Rome

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Art as demonstration of power
Rome
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New Vocabulary
Concrete forum Groined vault Barrel vault dome

Basilica Nave Cleristory apse
Atrium Domus insula
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• Does Rome have a unique characteristic style of
  art?
  
• huge admiration for Greek art- had Greek art from
  all periods copied and original Roman art was
  done in the style of Greece, many Roman artists
  were Greek in origin
• Roman authors find little concern with art of
  their own time- never developed literature on
  the theory, history or criticism of art like the
  Greeks
• we hear very little of specific artists who
  enjoyed individual fame
  
• Probably looked upon their own time as a decline
  in art compared to Greece
  
• Earlier seen by historians as just an extension
  of Greek art but now seen as a totally different
  style- great majority of Roman art is unsigned-
  could have come from anywhere in Roman domain-
  Roman society was very tolerant of alien
  traditions so long as they did not threaten the
  security of the state, new provinces were not
  made to adopt Roman traditions- law and order
  were imposed on them, but religion was not
  forced- so many traditions of Etruscan, Near
  East, and Egyptians were absorbed into Roman
  culture- therefore Roman style is not consistent-
  emergent styles existing side by side

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Roman architecture reflected that of Greece, but
a totally Roman purpose- both public and private
architecture

• suggests Greek influence following Roman conquest
  of Greece in 146 BC (Ionic columns)- but not copy
  of Greek-
  
• Etruscan elements- high podium, deep porch, wide
  cella, but cella is not subdivided into 3 parts-
  now a unified space-
  
• needed large interiors for images of deity and
  for display of trophies (statues, weapons)
  brought back by conquering army
  
• Served as a temple type and is found in Italy and
  all around the empire
  

Temple of Fortuna Virilis, 2nd C. BC
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Common Plan for Roman Temples
Plan, Fortuna Virilis
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• Combined Greek elements with ancient Roman
  peasant hut design
  
• Became model for round style of Roman temples
• Much of the structure is built with CONCRETE!!!
• Concrete was used in the near east, but never for
  architecture
  
• Concrete structure was faced with stone, marble
• The facades have worn away so Roman ruins are
  less attractive than Greeks

Temple of Sibyl at Tivoli, early 1st century BC
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Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, 1st century BC

• East of Rome- presence of strange 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 now are of concrete- fits into the
  hillside- architecture seems to grow from rock-
  this was not possible in Greece- comparable to
  New Kingdom in Egypt
• Does not express the spirit of the Roman
  republic- time period was transition between
  Republic and dictatorship
  

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Model of Fortuna
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Project for winter break?
Model made of Legos!!! Doesnt it blow your
mind???
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• Forums of Rome - Julius Caesar planned a similar
  scaled project in Rome
  
• Caesars Forums were a combination religious
  shrine and personal glorification
  
• Became the model of all imperial forums, although
  nothing remains today of any of them

Plan of the Forums, Rome
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Pont du Gard, Nimes, France, early 1st century BC

• Arch and vault became standard construction for
  engineering projects
  
• Used in aqueducts and sewers, designed for
  efficiency rather than beauty
  
• Relays sense of order and permanence

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Colosseum, Rome, 72-80 BC

• Enormous amphitheater for gladitorial games-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)
  
• Utilizes both the barrel vault and the groined
  vault (two barrel vaults at right angles

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• 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, and then
  Corinthian-lightening of the proportions, but its
  barely noticable

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• Round style temple
• From the outside, the cella looks like a simple
  cylindrical drum
  
• Deep porch is common
• Not as impressive today- the modern streets of
  Rome are a great deal higher than they were in
  ancient times - the steps up to the porch are now
  submerged in pavement
• The interior is far more impressive today

Pantheon, Rome, 118-25 AD
f
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• Interior is more impressive
• Use of arches led to huge, uninterrupted interior
  spaces-used in baths (centers of Roman society
  
• Dome is a true hemisphere, emits plenty of light
• Everything is perfectly balanced
• Base had to be made much heavier than the top
• Weight rests on 8 wide pillars- this allows for
  niches around the side
  
• Inside of dome was originally gold gilt
• Dedicated to the seven planetary gods

Interior of the Pantheon by Pannini C.1740
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Plans of the Pantheon
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Basilica of Constantine, Rome, 310-20 AD
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• Largest roofed interior in all of Rome
• Basilica- long halls that served civic purposes-
  standard feature of every Roman town- usually
  held the courts
  
• Nave- the center tract
• Cleristory- the upper part of the nave, pierced
  with large windows to let in light
  
• This was possible because the groined vaults
  helped center the weight on the four corners

Reconstruction drawing of the Basilica of
Constantine
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• Domestic Architecture--
• Single family house was called a Domus- for
  wealthy Romans
  
• Each had an atrium, square central hall lighted
  by an opening in the roof
  
• Many examples found at Pompeii and Herculaneum
  (buried 79 AD)
  
• Silver Wedding- atrium flanked by Corinthian
  columns, basin to collect rain water in the
  center
  
• 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
  
• All shut off from the street with windowless walls

Atrium, House of the Silver Wedding
Pompeii, 1st c. AD
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• Insula- less elegant
• More urban- found ion Rome and around it
• Similar to an apartment house-made of concrete or
  brick
  
• Centered around a central court
• Shops and taverns on the ground floor, living
  quarters on the second story
  
• Not as private, for craftsmen and merchants

Insula of the House of Diana, Ostia, 150 AD
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• Late Roman Architecture
• Up until the the end of the 1st century AD, Roman
  architecture stayed true to Greek orders and
  aesthetics
  
• New architecture was more imaginative-especially
  in the African and Asiatic part of the empire
  
• Market Gate- shape derived from Roman theater
  design

Market Gate from Miletus (restored) c.160 AD

• A continuous in and out rhythm of recesses and
  projections