Comparative Arts

Lecture 5September 15, 2010

The Roman Empire

•Inherited its art, literature, philosophy, religious life from the Greek Empire•Even more ambitious than the Greeks (especially Alexander the Great) in spreading their culture•Produced remarkable achievements: advanced politics, law, engineering

Why did Rome – one city among many – become one of the most powerful cities in the ancient world?

Early Rome, 200 BC

Why did Rome – one city among many – become one of the most powerful cities in the ancient world?

Early Rome, 200 BC-strategic location on the banks of the Tiber River in central Italy, between Etruscan settlements in the north and Greek colonies in the south – trade route between civilizations

Cerveteri tombs-tombs of Etruscan families that replicate a Etruscan home in stone (even pillows and pets)

Wife and Husband tomb, Cerveteri (Etruscan), terra cotta

Capitoline She-Wolf, 500 BCE, bronze-classic Etruscan metalwork, a popular export item-this sculpture has become the symbol of Rome, depicting the founders, Romulus and Remus

p. 100, text book:

“ Although the Romans conquered the Greeks militarily and politically, the Greeks conquered the Romans artistically and culturally.”

Roman writers rarely made reference to Roman artists, but instead wrote about the Greek masters.

Romans referred to the Greeks as the ‘ancients’, as Greek art already had the authority of antiquity for the Romans. They imported Greek art (marbles, vases and bronzes), Greek artists, and commissioned copies of Greek art.

Romans made Doric columns taller and slimmer and gave them a base. The leaves of the Corinthian columns were combined with the volutes of the Ionic columns to create the composite order.

Romans mixed styles freely, even on the same building and used the elaborate Corinthian style the most and the Doric the least – the opposite of the Greeks.

While Romans greatly admired Greek art, there are many differences. What are some of the divergences between Greek and Roman art?

-scale – Romans were impressed by size-modified the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns-Romans developed the use of concrete-did not entirely copy Greek architecture, but

blended it with Etruscan

The Roman temple ‘Fortuna Virilis’, 1st century BCE

-Etruscan elements: raised platform, entry at one end only by ascending a flight of stairs, a front porch taking up 1/3 of the podium

Etruscan temple

-to some extent a modification of a Greek temple, except for the high flight of stairs on one side only, deeper porch, wider roof

Greek Parthenon

Rectangular plan, raised podium, peeked roof, steps on all four sides, small porch

Temple of Vesta, 80 BCE

Unlike Greeks, Romans built many circular temples, which were built of concrete and faced with stone or brick. Note the tall and slender columns.

Pont du Gard, Nimes, France, 100 BCE – 100CE-The most famous and best preserved Roman aquaduct-once carried 44 million gallons of water / day

The water travelled 50 km for use in homes, fountains, public baths

No mortar or clamps used!

Ancient Romans commissioned much sculpture for public places, homes, temples, tombs, etc.

Unlike Greeks, they did not focus on gods, goddesses and heroes, but on individual people, especially political figures.

This sculpture indicates the emphasis ancient Romans placed on lineage and on capturing the likeness of actual people, rather than indicating an ideal or type.

In fact, Romans loved realism so much that wax masks were made of the recently dead to aid in the making of realistic sculptures.

A Roman Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors, 1st century BCE

Portrait bust of Julius Caesar

The Colosseum, Rome, 80 CE

-type of building developed by Romans-accommodated 50,000 people – no bad seats!-an awning would have been stretched out over much of the seating-supporting structure made of concrete, exterior stone was travertine (limestone)

Describe the columns used

How do Roman Colosseums differ from Greek amphitheatres?

Arles, France

Built after Coloseum in Rome

Pantheon, Rome 118-25 CE-dedicated to ‘all the gods’ (literally, pantheon)

How does this temple differ from Greek temples?

The Forum, Rome – a forum was a public area around which the most important structures were located: royal residence, temples and shrines, markets, the Senate House, government offices, memorials, statues-the Forum became the economic hub of the city of Rome and the center of the Roman Empire-the area was expanded and renovated during the peak of the Roman Empire and transformed in the subsequent centuries: 5th- 8th century CE – old government buildings and temples transformed into Christian churches, after the 8th century many buildings dismantled to be used as building materials in nearby castles, 13th century the Forum was a dumping ground

The Forum, 1742

Artists in the 15th century were drawn to painting the Forum and copying ancient inscriptions.

In the early 1800s the Forum began to be excavated and what we see today is a mix of architectural remnants from various ages.

War: what is it good for?

• Caesar Augustus gained control of the Roman Empire in 27 BCE. Together with his wife, Livia, he created the conditions for a long period of peace and stability in the empire that lasted 200 years.– An active builder, restored 82 temples in a year and boasted: “I found

Rome a city of brick, and left it a city of marble.”

• Roman armies were dispatched across the empire, but did not need to fight wars because of the Roman Peace, or Pax Romana.

• Instead of fighting, the armies built incredible public works: aqueducts, theatres, libraries, marketplaces, colosseums, and roads.

• Trade increased and economic prosperity spread = Rome’s Golden Age and pinnacle of Roman cultural accomplishment.

Rome: spreading itself thin?• By 180 CE, the Roman Empire had grown to enormous

proportions: included Spain, the Persian Gulf in the Middle East, Britain, the Rhine River, Egypt, the Sahara Desert– 1,750,000 square miles!– 50 million people!

Instability and decline

• The Roman Republic, which lasted 500 years, was weakened by wars and transformed into the Roman Empire– Julius Caesar appointed himself as ‘Perpetual Dictator’ in 44 BCE

• Between 235 and 284 CE, 25/26 emperors were murdered!• Extremely unstable time, constant wars, a plague ravaged Rome• Constantine seized control of the empire in 324, and moved the

capital from Rome to the port city of Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople

• Rome no longer Europe’s cultural center• Due to the Roman Empire’s vast territory and longevity, there are

lasting influences on many cultures even today, especially in the areas of language (Latin is the root for Italian, Spanish and French), architecture, law, philosophy, and government