art essay
SOSO963
Art123445565.docx
The Domus Aurea was a unique structure built by the Roman Em peror Nero in 64 CE as his own pleasure palace. His resplendent palace was written about in the ancient world, most famously by Suetonius in The Lives of Ceasers who wrote,
In no other matter did he act more wasteful than in building a house that stretched from the Palatine to the Esquiline Hill, which he originally named “Transitoria” [House of Passages], but when soon afterwards it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt he called it “Aurea” [Golden House]. A house whose size and elegance these details should be sufficient to relate: Its courtyard was so large that a 120-foot colossal statue of the emperor himself stood there; it was so spacious that it had a mile-long triple portico; also there was a pool of water like a sea, that was surrounded by buildings which gave it the appearance of cities; and besides that, various rural tracts of land with vineyards, cornfields, pastures, and forests, teeming with every kind of animal both wild and domesticated. In other parts of the house, everything was covered in gold and adorned with jewels and mother-of-pearl; dining rooms with fretted ceilings whose ivory panels could be turned so that flowers or perfumes from pipes were sprinkled down from above; the main hall of the dining rooms was round, and it would turn constantly day and night like the Heavens; there were baths, flowing with seawater and with the sulfur springs of the Albula; when he dedicated this house, that had been completed in this manner, he approved of it only so much as to say that he could finally begin to live like a human being.
Long buried deep underground, the Domus Aurea, over the past 20 years has been the focus of intensive archaeology study and rediscovery and new reports. Also, thanks to contemporary modern technology, computer programs have been designed to help us imagine and visualize this structure as it looked during Nero's time.
In this assignment, you are to research and analyze the Domus Aurea and determine how it is reflective of Roman culture. In 3-5 pages, you are to address the following questions:
· State your opinion, does the Domus Aurea epitomize Roman architecture?
· What is the history of the Domus Aurea?
· What are the unique engineering innovations of the Domus Aurea?
· How is it reflective of domestic Roman architecture of this period - referring to the domus found in the ruins at Pompeii?
· How does it compare to the building projects of other Roman Emperors? Use at least one specific example.
Please start your research with the following:
Gurgone, Federico, and Marco Ansaloni. “Golden House of an Emperor.” Archaeology (Links to an external site.) , vol. 68, no. 5, 2015, pp. 37–43., www.jstor.org/stable/43825196. Accessed 7 Sept. 2020 (Links to an external site.) also available at https://www-jstor-org.ezp.pasadena.edu/stable/43825196Links to an external site.
The video on the dining room of the Domus Aurea Domus Aureahttps://news.cnrs.fr/videos/neros-rotating-dining-room (Links to an external site.)
Hemsoll, David. “Reconstructing the Octagonal Dining Room of Nero's Golden House.” Architectural History, vol. 32, 1989, pp. 1–17 available through .JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1568558. Links to an external site.
All sources need to be cited in MLA format and here is the PCC library guide.Links to an external site.
Rubric
Domus Aurea
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Domus Aurea |
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Criteria |
Ratings |
Pts |
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDoes the Domus Aurea epitomize Roman architecture? |
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10.0 pts |
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeHistorical analysis of the Domus Aurea |
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10.0 pts |
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeEngineering innovations of the Domus Aurea |
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10.0 pts |
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSimilarities with the domestic Roman architecture of this period - referring to the domus found in the ruins at Pompeii? |
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10.0 pts |
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This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeComparison with building projects of other Roman Emperors? Use at least one specific example. |
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10.0 pts |
