THE EXPRESSIVE HUMAN FIGURE: ARTH 200 Paper
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ELMSChapter6part1.pptx
CHAPTER SIX-- ROMAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:
ARCHITECTURE BASED ON GREEK BUT WITH ETRUSCAN ELEMENTS AND ROMAN INNOVATIONS OF STRUCTURE AND MATERIALS
ARTISTIC NATURALISM AND IDEALIZATION AS IN GREEK SCULPTURE, BUT OFTEN SCULPTURE WAS USED AS PROPAGANDA FOR LIVING RULERS
MANY PORTRAITS WERE HIGHLY REALISTIC, BUT IMAGES OF GODS AND HEROES WERE STILL IDEALIZED IN THE GREEK MANNER
WALL PAINTING WAS NATURALISTIC: MODELING IN LIGHT AND DARK PAINT (ILLUSION OF THREE-DIMENSIONALITY) AND PERSPECTIVE (ILLUSION OF DEPTH)
TERMS
VERISM TUFA ARCADE
ETRUSCAN AQUEDUCT
ENGAGED COLUMNS ARCH
6-12 Portrait Head of an Elder, Roman Republic, c. 50 BCE
VERISM
ROMAN REPUBLIC 509-27 BCE
6-15 Patrician with Portrait Busts of his Ancestors, Roman Republic. c. 75 BCE
6-18 Temple, perhaps dedicated to Portunus (?) (tufa, marble), ROME; Roman Early Empire, c. 120 BCE
The Ionic order (originated by the Greeks)
Capital with volute
Base for column
Continuous frieze (without metopes and triglyphs)
Plan of Temple of
Portunus, Rome
Plan of Parthenon, Athens
Differences between a Greek building and a Roman one?
Tufa (tuff), a local volcanic stone, could be used for the core of a building and then covered with marble
6-16 Pont du Gard (aqueduct), NIMES, FRANCE; Roman Republic, c. 75 BCE
Post-and-lintel Arch
Weight of lintel presses straight down between posts
Weight is distributed outwards by the curved arch
ARCADE
ROMAN EARLY EMPIRE, C. 25 BCE-100 CE
6-18 Augustus of Primaporta; Roman Early Empire, c. 20 BCE
Gods and goddesses of the heavens
Goddess of the earth
Roman general receiving the army’s standards from a “barbarian” who acknowledges Roman rule This may be a reference to the conquest of the Parthian people in 20 BCE
6-19 Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Peace of Augustus; predominately marble), Rome; Roman Early Empire, c. 10 BCE
6-20 Reconstruction, Ara Pacis Augustae
Detail from the frieze
6-21 Imperial Procession (from the Ara Pacis)
TERMS
FRESCO
PERPSECTIVE
STILL LIFE
PAINTING IN THE ROMAN HOME
PAINTING IN ROMAN HOMES (reconstructions)
FRESCO
Wall painting on plaster
ROMAN WALL PAINTING WAS OFTEN DESIGNED TO MIMIC MATERIALS OR TO CREATE AN ILLUSION OF SPACE
Imitation of various colors and patterns of stone (bottom and top of image)
Architectural elements appear to project towards or recede away from the viewer
Appearance of individual “framed” paintings on the wall along with other decorative elements
View into peristyle courtyard garden with remains
of paintings visible on opposite wall
6-26
6-26 Peristyle Garden, House of the Vetii,
Pompeii; Roman Early Empire,
c.65 CE
6-28 Wall Painting, “Ixion Room”, House of the Vetii, Pompeii; Roman Early Empire c. 65 CE
The “Ixion Room” was a reception room
reconstruction
Ixion Room, House of the Vetii
The story of Ixion: punished for lusting after Juno (Hera); Mercury (Hermes) binds Ixion to a wheel (far left) that will spin eternally through the heavens
Romans painted figures and objects as if they were three-dimensional sculptures. They used light areas and darker shadows to create the effect of solidity. The figure of Mercury below is a good example.
6-30 Cityscape c. 50 BCE
6-33 Still Life (left); 6-34 Portrait of Married Couple (right); Roman Early Empire c. 50 CE
STILL LIFE
Painted lights and darks create the illusion that objects, figures, etc., are three-dimensional
PERSPECTIVE: creates the illusion of depth and space. One way to achieve this is through the use of angled lines that give the illusion that architectural elements are moving towards or away from the viewer (first two examples). Dark and light paint can also achieve this effect (third example).
