1

Ch. 6: Etruscan and Roman Art Art History 1

2

In this chapter you will...

!Examine the ways that Etruscan funerary art celebrates the vitality of human existence 3

In this chapter you will... ! Be able to trace the development of portraiture as a major form of artistic expression for the Romans.

4

In this chapter you will... ! Investigate the various ways Romans embellished the walls of their houses will illusionistic painting.

5

In this chapter you will... ! Explore the structural advances made by the Romans in the construction of large civic architecture.

6

In this chapter you will...

8

! Assess the ways Roman emperors used art and architecture as an arm of imperial propaganda. Life on the Italian Peninsula Life on the Italian Peninsula

9

! About 750 BCE, Greeks established colonies on the mainland & in Sicily. The Etruscans

7

10

! Etruscan wealth came from fertile soil & an abundance of metal ore ! Both farmers and metalworkers, the Etruscans were also sailors and merchants, and they exploited their resources in trade with other people of the eastern Mediterranean Porta Augusta, 3rd - 2nd Century BCE

! Walls with protective gates & towers surrounded the cities. ! The 3rd to 2nd century BCE city gate of Perugia, called the Porta Augusta, is one of the few surviving examples of Etruscan monumental architecture. 11

Porta Augusta, 3rd to 2nd Century BCE ! Porta Augusta utilizes architectural elements such as the rounded arch, barrel vault, roundels & pilasters in its construction.

12

Etruscan Temples & Decoration ! The Etruscans incorporated Greek deities & heroes into their pantheon. ! Our knowledge of temples comes from the few remaining foundations, ceramic votive models,

1

& from writings of the Roman architect Vitruvius. 13

Apollo, 510-500 BCE ! Although Etruscan temples were simple in form, they were embellished with dazzling displays of painting & terra-cotta sculpture. ! An example of their splendid terra-cotta work is the sculpture, Apollo.

14

Tomb Chambers

! Like the Egyptians, Etruscans thought of tombs as homes for the dead. 15

Dancers and Diners, Tomb of the Triclinium

! Brightly colored paintings of scenes of feasting, dancing, musical performances, athletic contests, hunting, fishing, and other pleasures decorated the tomb walls. 16 17

Burial Chamber, Tomb of the Reliefs Sarcophagus from Cerveteri, 520 BCE ! The deceased were placed urns or sarcophagi (coffins) made of terra cotta

18

Married Couple Embracing, 350-300 BCE

19

! The lid of another Etruscan sarcophagus, carved in marble, portrays another reclining Etruscan couple, but during a more private moment. Works in Bronze: The Ficoroni Cista, 350-300 BCE ! The Etruscans developed special sophistication in casting and engraving on bronze.

20

Head of a Man (Known as Brutus) 300 BCE

! Etruscan artists continued to be held in high regard by Roman patrons after the Etruscan cities fell to Rome 21

! Alleged to be the portrait of Brutus, a founder and first consul of the Roman Republic, the head traditionally has been dated about 300 BCE, long after his death 22

Introduction to the Romans ! At the same time the Etruscan civilizations were flourishing, the Latin-speaking inhabitants of Roman began to develop into a formidable power.

23

The Romans: Origins of Rome ! Two popular legends told the story of Rome’s founding: one by Romulus and Remus, the twin sons of Mars, the god of war ! The other rendered in epic verse by the poet Virgil, the tale reveals that the Roman people were understood to be the offspring of Aeneas, a Trojan who was the mortal son of Venus

24

The Republic, 509-27 BCE

2

! Early Rome was governed by kings and an advisory body of leading citizens called the Senate. ! The population was divided into two classes: a wealthy and powerful upper class, the patricians, and a lower class, the plebeians. 25

Sculpture during the Republic ! Sculptors of the Republican period sought to created believable images based on careful observation of their surroundings. ! Roman patrons in the Republican period admired realistic portraits

26

The Denarius of Julius Caesar ! The propaganda value of portraits was not lost on Roman leaders

27

Architecture & Engineering

! Roman architects created new building types & construction techniques that permitted them to erect buildings efficiently and inexpensively ! Among their techniques, they relied on the round arch and vault, and during the empire, concrete. 28

The Use of Concrete ! Concrete’s one weakness was that it absorbed moisture, so builders covered exposed surfaces with a veneer, or facing, of materials such as marble, stone, stucco, or plaster.

29

The Roman Temple

30 ! With a rectangular cella and a porch at one end reached by a single flight of steps, leading to a front porch entrance. ! The Ionic columns are freestanding on the porch and engaged (set into the wall) around the cella. ! This design, with slight variations in the orders, is typical of Roman temples.

31

Rome Becoming an Empire... ! Although by the 1st Century BCE nearly a million people lived in Rome, the Romans thought of themselves as farmers. ! In fact, Rome had changed from an essentially agricultural society to a commercial and political power.

32

From Caesar to Octavius... The Early Empire, 27 BCE - 96 CE

33

The Early Empire, 27 BCE - 96 CE

! By 27 BCE, the Senate had given him the title Augustus (meaning “exalted, sacred”). ! In 12 CE he was given the title Pontifex Maximus (“High Priest”) & so he became the empire’s highest religious official as well as its political leader. 34

Augustan Art ! Drawing inspiration from Etruscan and Greek art as well as Republican traditions,

3

Roman artists of the Augustan age created a new style- a Roman form of idealism that is grounded in the appearance of the everyday world. 35

Augustus of Primaporta, Early 1st Century CE ! Discovered in Livia’s villa at Primaporta, near Rome, the sculpture illustrates the use of imperial portraiture for propaganda. ! The sculptor of this larger than life sized marble statue adapts the orator’s gesture and ideal Greek proportions.

36

The Altar of Augustan Peace, 13-9 BCE

! Begun in 13 BCE and dedicated in 9 BCE, commemorates Augustus’s triumphal return to Rome after establishing Roman rule in Gaul & Hispania. 37

The Julio-Claudians ! After his death in 14 CE, the Senate ordered Augustus to be venerated as a god. ! His successor was his stepson Tiberius, and in acknowledgment of the lineage of both- Augustus from Julius Caesar and Tiberius from his father, Tiberius Claudius Nero- the dynasty is known as Julio-Claudian.

38

Gemma Augustea, Early 1st Century CE ! A large onyx cameo known as the Gemma Augustea glorifies Augustus as triumphant over barbarians and as the deified emperor. ! The emperor, crowned with a victor’s wreath, sits at the center right of the upper register.

39

Roman Cities ! Roman architects who designed new cities or who expanded & rebuilt existing ones based the urban plan on the layout of the the army camp. ! These camps were laid out in a grid where two main streets crossed at right angles dividing the camp- or the city- into quarters.

40

The Roman House ! A Roman house usually consisted of small rooms laid out around one or two open courts, the atrium and the peristyle. ! Rooms were often laid out symmetrically

41

! The peristyle was a planted interior court yard enclosed by columns. ! The atrium was a large space with a pool or cistern for catching rainwater. 42

Wall Painting ! The interior walls of Roman houses were plain, smooth plaster surfaces with few architectural features. ! On these empty spaces, artists painted decorations using pigment in a solution of lime and soap, sometimes with a little wax.

43 ! One of the most famous painted rooms in Roman art is in the so-called Villa of the Mysteries just outside the city walls of Pompeii. ! These murals depict initiation rites- probably into the cult of Bacchus, who was the god of vegetation and fertility as well as wine.

44

Still Life, House of the Stags, before 79 CE ! Other subjects that appeared in Roman art included historical and mythological scenes, exquisitely rendered

4

still lifes (compositions of inanimate objects), and portraits. ! A still-life panel from Herculaneum, a community in the vicinity of Mount Vesuvius near Pompeii, depicts everyday domestic objects.

45

Portraits ! Among the paintings discovered on the walls of Pompeian houses, few are as arresting as a double portrait of a young husband and wife, who look out form their simulated spatial world through the wall into the viewer’s space within the room.

46

The Flavians ! The Julio-Claudian dynasty ended with the suicide of Nero in 68 CE, to be replaced by the Flavians, practical military men who restored confidence and ruled for the rest of the 1st century. ! They restored the imperial finances and stabilized the frontiers, but during the autocratic reign of the last Flavian, Domitian, intrigue and terror returned to the capital.

47

The Arch of Titus ! Among the most admirable official commissions during the Flavian dynasty is a distinctive Roman structure, the triumphal arch. ! Part architecture, part sculpture, the freestanding arch commemorates a triumph, or formal victory celebration, during which a victorious general or emperor paraded through the city with his troops, captives, and booty.

48

The Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum) ! Construction of the Flavian Amphitheater, Rome’s greatest arena, began under Vespasian in 70 CE and was completed under Titus, who dedicated it in 80 CE.

49

The Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum) ! The Flavian Amphitheater came to be known as the “Colosseum,” because a gigantic statue of Nero called the Colossus stood next to it. ! It is an oval, measuring 615 by 510 feet, with a floor 280 by 175 feet and outer walls standing 159 feet high.

50

“Colosseum” Continued…

51

Portrait Sculpture ! Roman patrons continued to demand likenesses in their portraits, but the portrait, A Young Flavian Woman, exemplifies the current Roman ideal. ! Her strong nose and jaw, heavy brows, deep-set eyes, and long neck- contrast with the smoothly rendered flesh and soft, full lips.

52

Young Flavian Woman, 90 CE

! Her hair is piled high in an extraordinary mass of ringlets in the latest court fashion. ! The overall effect, from a distance, seems very lifelike- yet closer inspection reveals a portrayal too perfect to be real. 53

The High Imperial Art of Trajan and Hadrian ! Domitian was assassinated in 96 CE and succeeded by a senator, Nerva, who designated as his successor Trajan, a general born in Spain and commander of troops in Germany. ! Under Trajan, the empire reached its greatest extent.

54

The Forum of Trajan

55

The Column of Trajan ! The Column of Trajan commemorated Trajan’s victory over the Dacians

5

! The relief decoration on the Column spirals upward in a band that would stretch almost 625 feet if unfurled. 56

The Pantheon ! Perhaps the most remarkable ancient building surviving in Rome- and one of the marvels of architecture in any age- is a temple to the Olympian gods called the Pantheon (literally, “all the gods”)

57

Mosaics

58

Imperial Portraits ! Marcus Aurelius, like Hadrian, was a successful military commander who was equally proud of his intellectual attainments.

59

Commodus

60

! Marcus Aurelius was succeeded as emperor by his son Commodus, a man without political skill, administrative competence, or intellectual distinction. ! During his unfortunate reign (180-92 CE) he devoted himself to luxury and frivolous pursuits. The Late Empire, Third and Fourth Centuries ! The reign of Commodus marked the beginning of a period of political and economic decline. ! Barbarian groups had already begun moving into the empire in the time of Marcus Aurelius. ! Now they pressed on Rome’s frontiers.

61

The Family of Septimius Severus ! A portrait of the family of Septimius Severus provides insight into both the history of the Severan dynasty & early 3rd century CE painting. ! The emperor, with distinctive beard & curled moustache, wears an enormous crown.

62

Emperor Caracalla ! Emperor Caracalla emerges from his adult portraits as a man of chilling and calculating ruthlessness. ! In the example shown here, the sculptor has enhanced the intensity of the emperor’s expression by producing strong contrasts of light and dark with careful chiseling and drill work.

63

The Baths of Caracalla ! The year before his death in 211 CE, Septimius Severus had begun a popular public works project: the construction of magnificent new public baths on the southeast side of Rome. ! Caracalla completed and inaugurated the baths in 216-17 CE, and they are known by his name.

64

The 3rd Century: The Soldier Emperors ! The successors of the Severan emperors, the 2-dozen or so soldier emperors, continued to favor the style of Caracalla’s portraits.

65

The Tetrarchs ! The half century of anarchy, power struggles, and inept rule by the soldier emperors that had begun with the death of Alexander Severus, the last in the Severan line, ended with the rise to power of Diocletion.

6

66

Constantine the Great and His Legacy ! In 305 CE, Diocletian stepped down and forced his fellow Ausustus, Maximian, to do so too. ! Struggle for position and advantage followed almost immediately. ! Two main contenders emerged: Maximian’s son Maxentius and Constantine I, son of Tetrarch Constantius Chlorus.

67

Portraiture ! Portraiture continued to be an important aspect of imperial propaganda. ! Constantine commissioned a colossal, 30-foot statue of himself for his new basilica.

68

The Arch of Constantine ! In Rome, next to the Colosseum, the Senate erected a memorial to Constantine’s victory over Maxentius, a huge, triple arch that dwarfs the nearby arch of Titus.

69

Art After Constantine ! Although Constantine was baptized only on his deathbed in 337, Christianity had become the official religion of the empire by the end of the 4th century CE, and non-Christians had become targets of persecution.

7