CHAPTER SEVEN
ROMAN ART
Closer Look:
Dish from Mildenhall, England
The Forum Romanum and Imperial Forums
The Column of Trajan
Google Earth Coordinates:
Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Majestic Peace), Rome
Arch of Constantine (erected on the Via Triumphalis), Rome
Video Links:
Pantheon Sculptures
Colosseum, the Great Amphitheatre of Antiquity: Historic Centre of Rome
Compare and Contrast
Image Flashcards
Term Flashcards
Early Rome and the Republic
Key Images
Architecture
Sculpture
Key Images
Reconstruction of pedimental sculptures from Via di San Gregorio, p. 189, 7.8
: Recognizing Copies: The Case of the Laocoön, p. 183
Primary Source: Cicero (106-43 BCE), Letters to Atticus I.9-10 (67 BCE Rome), p. 192
Polybius (ca. 200-ca. 118 BCE), Histories, from Book VI, p. 194
Materials and Techniques: Copying Greek Sculpture, p. 193
Painting
Key Images
The Early Empire
Architecture
Key Images
View of the Forum in Rome, p. 196, 7.16
: Two Pantheon Problems, p. 202
Portrait Sculpture
Key Images
Augustus of Primaporta, p. 204, 7.29
49
Relief Sculpture
Key Images
West façade of the Ara Pacis Augustae, p. 207, 7.34
Imperial procession south frieze, Ara Pacis Augustae, p. 208, 7.35
Arch of Titus, Rome, p. 208, 7.36
Primary Source: Josephus (37/8-ca. 100 CE), The Jewish War, from Book VII, p. 210
Art and Architecture in the Provinces
Key Images
Aqueduct, Segovia, p. 213, 7.43
Domestic Art and Architecture
Key Images
Aerial view of Pompeii, p. 217, 7.48
The Late Empire
Architecture
Key Images
Baths of Caracalla, Rome, p. 224, 7.58
Basilica of Maxentius, renamed Basilica of Constantine, p. 225, 7.60
50
Materials and Techniques: Painted Stone in Greece and Rome, p. 223
Architecture in the Provinces
Key Images
Basilica, Lepcis Magna, Libya, p. 226, 7.62
Portrait Sculpture
Key Images
Relief Sculpture
Key Images
Meleager Sarcophagus, p. 230, 7.69
Arch of Constantine, Rome, p. 230, 7.70
Constantinian relief from Arch of Constantine, Rome, p. 232, 7.72
The Roman Republican period dates from ca. 509 27 BCE. During this period Roman
builders used Greek Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders of architecture and the Greek
The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, with Etrusco-Italic features, was the first
truly monumental building in Rome.
51
The Imperial period in Rome dates from ca. 27 BCE CE 395. A new trend in Roman
portraiture emerges with the reign of Augustus, in which the emperor is depicted as a
Much of what we know about Roman domestic architecture comes from our study of
Pompeii and Herculaneum which were destroyed in the volcanic eruption of Mt.
Vesuvius in 79 CE. Roman houses and villas followed a regular axial plan, with
rooms arranged along a longitudinal axis from the entrance, or atrium, to the peristyle
courtyard. In the center of the atrium was an impluvium into which water would
collect. The opening in the roof above the impluvium was called the compluvium.
Recently Roman wall paintings have been considered not only with respect to
influences, but also in a more social context as scholars are considering ways in
which these paintings might have expressed the ideas of the owner of the home or
dictated usages for certain rooms.
Like painting, mosaics originated in Greece but were common in Rome during the 1st
and 2nd centuries CE.
A large quantity of Roman craft art also survived, including coins, glass vases, and
cameos.
52
Key Terms/Places/Names
arch
barrel vault
basilica
annular barrel vaults
Cicero
impluvium
Pompeii
Herculaneum
cubicula
insula (plural, insulae)
Discussion Questions
1. In what ways does the Temple of Portunus rely on Etruscan temple design? In what
ways does it differ?
5. How is the Augustan ideal of filial piety reflected in the construction of the
Pantheon?
6. Discuss the different styles of wall painting outlined by August Mau. Even though
these styles are not canonical, in what ways are they useful as we study the wall
paintings from Pompeii?
53
9. Describe the rooms of the Roman Bath and the purpose of each.
10.
Resources
Books
Boatwright, Mary, Daniel J. Gargola, and Richard Talbert. The Romans: From Village to
Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
DVDs
Ancient Mysteries: Pompeii Buried Alive. (1997). A&E Home Video.
Empires: Roman Emperors in the First Century. PBS Empires Series. 240 min.
In Search of History: Pompeii. (2006). The History Channel.
Private Lives of Pompeii. (2006). A&E Home Video.
Roman City. Hosted by David Macaulay. (2006). PBS Home Video.
Rome: Power and Glory. Gladiator: Bloodsport of the Colosseum. (2002). Questar. 420
min.
www
54
3D Virtual Reconstructions
Hadrianic Baths at Aphrodisias (Duke University)