Chapter 7 – Roman Art
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Roman Art is the most accessible.
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Significant power from 500 BCE to 400 CE.
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Roman art draws from Classical and Hellenistic
art.
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Syncretism: An art that brings diverse elements
together to produce something entirely new, with a powerful message-bearing
potential (181).
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Syncretism
was a profoundly roman attitude and led to Rome’s extraordinarily successful
expansion.
·
Roman society was unusually tolerant of
non-Roman traditions, as long as they did not undermine the state.
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This attitude for integration led to a
remarkably diverse world.
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Early Rome and the Republic
o
Rome 753 BCE.
o
The Republic – A group of elected magistrates.
o
Roman conquests brought new artistic forms to
the city, which merged with Italic to create a Roman artistic vocabulary.
o
Heavily found in architecture.
·
New Directions in Architecture.
o
Roman architecture has had a more lasting impact
on Western building than any other ancient tradition.
o
Rome took direction from the Doric, Ionic and
Corinthian Greek styles, but made them their own.
o
They combined the rectilinear designs of Greek
architecture with the curved form of the art.
·
Concrete (186)
o
The invention of concrete has a profound effect
on Roman architecture.
§
Easy to make.
§
Cheap
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Could be used by unskilled workers.
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Faster to mold and construct than stone.
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Would cure even under water.
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Still used Greek rectilinear style – posts with
levels on them
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Used to crate large open spaces.
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1st Century BC
o
Architecture used for Political Power.
o
(187) Pompey’s theater was like the Greeks, with
sloping seats and ground level orchestra and a raised stage. However, it wasn’t nestled into a
hillside. The slopes were made of
concrete.
o
Concrete
gave the designer the ability to design independent of the landscape.
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Sculpture
o
Worked primarily in Terra Cotta and Bronze
o
Rome was flooded with Greek works in 2nd
century BCE.
§
There was an intense fascination with the
Greeks.
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They became the In-thing for decoration, both
public and private.
o
Perceived as a welcome sign of Rome’s advance in
culture.
o
Cato – Relief Structure – A voice against the
Greeks and wanting to stay with traditional roman art.
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Roman art symbolized the moral and religious
values that had led to Rome’s ascent.
o
Classic Greek sculptures tended to represent
gods and myths. Roman Sculptures tended
to represent actual events. Historical
events.
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Portrait Sculpture
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A way of honoring military and political
figures.
o
Made of stone
o
Realistic with lots of deep wrinkles
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Features, warts, noses, receding hairlines and
such were played up.
·
Copying Greek Sculptures
o
Copying workshops were set up in Athens and Rome
to copy Greek works.
·
Painting and Mosaic
o
Not a lot of portraits or paintings remain.
o
Mainly found in funerary.
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Portraits and scenes of achievements.
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27 B.C.E. Octavian becomes first Roman
emperor - Augustus Ceaser
o
Art
flourishes in this time.
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A return to more classical and Hellenistic
styles in stone sculptures (busts).
o
A sculpture of Augustus represents him as a
successor in cultural supremacy.
o
Smoother looking skins and a touch more
stylized.
o
Portraits were made by a master, and then copied
for placement through out the Republic.
Political portrayals.
o
Reliefs were commissioned to narrate events.
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Arches – Arches celebrated triumphs and served
as commemorative monuments for the dead.
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Art and Architecture in the Provinces
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Impact of Rome’s authority over areas they
conquered.
o
Were syncretism of Roman forms and indigenous
styles and materials that are recognizably Roman, yet distinctive to their
locale.
o
Building and temples were made for travelers to
practice their beliefs.
o
El Khasneh at Petra – Striking new look with
syncretism.
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Sculptures were also distinctively Roman with
local and merging traditions.
·
In the later Roman history, emperors were not
necessarily from Rome and there were divisions in power.
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