power.

Apartment houses

Shops on ground floor with up to 4 insulae/floors of apartments; large and had frescoed walls and ceilings, narrow light wells, small courtyards, windows faced city streets, residents cooked food in hallways, few had private toilets. Brick-faced concrete buildings; added brick pilasters or engaged columns but never covered exposed bricks; examples of intricate moldings and contrasting colors of brick.

Nonelite portraiture

Slaves and former slaves could not possess any family portraits because under Roman law, their parents and grandparents were property (not people); freed slaves had portrait and narrative reliefs for tombs to commemorate citizen status

Art for former slaves

Slaves were a large part of Roman society; gained freedom when their owners freed them or in return for meritorious service. Slaves had no legal standing; when freed, gratitude to former owners were expressed in art; bore former patron's name. Stone reliefs regularly adorned tomb facades; theme that death does not break bonds formed in life

Amphitheater

Southeastern end of town, earliest amphitheater known, could seat 20 thousand spectators, seating was by civic and military rank, social hierarchy demonstrated. Elliptical cavea (seating area) made possible by concrete barrel vaults to form a giant retaining wall, held up earthen mount and stone seats. The areana showcased gladitorial combats and wild animal hunts; had velarium (cloth awning) for protection from sunlight, rain; distinctive double staircases

Hadrian

Spanish successor chosen by Trajan; admired Greek culture and traveled often, local officials set up statues and arches in his honor. More portraits exist of Hadrian than any other emperor, except Augustus. Portraits never age; resemble models of Classical statues of bearded men (from the Greek)

Column of Trajan

Stonemasons fashioned enormous marble column drums, hollowed out to accommodate the internal spiral staircase running the entire length of the shaft; sculptors carved figures from the top to the bottom. Repetition of motifs of combat and preparation for warfare; Dacians surrendering and being conquered, Roman advancement, Trajan directing military operations, personal involvement. Shaft of single 128 foot column covered with continuous spiral narrative frieze that depicts Trajan's successful campaigns against Dacians (150 episodes and 2,500 figures). Relief was low; bands increase in width and painting enhanced legibility of figures (especially at the top). The narrative is not reliable chronological account of wars but does accurately record the general character of campaigns; battle scenes only take up at 1/4th of the friezes, spent more time in operation part of war. Enemy is not belittled, Romans win because of superior organization and more powerful army (not because they are inherently superior), focus always on the emperor. Tall pedestal served as Trajan's tomb.

Verism

Subjects almost exclusively men of advanced age, generally elders who held power. Sculptors did not make them look nobler than they really were; brutally realistic images with their distinctive features (like household images). Veristic (superrealistic) portraits of the head, like the head from Osimo, reflects statements about personality and admired virtues of seriousness, experience, determination, loyalty to family and state

Forum of Augustus

Temples and porticos of white marble from Carrara; Augustus made possible the availability of Italian marbl, so marble didn't have to be imported at great cost anymore; incorporated explicit references to Classical Athens and to the Acropolis like the caryatids of the Erechtheion in the upper stories of the porticos; forum became public atrium filled with imagines of his family; his family history became part of Roman state's official history.

Baths of Caracalla

in Rome, greatest bathing and recreational complexes, constructed with imperial funds to win pubic favor. All rooms had thick brick-faced concrete walls up to 140 ft. high, covered by enormous concrete vaults, symmetrical central axis design, facilitated custom of taking sequential plunges in tepidarium (warm), caldarium (hot; huge circular camber with concrete drum and dome), and frigidarium (cold) baths. Also had landscaped gardens, lecture halls, libraries, colonnaded exercise courts (palaestras), and a giant swimming pool (natation). Water supplied by city aqueducts, furnaces circulated hot air. Featured stuccoed vaults, mosaic floors (black and white and polychrome), and marble statuary (one was Roman copy of Lysippos's Herakles)

Trajan Decius

mint produced great quantities of coins in debased metal so troops could be paid with money stamped with current emperor's portrait (and not that of predecessor or rivals). Each ruler set up portrait statues and busts to assert authority; most moving, notable for emotional content and technical virtuosity. Trajan depicted as old man with bags under eyes and sad expression; eyes glance away nervously, reflects anxiety of insecure ruler, anguished soul and out-of-control world/times

Timgad

new colony for army veterans at Timgad, physical embodiment of Roman authority and civilization for local population. Laid out the town with precision, strict grid scheme like pattern of military encampment (castrum). The forum is at the intersection of cardo and decumanus (two main colonnaded streets that divide the city into quarters); quarters are subdivided into small blocks, and the public buildings (baths, theaters, etc) occupy areas sizes as multiples of these blocks. Roman plan is modification to Hiddoamian plan of Greek cities, but more rigidly ordered. Uniformity in all cities expressed centralized power.

Column of Antonius Pius

on one side: pedestal with relief showing apotheosis of Antonius and wife Faustina the elder; in Classical tradition with proportional figures, personifications, and single ground line; Campus Martius (Field of Mars) personified as a young holding the Egyptian obelisk reclines at lower left corner, Roma (Rome personified) leans on shield portraying the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus at lower right; the couple lifted on the wings of a personification of uncertain identity; apotheosis scenes standard in imperial art since Augustus , but fusion of time is new (Faustina died 20 years earlier than Antonius), suggests Antonius's faithfulness and their reunion → common in Roman middle-class funerary art On adjacent sides are two identical representations of the decursio (ritual circling of the imperial funerary pyre); breaks strongly with Classical conventions; the ground is the whole surface of the relief, marching soldiers and galloping horses stand on floating patches of earth; this only occurred previously in the art of freedmen not in imperial art

Mummy Portrait of a priest of Serapis

painted portraits on wooden panels for mummy cases replaced traditional Egyptian stylized portrait masks for the dead; curly hair and beard emulate Antonine fashion but corkscrew curls distinctive to images of Serapis; refined use of brush and spatula (cestrum is a small spatula used in encaustic painting), mastery of depiction of varied textures, play of light over delicately modeled face, and calm demeanor of deceased

Fourth style

preferred manner of mural decoration at Pompeii, illusionism returned, architectural vistas are irrational fantasies, views of fragments of buildings painted on the same white ground as the rest of the wall; architecture becomes a motif

Republic

509-27 BCE: Civil war ended republic Marcellus, Marius, Sulla, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony

Emperor Trajan

117 CE; first time in history a single government ruled such a large empire; to celebrate conquest success in Dacia, he erected a 128 foot column with a 625 foot frieze on its shaft, winding 23 times to narrate the campaigns against the Dacians.

Late Empire

193-337 CE: Severan dynasty, soldier emperors (tetrarchs), Christianity Septimius Severus (Julia Domna), Caracalla (Plautilla), Severus Alexander, Philip the Arabian, Trajan Decius, Trebonianus Gallus, Diocletian, Constantine I.

Turning point for Rome and Roman art

211 BCE, Marcellus, conquerer of Sicilian Greek city of Syracuse, brought back Greek artwork in plunder and began the craze for Greek sculpture and painting. Greece began as a Roman province in 146 BCE, and in 133 BCE the King of Pergamon surrendered his kingdom. Roman art drew on Greek and Roman traditions.

Early Empire

27 BCE-96 CE: Augustus and Julio-Claudian successors, Flavian dynasty Augustus (Livia), Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius (Agrippina the Younger), Nero, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian

Early empire

27 BCE: Roman republic --> roman empire under Augustus who controlled all aspect of state religion; recognized as princceps (first citizen), consul, imperator (commander in chief/emperor) and pontifex maximus (chief priest of state religion)

Al-Khazneh

2nd century CE, "Treasury" at Petra, example of Roman "baroque" architecture. Tomb cut into sheer rock faces of local mountains. Elaborate 130 feet facades: lower story resembles temple façade with 6 unevenly spaced columns and pediment over the 4 central columns, upper story has a "temple within a temple," façade and roof split in half to make room for central tholos-like cylinder that contrasts with rectangles/triangles of rest of the design. Rhythmic alternation of deep projection and indentation creates dynamic patterns of light/shadow. Design recalls paintings of arch.

Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus

3rd century, burial of the dead is normal; unusually large sarcophagus decorated on front with chaotic scene of battle between Romans and northern enemies (probably Goths); writhing and emotive figures evenly spaced across relief, no allusion of space behind them; central horseman wears no helmet and thrusts open right hand to show he has no weapon, son of Trajan Decius, boasts fearless commander assured of victory, Oriental mystery religion; extreme rejection of Classical perspective, increasing dissatisfaction of Late Antique artists with Classical style

Temple of Portunus

75 BCE, mixing of Greek and Etruscan forms. Portunus is Roman god of harbors, also known as the Temple of Fortuna Virilis; the plan follows Etruscan pattern of high podium, flight of steps only at the front, six freestanding columns in deep porch, stone, overlaid with stucco in imitation of Greek marble. Columns and frieze are Ionic; engaged ionic half-columns to sides and back of cella, pseudo-peripteral temple

Monarchy

753-509 BCE: City founded by Romulus and Remus, ruled by Latin and Etruscan kings, until revolt against Tarquinius Superbus

Ostia

90% of Rome's population lived in multistory apartment blocks (insulae); rent not expensive; crowded and loud conditions of city

High Empire

96-192 CE: Spanish emperors and the Antonine dynasty Nerva, Trajan (Plotina), Hadrian (Sabina), Antonius Pius (Faustina the Elder), Marcus Aurelius (Faustina the Younger), Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius (coemperors), Commodus

Legend of Romulus and Remus

April 21st, 753 BCE at city on the Tiber River

Eruption of Mount Vesuvius

Before the eruption, the forum was the center of civic life, north end was city's main temple, Capitolium, and southwestern corner was basilica (law court)

House of the Vettii

Best preserved domestic architecture, house of two Vettii brothers. Photograph in fauces shows impluvium in the center of the atrium, the opening in the roof above, and a peristyle garden with marble tables and mural paintings; Hellenistic style.

The Severans

Commodus' death incited civil conflict; African born general Septimius Severus established new dynasty

Process of making concrete pieces

Concrete mix is left in wooden frames to dry; when hardened completely, wooden molds are removed, leaving solid mass of great strength, often covered with marble revetment (facing); cheap to make. Advantageous that concrete could make huge vaulted and domed rooms without internal supports

Boscotrecase

Cubiculum in Villa of Agrippa Postumus; insubstantial and impossible thin colonnetts supporting featherweight canopies barely reminiscent of pediments; center of delicate and elegant architectural frame is tiny floating landscape painted directly on black background; some are landscapes and mythological

The Roman house

Entered domus (private house) through fauces (foyer) of the house, led to large atrium (reception area), rooms could be open to atrium or onto street, roof was partially open to the sky for sunlight and rainwater (held in basins, or impulviums), also had cubicula (cubicles of small bedrooms), back two aleas (wings), patron's tablinum (home office), triclinium (dining room), kitchen, and sometimes small garden. Inward looking in nature, designed to shut off noise and dust of street, focus at atrium, similar to Etruscan houses; after Romans, added peristyle gardens (with fountains or pools, marble statuary, mural paintings, mosaic floors), axial symmetry. Houses rare in cities like Rome; masses had to live in multistory apartment houses.

Apollodorus

Executed by Hadrian

Ixion Room

Favor of crowded and confused compositions, sometimes garish color combinations, summation of all the previous mural schemes, Greek myths, private art gallery (dining room of Vettius brothers); demonstrates admiration for Greek art, mixing of styles characteristic of Roman art in general.

Baths of Neptune

Finer apartments had mosaic floors and painted walls/ceilings; popular black-and-white mosaic (like Greek black-figure vase painting) seen in Baths of Neptune, had mosaic floor showing four seahorses pulling Neptune across the sea, surrounded by denizens; positioned so figures appear right side up regardless of where you are; rejected polychrome model for simple black silhouettes enlivened by white interior lines, used as surface decoration and not illusionistic window onto 3D world

High empire

Greatest geographic extent and height of power in 2nd century CE under Trajan, Hadrian, and Antonines; unprecedented prosperity

Patrons and Clients

House was important in many societal rituals; size of patronus's clientele reflected social standing and wealth, being in public with a crowd of clients was honorable. Clients were obligated to support patron in political campaigns or perform specific services on request.

Hadrian's portrait

Idealized portrait of a bearded statue; mature Greek man (All roman statue is either idealized or veristic)

Sanctuary of Fortuna

Late second century BCE, most impressive and innovative use of concrete, sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, goddess of good fortune, at Palestrina. Several terraces lead up hillside to tholos at the back of an ascending triangle; layout reflects familiarity with terraced sanctuaries of the Hellenistic East. Built using concrete barrel vaults of enormous strength to support imposing terraces and to cover great ramps leading to the grand central staircase, gives shape to the shops aligned on two levels. Demonstrates subjection of nature to human will and rational order. Greek element: continuous Ionic frieze, peristyle columns, pediments Etruscan elements: raised podium, single steps, porch

New Concepts introduced by Rome

Law and government, language, calender, coins

Tesserae mosaics

Located on walls and even on ceilings

Painting

Mural paintings as interior decoration; demonstrate prosperity and tastes; were true frescoes, often found figural panels with Greek myths; divided into four Pompeian styles

Markets of Trajan

On Quirinal Hill, by Apollodorus of Damascus, houses shops that open up to hemicyclical façade winding around great exedras of Trajan's forum or paved street farther up the hill, or onto two-story indoor market hall lit by groin vaults covering the hall, with the upper shops set back on each side and lit by skylights. Basic unit "taberna," a single-roomed shop covered by barrel vault, with wide doorway and window above it; light entered through wooden inner attic used for storage. Also had administrative offices; concrete allows transformation of natural slope into multilevel complex.

Ancestor Portraits

Only for old patrician families (had to be of old money); reflected importance patricians placed on genealogy; characteristic realistic likeness. Ridiculed those without images/portrait masks in his home; statue heads were reproductions of wax or terracotta portraits; marble or bronze would be too heavy to carry, therefore they were not wax imagine masks, because they are sculptures in the round

Mixed concrete

Recipe of lime mortar, volcanic sand, water, and small stones (caementa)

Fenestrated sequence of groin vaults

Series of groin vaults covering interior hall; open lateral arches of the vaults form equivalent of clerestory of traditional timber-roofed structure. Fenestrated: Had openings of windows. Concrete was also a better material because it was fireproof.

Development of Roman Art

republic verism --> classical in augustan early empire --> verism in flavian early empire --> classical again --> erosion of classical in high/late empire

Private portraits

Themes for painting and mosaics were diverse (mythological compositions, landscape, images of illustrious ancestors). Stylus (writing instrument) and wax writing tablet suggest fine education, equivalent of wedding photographs in costumes; heads were not representations but sensitive studies of individual faces, realistic portrait, mostly not full bodies

Isola Sacra

Tombs in Isola Sacra cemetery were communal houses of the dead for middle-class, constructed of brick-faced concrete, resembled multifamily insulae, small painted terracotta plaques immortalized activities of merchants and professional people. Being buried in personal, individual tombs on consecrated areas is related to changes in religion.

Pax Romana

Two centuries of peace and prosperity established by Augustus due to powerful armies and no opposition at home; comissions lots of public works (roads, bridges, theaters, amphitheaters, bathing complexes); propagandistic imperial portrait statues and monuments with inscription and reliefs serve to mold public opinion.

Hemispherical domes:

Usually rested on concrete cylindrical drums; dome is round arch rotated around the full circumference of a circle. Masonry domes could not accomodate windows; concrete domes can be opened up even at their apex with circular oculus allowing light in

Flavian portraiture

Vespasian was unpretentious army officer and portraits reflect simpler tastes (wanted distance from Nero), made important political statement by having portraits done in traditional veristic tradition and values of Republic (vs. Augustus's tradition of showing emperor as eternally youthful god).

Primaporta

Villa of Emperor Augustus's wife Livia at Primaporta; decorated walls of vaulted room with lush garden-scapes, suggest recession through atmospheric perspective, indicating depth by increasingly blurred appearance of objects in the distance. Color; painted foreground precisely, dense foliage in the background is indistinct.

Maison Carrée

at Nîmes; well-preserved Corinthian pseudoperipteral temple modeled on temple in Forum of Augustus; exemplifies conservative Neo-Classical Augustan architectural style Roman temple elements: pseudoperipteral engaged fluted columns with Corinthian capitals Greek: pediment Etruscan: central staircase, porch and podium

Second style

created the illusion of an imaginary three dimensional world (narrative)

Female personification (Tellus)

from Altar of Pax Augusta; seated matron (probably Tellus- Mother Earth) with two lively babies on lap; embodies the fruits of Pax Augusta; all around the earth is in bloom, animals live peacefully; personification of refreshing breezes with windblown drapery, one riding a bird, the other a sea creature; Earth, sky, water all present in peace and fertility

Procession of the imperial family

from the south frieze of Altar of Pax Augusta; inspired by Panathenaic procession inner Ionic frieze of the Parthenon; political statement shows Augustus' intent to present his new order as a Golden Age equaling Periclean Athens; Parthenon: anonymous figures in an event that recurred every four years; Ara Pacis: recognizable historic figures during the specific event of the 13 BCE inaugural ceremony; children are not miniature adults anymore, they tug on elders' garments and talk amongst themselves; this is the first appearance of children on Greek or Roman state monument because Augustus was concerned about decline in birthrate among Roman nobility; relief sculpture used as political and social agenda as moral exemplar

Marcus Aurelius

gilded bronze equestrian statue breaks from the past; emperor possesses a superhuman grandeur and is much larger than any normal human would be relative to horse; right arm stretched in gesture of greeting an offer of clemency; expresses Roman emperor's majesty and authority; first time an emperor's head appeared weary, saddened, and worried, showing strain of constant warfare and burden of ruling a worldwide empire; beyond Roman verism, exposing his character, thoughts, and soul; combined with sculptors' break from Classical art, this marked the beginning of the end of Classical art's domination in Greco-Roman world o Emotional side of weary, sorrow, etc. significant challenge to classical canon. Beginning of the end of classical art's domination in the western world

Porta Maggiore

grandiose double gateway erected by emperor Claudius at the point where two of Rome's water lines (and two major intercity roads) converged; huge attic (uppermost story) bears inscription concealing the stacked conduits of both aqueducts; example of Roman rusticated (rough) masonry style; crispy carved pediments on engaged columns composed of rusticated drums

Pantheon

temple of the all the gods, one of the best-preserved and most influential buildings of antiquity. Revealed full potential of concrete; approach to temple was from a columnar courtyard, Pantheon stood at one narrow end of the enclosure. Façade of eight Corinthian columns reflect tradition; everything else was revolutionary. Behind columnar porch is immense concrete cylinder covered by huge hemispherical dome (142 feet wide and 142 feet off the ground), interior space can be imagined as the orb of the earth and the dome as the vault of the heavens. The concrete's composition is harder and more durable in the foundation, thickness also decreases as it nears the oculus. Uses coffers (sunken decorative panels) to lessen the dome's weight without weakening its structure; once had glistening gilded bronze rosette at center, enhancing symbolism as heavens. The interior is a single unified, self-sufficient whole, uninterrupted by supporting solids. Light is used to illuminate darkness AND create drama/underscore symbolism of building's shape (the light passing through oculus forms circular beam that moves across coffered dome throughout the course of the day as the sun moves). Demonstrated that everything comes back to the human form; forming space around you to accommodate the individual. Roman elements: Porch, pediment, Corinthian columns that were NOT fluted

Orestes Sarcophagus

under Antonines, Romans began to favor burial over cremation; Greek mythology was a popular subject on sarcophagi; Roman men and women identified themselves on coffins with Greek heroes and heroines by placing their heads on heroes' bodies → following the imperial portraiture model; same basic composition of repeated pattern; Western (for Etruscan-Roman temple, only approached from front) sarcophagi have reliefs on front and sides only because they were placed in floor-level niches inside Roman toms; Eastern (for Greek temple, approached from every side) sarcophagi have reliefs on all four sides and stood in center of burial chamber