Transcript achap10rome2013

Art Through the Ages
Chapter 10-1
From Seven Hills to Three Continents
The Art & Architecture of the Romans
Goals
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Understand both innovations and derivations in Roman
art and architecture
Relate aspects of Roman culture and its influence on
contemporary life
Illustrate examples of Roman art and its place in Roman
history
Discuss Roman architectural contributions
Understand the impact of the Roman Empire on the
world
Cite artistic terminology relating to the Roman period
New Vocabulary
Concrete
Forum
Groined vault
Barrel vault
Dome
Basilica
Nave
Clerestory
Apse
Atrium
Domus
Insula
The Roman Empire
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At its greatest extent, the Roman Empire stretched from
Mesopotamia in the east to Spain in the west, and from
North Africa in the south to Britain in the north.
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The Roman Empire was a "multicultural" entity.
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The village founded by Romulus on April 21, 753 BCE
grew over a period of 900 years to become the capital of
the greatest empire the world had ever known
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Roman art and architecture influenced the Modern
World. A major Roman building innovation was concrete
construction.
THE REPUBLIC
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A Republic was established following the
expulsion of the Etruscan kings in 509 BCE
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Power was vested mainly in a senate and in two
elected consuls.
During the Republic, the Romans developed
a special interest in and taste for Greek art.
Architecture
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Roman Temple architecture shows a blending of
Etruscan and Greek features, and emphasizes
the front of the building.
Temple of
“Fortuna
Virilis”
(Manly Fortune)
Etruscan elements are the
high podium, deep porch,
and wide cella.
But the cella is not
subdivided into 3 parts, it
is one unified space.
•Rome, Italy, ca. 75 BCE. made of stone (tufa and travertine) overlaid with
stucco
•This was actually the Temple Portunes – Roman god of keys, doors and later
ports and harbors
•The high podium, is accessible only from the front, with its wide flight of
steps.
•The columns are ionic in the front with engaged columns on the sides
(pseudoperipteral)
SmART History
video – Temple
of Portunus
Temple of “Fortuna Virilis”
(Manly Fortune)
Rome, Italy, ca. 75 BCE. made of stone (tufa and travertine) overlaid with stucco
Common Plan for Roman Temple:
•Roman Temples needed large
interiors for images of deity and
for display of trophies (statues,
weapons) brought back by
conquering armies.
•This plan served as a temple
type and is found in Italy and all
around the empire.
•Also called “tunnel vault”
•An extension of a simple
arch with a semicylindrical ceiling over
parallel walls.
•Windows can be placed
at any point
•Barrel vaults require
buttressing to counteract
the downward thrust
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©2003 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
Groin Vault
Also called a
cross vault.
Formed by the
intersection of 2
barrel vaults at
right angles
Needs less
buttressing, only
where the groins
meet the vertical
supports
•A series of groin
vaults can have
open lateral arches
that form
Clerestories
•windows that
allow light into the
interior of churches
•These concrete
clerestory windows
are fireproof, an
important
consideration as
many churches
frequently burned
©2003 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
©2003 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
•Dome- a round arch
rotated around the full
circumference of a circle
•The Romans were able to
surpass ancient cultures in
their ability to span space
via hemispherical domes
that rested on cyndrilical
drums.
•Light enters through the
oculus
Pont du Gard, Nimes, France, early 1st century BCE
•Arch and vault became standard construction for engineering projects
•Used in aqueducts and sewers, designed for efficiency rather than beauty
•The repetition of Arches relays a sense of order and permanence
Colosseum,
Rome,
72-80 BCE.
SmART History
video - Colosseum
•Enormous amphitheater for gladiatorial games, located in the center of Rome
•One of the largest single buildings in history
•Efficient – meant to serve large amount of human traffic (50,000 people)
•Utilized both the barrel vault and the groin vault (two barrel vaults at right
angles)
The Roman Colosseum
•Fine balance between
vertical and horizontal
elements
•Engaged columns, series of
arches
•Three classical orders are
used:
•Doric is on the ground
floor (weighty)
•Ionic – in the middle
•and Corinthian –
“lightening” the
proportions, but it is less
noticeable
•A round style temple
•From the outside, the cella
looks like a simple cylindrical
drum
•The deep porch is common for
Roman temples
•The entry is not as impressive
today – the modern streets of
Rome are a great deal higher
than they were in ancient times.
The steps leading up to the
porch are now submerged in
pavement.
•The interior is far more
impressive
Pantheon,
Rome, 118-25 CE
f
•The use of arches in buildings,
led to huge, uninterrupted
interior spaces (such as in
baths, the centers of Roman
society).
•The dome is a true
hemisphere, and the oculus
allows lots of light into the
space.
•The coffers of the dome were
originally gilt with gold.
•The Pantheon was dedicated
to the seven known planets at
the time
Interior of the Pantheon,
(painting by Pannini, ca.1740)
•Balance is a key principle
in the design
•The base (or walls) had
to be made much heavier
than the top
•Weight rests on 8 wide
pillars – this allows for
niches around the side
SmART History video – The Pantheon, Rome
Plan and Section of the Pantheon
Section views of the Pantheon, Rome
Detail of the Pantheon, Rome, 118-25 CE.
Concrete Transforms a Hillside
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The Romans developed concrete construction causing a revolution in
architectural design.
The Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia at Palestrina is an impressive
example of concrete construction on a massive scale.
Contrasting with the Greeks who would crown a hill with architecture,
the Romans “converted the hill itself into architecture.”
The subjugation
of nature to
man’s will
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, 1st century BCE
East of Rome – a cult, dedicated to Fortuna (Fate) – a mother deity and oracle
• unearthed through bombings in 1944
•ramps and terraces lead to a colonnaded court, flight of stairs like a Greek
theater, arched openings framed by engaged columns and entablatures,
presence of barrel vault
•All surfaces are concrete – fitting into the hillside, the architecture seems to
grow from the rock.
•Comparable to the New Kingdom in Egypt (Temple of Hatshepsut,
Akhenaton, and Ramses II).
•This monument’s style represents a transition from the Roman Republic to
the imperial dictatorship that followed.
“A grand complex,
symbolic of Roman
Power.”
Sanctuary of Fortuna
Primigenia, 1st century BCE
“The subjugation of
nature to human will and
rational order was the first
full-blown manifestation
of the Roman Imperial
spirit.”
Project for Thanksgiving break?
Model made of Legos…
Basilica of Constantine, Rome, 310-20 CE
•Largest roofed interior in all
of Rome
•Basilicas with long halls
served civic purposes, and
were a standard feature of
every Roman town. They
often held the courts.
•Nave – the center tract
•Clerestory – the upper part of
the nave, pierced with large
windows to let in light
Reconstruction drawing of
the Basilica of Constantine
•The raised roof of the
clerestory was possible
because the groined vaults
helped center the weight on
the four corners.
POMPEII AND THE CITIES OF
VESUVIUS
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Pompeii was destroyed in the eruption of
Vesuvius in 79 CE.
Pompeii was first settled by the Oscans
and later by the Samnites. Sulla founded a
new Roman colony on the site in 80 BCE.
So much of the city has been preserved
that it has been called a "living city of the
dead."
Amphitheater
•Could seat twenty thousand spectators.
•Created via an artificial mountain with barrel vaults & concrete
•Arena comes from the latin word for the sand that coated the floor to soak up
the blood from gladiatorial combats.
Brawl in the
Pompeii
amphitheater,
wall painting from
House I,3,23,
Pompeii, Italy,
ca. 60–79 CE.
Approx. 5’ 7” x 6’
Museo Nazionale,
Naples.
Aerial view of the amphitheater, Pompeii, Italy, ca. 70 BCE.
Domestic Architecture:
•A single family house was called a
Domus – made for wealthy Romans
•Each had an atrium – a square central
hall lighted by an opening in the roof.
•Many examples found at Pompeii and
Herculaneum (buried 79 CE.)
•The Silver Wedding atrium was flanked
by Corinthian columns, and a basin to
collect rain water in the center – the
impluvium
•Atriums were used for keeping family
portraits of family ancestors
•Further rooms were attached to the
back of the house as well as clustered
around the atrium
Atrium, House of the Silver Wedding
Pompeii, 1st century CE.
•Rooms were shut off from the street
with windowless walls.
The Roman House
A domus, or single-family
house, had a plain exterior;
the focus was on the
interior spaces. The parts of
the house are fauces (1),
atrium, (2) impluvium,(3)
cubicula, (4) tablinum,
triclinium, and peristyle.
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Insula of the
House of Diana,
Ostia, 150 CE
•Insula – a less elegant commoners home
•More urban – homes were in the upper floors
•Similar to an apartment house – made of concrete or brick
•Centered around a central court
•Shops and taverns were on the ground floor, above living quarters
•Not as private as a Domus – built for craftsmen and merchants
Market Gate from
Miletus (restored)
ca.160 CE
•A continuous
in and out
rhythm of
recesses and
projections
Late Roman Architecture
•Up until the the end of the 1st century CE, Roman architecture stayed
true to Greek orders and aesthetics.
•Afterward, architecture was more imaginative – especially in the African
and Asiatic part of the empire.
Plan of the forum,
Pompeii, Italy, second
century BCE. and
later.
•The typical Roman
town was planned
originally with a
centrally located
public square or civic
center (forum)
• located at the
intersection of the
main north-south
street, the cardo, and
the main east-west
street, the
decumanus.
•The temple to Jupiter
(2) was at the north
end with the basilica
or government
building (3) to the
west
©2003 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
Sculpture
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Roman Republican sculpture is noted
for its patrician portraits employing a
verism derived from the patrician cult of
ancestors and the practice of making
likenesses of the deceased from wax
death-masks.
In the funerary relief, figures are shown
bust-length (cut off at the base of the
chest) in the Etruscan tradition.
Funerary relief with portraits of the Gessii
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ca. 30 BCE. Marble, approx. 2' 11/2
Most portraits are exclusively men of the
patrician class.
Portraits were not meant to make them appear
more noble.
Head of a Roman patrician
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ca. 75–50 BCE. Marble,
approx. 14" high
Notice how age is
painstakingly portrayed.
A statement to the
personality of the
individual – serious,
experienced, and
determined
SmART History video – Veristic Portrait
Portrait of a Roman
general
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from the Sanctuary of Hercules,
Tivoli, Italy, ca. 75–50 BCE. Marble,
approx. 6' 2" high
It was also the practice in sculpture
during the Republican period to
place portrait heads on youthful,
heroic bodies.
As with their temples, the Romans
combined native and imported
Greek elements into their own
unique style.
The aging head expresses
Republican values, his
cuirass(breast plate/uniform on the
floor nextt to his legs) declares his
military might, while his youthful
Greek inspired body declares that
he was a hero.