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Rome

Roman art includes the visual arts produced in Ancient Rome, and in the territories of the Roman empire. Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in Year 80 BC was a year of the pre-Julian calendar. Events By place Rome Battle of the Baetis River — Democratic rebel Boscoreale is a Comune and town in the Province of Naples, Campania, located in the The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile in New York City, Arts of the ancient world refers to the many types of Art that were in the Cultures of Ancient societies such as those of ancient China, The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Ancient Egyptian art refers to the style of painting sculpture crafts and architecture developed by the Civilization in the lower Nile Valley from 5000 Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding Arts of the ancient world refers to the many types of Art that were in the Cultures of Ancient societies such as those of ancient China, Chinese art is Art that whether ancient or modern originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers The is the time in Japanese prehistory from about 14000 BC to 400 BC. Scythian art is art primarily decorative objects such as Jewelry produced by the Nomadic tribes in the area known classically as Scythia, which was centred Etruscan art was the form of Figurative art produced by the Etruscan civilization in northern Italy between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC Celtic art is art associated with various people known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period Norse art is a blanket term for the artistic style in Scandinavia during the Germanic Iron Age, the Viking Age, and sometimes even used when describing The Visigoths entered Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal) in 415, and they rose to be the dominant people there until the Moorish The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present particularly in the areas of Sculpture The Art of the Hellenistic period has long been the victim of the relative disdain attached to the period Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Major forms of Roman art are architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. The Architecture of Ancient Rome adopted the external Greek architecture for their own purposes which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e Art History Mosaics of the 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic Metal-work, coin-die and gem engraving, ivory carvings, figurine glass, pottery, and book illustrations are considered to be 'minor' forms of Roman artwork. Metalworking is craft and practice of working with Metals to create individual parts assemblies or large scale structures Ivory carving is the ornamentation of Ivory by using sharp cutting tools either mechanically or manually ^[1]

Contents 1 General Style 2 Painting 2.1 Variety of subjects 2.2 Innovations 2.3 Periods 2.4 Triumphal paintings 2.5 Panel paintings 3 Sculpture 4 Architecture 5 See also 6 Notes and references 7 External links 8 Sources

General Style

In Romans art, observation of nature was of key importance; as in, for example, their portrait sculptures which are usually meticulously detailed and realistic. Portraits of Roman emperors were often used for propaganda purposes and included ideological messages in the pose, accoutrements, or costume of the figure. The Romans also depicted warriors and heroic adventures, in the spirit of the Greeks who came before them. While Greek sculptors traditionally illustrated military exploits through the use of mythological allegory, the Romans used a more documentary mode. Roman reliefs of battle scenes like those on the Column of Trajan are useful for the first-hand representation of military costumes, and military equipment. Trajan's Column is a Monument in Rome raised in honour of the Roman emperor Trajan and constructed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus Another major contribution of Roman art is the use of concrete in architecture. Concrete is a construction material composed of Cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as Fly ash and Slag Buildings like the Pantheon, or Colosseum could never have been constructed with previous materials. The Colosseum or Roman Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre ( Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio

While the traditional view of Roman artists is that they often borrowed from, and copied Greek precedents (much of the Greek sculpture we know of today is in the form of Roman marble copies), more recent analysis as indicated that Roman art is a highly creative pastiche of Greek, Etruscan, native Italic, and even Egyptian visual culture. Stylistic eclecticism is the hallmark of much of Roman art.

Painting

Our knowledge of Ancient Rome painting relies in large part on the preservation of artifacts from Pompeii and Herculanum, and particularly the Pompeian mural painting, which was preserved after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79. Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples and Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, in Herculaneum (in modern Italian Ercolano) is an ancient Roman town located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano. The Pompeian Styles are four periods which are distinguished in ancient Roman mural painting. Mount Vesuvius (in Italian Monte Vesuvio and in Latin Mons Vesuvius) is an active Stratovolcano east of Naples Year 79 was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. AD. Nothing remains of the Greek paintings imported to Rome during the 4th and 5th centuries, or of the painting on wood done in Italy during that period. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini / Common era) was that Century The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in Anno Domini / Common Era. Pliny explicitly states^[2](XXXV, 36) around 69-79 AD that the only true painting was painting on wood and that this had nearly disappeared by his time, to the benefit of the muralists, which was more indicative of the wealth of the owners than their artistic tastes. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author 69 (sex position & book by Ryu Murakami are -- already linked by "" with other meanings Year 79 was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. A mural is a Painting on a wall ceiling or other large permanent surface

Variety of subjects

Roman painting provides a wide variety of themes: animals, still life, and scenes from everyday life. During the Hellenistic period, it evoked the pleasures of the countryside and represented scenes of shepherds, herds, rustic temples, rural mountainous landscapes and country houses.

Innovations

The main innovation of Roman painting compared to Greek art was the development of landscapes, in particular incorporating techniques of perspective. The art of the ancient East would have known the landscape only in terms of civil or military scenes. ^[3] This theory, defended by Franz Wickhoff, is debatable. Franz Wickhoff (1853 Steyr, Austria – 1909 Venice, Italy) was an Austrian art historian, and is considered a member of the It is possible to see evidence of Greek knowledge of landscape portrayal in Plato's Critias (107b-108b):

". Critias, one of Plato 's late Dialogues contains the story of the mighty island kingdom Atlantis and its attempt to conquer Athens, . . and if we look at the portraiture of divine and of human bodies as executed by painters, in respect of the ease or difficulty with which they succeed in imitating their subjects in the opinion of onlookers, we shall notice in the first place that as regards the earth and mountains and rivers and woods and the whole of heaven, with the things that exist and move therein, we are content if a man is able to represent them with even a small degree of likeness. . . "^[4]

Periods

Roman mural painting is generally distinguished by four periods, as originally described by the German archaeologist August Mau and dealt with in more detail at Pompeian Styles. August Mau ( 15 October 1840 — 6 March 1909) was a prominent German art historian and archaeologist who worked The Pompeian Styles are four periods which are distinguished in ancient Roman mural painting.

Triumphal paintings

From the 3rd century BC, a specific genre known as Triumphal Paintings appeared, as indicated by Pliny^[2] (XXXV, 22). The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC These were paintings which showed triumphal entries after military victories, represented episodes from the war, and conquered regions and cities. Summary maps were drawn to highlight key points of the campaign. Josephus describes the painting executed on the occasion of Vespasian and Titus's sack of Jerusalem:

"There was also wrought gold and ivory fastened about them all; and many resemblances of the war, and those in several ways, and variety of contrivances, affording a most lively portraiture of itself. Josephus (AD 37 – c 100 also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph son of Matthias and after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian ( November 17 9 &ndash June 23 79) was a Roman Emperor who Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Titus ( December 30 39 &ndash September 13 81) was a Roman Emperor who The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD It was a decisive event in the First Jewish-Roman War, followed by the fall of Masada in 73 For there was to be seen a happy country laid waste, and entire squadrons of enemies slain; while some of them ran away, and some were carried into captivity; with walls of great altitude and magnitude overthrown and ruined by machines; with the strongest fortifications taken, and the walls of most populous cities upon the tops of hills seized on, and an army pouring itself within the walls; as also every place full of slaughter, and supplications of the enemies, when they were no longer able to lift up their hands in way of opposition. Fire also sent upon temples was here represented, and houses overthrown, and falling upon their owners: rivers also, after they came out of a large and melancholy desert, ran down, not into a land cultivated, nor as drink for men, or for cattle, but through a land still on fire upon every side; for the Jews related that such a thing they haundergone during this war. Now the workmanship of these representations was so magnificent and lively in the construction of the things, that it exhibited what had been done to such as did not see it, as if they had been there really present. On the top of every one of these pageants was placed the commander of the city that was taken, and the manner wherein he was taken. "^[5]

These paintings have disappeared, but they likely influenced the composition of the historical reliefs carved on military sarcophagi, the Arch of Titus, and Trajan's Column. A sarcophagus is a Funeral receptacle for a Corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone The Arch of Titus is a Pentelic marble Triumphal arch with a single arched opening located on the Via Sacra just to the south-east of the Forum Trajan's Column is a Monument in Rome raised in honour of the Roman emperor Trajan and constructed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus This evidence underscores the significance of landscape painting, which sometimes tended towards being perspective plans.

Ranuccio also describes the oldest painting to be found in Rome, in a tomb on the Esquiline Hill:

"It describes a historical scene, on a clear background, painted in four superimposed sections. Ranuccio Bianchi Bandinelli ( February 19, 1900 – January 17, 1975) was one of the most influential Italian archaeologists and art historians The Esquiline Hill is one of the celebrated Seven Hills of Rome. Several people are identified, such Marcus Fannius and Marcus Fabius. These are larger than the other figures. . . In the second zone, to the left, is a city encircled with crenellated walls, in front of which is a large warrior equipped with an oval buckler and a feathered helmet; near him is a man in a short tunic, armed with a spear. . . Around these two are smaller soldiers in short tunics, armed with spears. . . In the lower zone a battle is taking place, where a warrior with oval buckler and a feathered helmet is shown larger than the others, whose weapons allow to assume that these are probably Samnites.

This episode is difficult to pinpoint. One of Ranuccio's hypotheses is that it refers to a victory of the consul Fabius Maximus Rullianus during the second war against Samnites in 326 BC. Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus (or Rullus) son of Marcus, of the Patrician Fabii of Ancient Rome, was five times Consul The presentation of the figures with sizes proportional to their importance is typically Roman, and finds itself in plebeian reliefs. This painting is in the infancy of triumphal painting, and would have been accomplished by the beginning of the 3rd century BC to decorate the tomb. The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC

Panel paintings

In Greece and Rome, wall painting was not considered as high art. The most prestigious form of art besides sculpture was panel painting, ie tempera or encaustic painting on wooden panels. A panel painting is a Painting on a panel made of wood either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together Tempera (also known as egg tempera) is a type of artist's Paint and associated art techniques that were known from the classical world where it appears For encaustic tiles see Encaustic tile Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated Beeswax to Since wood is a perishable material, only very few examples of such paintings have survived, namely the Severan Tondo from circa 200 AD, and the well-known Fayum mummy portraits. The Severan Tondo, from circa AD 200 is one of the few preserved examples of Panel painting from Classical Antiquity. Mummy portraits or Fayum mummy portraits (also Faiyum mummy portraits) is the modern term for a type of realistic painted Portraits on wooden boards The portraits were attached to burial mummies at the face, from which almost all have now been detached. They usually depict a single person, showing the head, or head and upper chest, viewed frontally. The background is always monochrome, sometimes with decorative elements. In terms of artistic tradition, the images clearly derive more from Graeco-Roman traditions than Egyptian ones. They are remarkably realistic and may indicate the similar art which was widespread elsewhere, but for reasons of the dry climate where they were found, have fortunately survived.

Sculpture

Main article: Roman sculpture

Traditional Roman sculpture is divided into five categories: portraiture, historical relief, funerary reliefs, sarcophogai, and copies. ^[6] Roman sculpture was heavily influenced by Greek examples, in particular their bronzes. The sculpture of the Greek speaking world from the Lefkandi Centaur ca Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus It is only thanks to some Roman examples that we know of Greek originals which have since been lost. Another example of this is at the British Museum, where an intact 2nd century AD Roman copy of a statue of Venus is displayed, while a similar original 500 BC Greek statue at the Louvre is missing her arms. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Contrary to the belief of early archaeologists, many of their sculptures were large polychrome terra-cotta images, such as the Apollo of Veii (Villa Givlia, Rome), but the painted surface of many of them has worn away with time. For the character from the Oz series see Polychrome (fictional character. Terra cotta ( Italian: "baked earth" is a Ceramic. Its uses include vessels water & waste water pipes and surface embellishment in Building construction Romans were nearly unique in the mixtures of materials (e. g. marble and porphyry) used both for painting and sculptures themselves, largely due to cost. Marble is a nonfoliated Metamorphic rock resulting from the Metamorphism of Limestone, composed mostly of Calcite (a crystalline form of

Historical reliefs are represented by Trajan's column, a triumphal work which records the various Dacian wars conducted by Trajan in what is modern day Roumania. Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc ( January 27 1814 &ndash September 17, 1879) was a French Architect and theorist famous for his "restorations" Trajan's Column is a Monument in Rome raised in honour of the Roman emperor Trajan and constructed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan ( September 18 53 &ndash August 9 117) was a Roman Emperor who Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania The monumental work is remarkable for the detail shown of the many activities conducted by the army.

While inspired by the Greeks, Romans also developed some of their own innovations, such as the bust and the democratization of the portrait. Many contemporary sculptures are described and discussed by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia published in 77 AD. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author Naturalis Historia ( Latin for "Natural History" is an Encyclopedia written Circa AD 77 by Pliny the Elder. The work is one of the very few places which discusses Roman art in detail, so is an inestimable source of the period.

Architecture

Main article: Roman architecture

Roman architecture is outstandingly notable for the durability of its construction; with many buildings still standing, and some still in use. The Architecture of Ancient Rome adopted the external Greek architecture for their own purposes which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new The Roman use of the arch, and their improvements in the use of concrete building methods, their use of the dome which permitted construction of vaulted ceilings and enabled huge covered public spaces such as the public baths and basilicas, later served as inspirational models for architects of the Italian Renaissance, such as Brunelleschi. An arch is a structure that spans a space while supporting weight (e Concrete is a construction material composed of Cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as Fly ash and Slag A dome is a common structural element of Architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a Sphere. Public baths originated from a communal need for cleanliness Often the term public is misleading to some people as they will have restrictions based upon who can use the facility The Latin word basilica (derived from Greek, Basiliké Stoà, Royal Stoa) was originally used to describe a Roman Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – April 15, 1446) was one of the foremost architects and engineers of the Italian Renaissance. The Romans based much of their architecture on the dome, with outstanding examples such as the Pantheon, the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla. A dome is a common structural element of Architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a Sphere. The Baths of Diocletian ( Thermae Diocletiani) in Rome were the grandest of the public baths or Thermae built by successive emperors The Baths of Caracalla were Roman public baths or Thermae, built in Rome between AD 212 and 216 during the reign of the Emperor Caracalla Roman aqueducts were commonplace in the empire, and the standing masonry remains are especially impressive such as the Pont du Gard and the aqueduct of Segovia. The ancient Romans constructed numerous aqueducts ( Latin aquaeductūs, sing The Pont du Gard is an aqueduct in the South of France constructed by the Roman Empire, and located in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins The Aqueduct of Segovia (or more precisely the Aqueduct bridge is one of the most significant and best-preserved monuments left by the Romans on the Iberian The arch was the basis of all the aqueducts and the survival of so many aqueducts in a good state of preservation is mute testimony to their quality of their design and construction.

See also

• Latin literature
• Naturalis Historia
• Pliny the Elder
• Roman architecture
• Roman music
• Roman sculpture
• Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum

Notes and references

External links

• Ancient Rome Art History Resources

Sources

• Benton, Janetta Rebold and DiYanni, Robert. Arts and Culture. Volume 1. Prentice-Hall, 1998. New Jersey, United States.
• Kleiner, Fred S. A History of Roman Art. Thompson Wadsworth, 2007. Belmont, CA.
• Marceau, Jo. Art: A World History. DK Publishing, 1998. New York, New York.
• Montverdi, Mario. The Book of Art. Volume 1: The Origins of Western Art. Grolier 1967. Milan, Italy.
• Nuttgens, Patrick. The World's Great Architecture. Excalibur, 1981. New York, New York.
• Turner, Jane. The Dictionary of Art. Volumes 26 and 27. Macmillan, 2002. Hong Kong.

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