Gardner’s Art through the Ages
Chapters 6-7
The Etruscans and The Roman Empire
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Italy - Etruscan Period
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Sarcophagus with reclining couple, from the Banditaccia necropolis, Cerveteri, Italy, ca. 520 BCE. Painted
terracotta, 3’ 9 1/2” X 6’ 7”. Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome. Note the archaic smile. Made with the
coiling method. Women had more freedom in Etruscan society and had more rights than in Greece. Educaton
was more available and they could own property.
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Tumuli (Earthen covered mounds) in the Banditaccia necropolis, Cerveteri, Italy, seventh to second centuries
BCE. These tombs often housed many generations of family members with earthly objects like furniture,
kitchen utensils, mirrors, murals of life on Earth.
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Interior of the Tomb of the Leopards, Tarquinia, Italy, ca. 480–470 BCE.
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Interior of the Tomb of the Augurs, Monterozzi necropolis, Tarquinia, Italy, ca. 520 BCE.
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Figure 6-12 Capitoline Wolf, from Rome, Italy, ca. 500–480 BCE. Bronze, 2’ 7 1/2” high. Musei Capitolini, Rome.
The two infants are 15th Century additions, Romulus and Remus.
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Arch construction started in the late Etruscan period, but flourished in ancient Rome.
Key words: Voussoirs, keystone and crown
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The Roman World
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ROMAN ART
• Roman architecture contributed to the expanse of the
Roman Empire.
• Much of Roman art and architecture communicates
ideas of power for the emperor and empire.
• Many of the changes in Roman art and architecture
came as a result of expansion of the Roman Empire
and the incorporation of the conquered cultures.
• The Romans took over Greece in 146 BCE. Much of
their artistic tastes in all art forms took their inspiration
from Ancient Greece
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM2D7iJHWXQ
• Introduction to Roman Art
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Temple of Portunus
(Temple of “Fortuna
Virilis”), Rome, Italy, ca.
75 BCE.
A blend of Etruscan
temple floor plan and
Greek Ionic columns
There is only the staircase
entrance at the front and
no freestanding columns
at the back of the temple.
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a
c
b
d
Roman concrete construction and architectural innovations. (a) barrel vault,
(b) groin vault, (c) fenestrated sequence of groin vaults, (d) hemispherical
dome with oculus
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Roman
Portrait
Sculpture
Patrician with portrait busts of his ancestors, from
Rome, late first century BCE. Marble, 5’ 5” high. Musei
Capitolini–Centro Montemartini, Rome.
Termed “Veristic” from the word verity or TRUTH
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Former Slaves Portraiture
• Freed slaves aspired to assimilate into Roman
society
• Commissioned funerary work that reflected the
elevation of their social status as freed slaves
• Slaves and former slaves could not possess any
family portraits by law, for their family was not of
property. Freed slaves were exempt.
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Funerary relief with portraits of the Gessii, from Rome(?), Italy, ca. 30 BCE. Marble, approx. 2’ 1 1/2” high.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The general who owned then freed these two other people is in the center. They took his names as was the
norm, once freed. Their bond is one of family, in a way, connected even beyond death.
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Plan of a typical Roman house of the Late Republic and Early Empire, (2) atrium, (3)
impluvium, (rain water basin (4) bedrooms, (5) ala, (6)office, (7) dining, (8) peristyle
with garden
In Rome few of these houses existed, due to space constraints
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Atrium and Peristylre of the House of
the Vettii, Pompeii, Italy, second
century BCE, rebuilt 62–79 CE.
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WALL PAINTING –
THE FOUR STYLES
First Style wall painting Herculaneum,
Italy, late second century BCE.
Made to look like marble walls.
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Dionysian mystery frieze, Second Style wall painting, Pompeii, Italy, ca. 60–50 BCE. Fresco, frieze 5’ 4” high.
Second style creates the illusion of space beyond the walls –as well as people.
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Third Style wall painting, from the Villa of Agrippa Postumus, Boscotrecase, Italy, ca. 10
BCE. Fresco, 7’ 8” high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Here it is a monochromatic background with fanciful or geometric linear designs
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Fourth Style wall paintings in
the Ixion Room of the House of
the Vettii, Pompeii, Italy, ca.
70–79 CE.
Now these walls look like art
galleries, with faux marble
painting on the bottom band
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Woman with Stylus and Portrait of Husband and Wife
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Pax Romana
and Augustus
Augustus of Primaporta, Italy, early-first-century CE copy of a
bronze original of ca. 20 BCE. Marble, 6’ 8” high. Musei
Vaticani, Rome.
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Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace northeast), Rome, Italy, 13–9 BCE.
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Procession of the imperial family, detail of the south frieze of the Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome,
Italy, 13–9 BCE. Marble, 5’ 3” high. Celebrates his life and achievements, with family
portraits and children. Based on Augustus’ own written account, celebrates family values
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Pont-du-Gard, Nîmes, France, ca. 16 BCE.
Aqueducts moved fresh water from mountain springs 30 miles away to the populated territories-one as
far as 60 miles The Romans built the structure without any mortar holding the stones together, by cut
to fit.These structures benefited the local community, projected Roman imperial power, and enabled
the army to move quickly across its new territory. They could supply 265 gallons of water a day to each
Roman.
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IMPERIAL ROME The Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater), Rome, Italy, ca.
70–80 CE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOylD1KC6kc
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High Empire ( 96 – 192 A.D.)
• The political nature of Roman art and
architecture communicates ideas of power for
the emperor and empire.
• Trajan will be the first adopted imperial heir, a
non-Italian, but a successful general. He will
become deified as well. He will construct the
Circus Maximus, Rome famed giant chariot
racing venue.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frE9rXnaHpE
• Chariot Race clip from Ben Hur 1959
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APOLLODORUS OF DAMASCUS, Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated 112 CE. 1) Temple of Trajan, 2) Column
of Trajan, 3) libraries, 4) Basilica Ulpia, 5) forum, 6) equestrian statue of Trajan.
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Column of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated 112 CE. Apollodorus Of Damascus.
Spiral visual tale of Trajan’s victory over the Dacians. Stands as Trajan’s tomb.
Emperor takes center stage here in every scene. Most of the column shows the
preparation for the battles, more than the actual fighting.
This relief style was copied for much of the Middle Ages. The spiral effect is
what makes this column notable, too.
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Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118 – 125 CE. Hadrian’s temple dedicated to all gods. Lit by
only natural light provided by its oculus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExwRrjE4kRQ
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Restored cutaway view (left) and lateral section (right) of the
Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118–125 CE
Once a temple to all gods, now a Roman Catholic church.
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Equestrian statue of Marcus
Aurelius, from Rome, Italy, ca. 175
CE. Bronze, 11’ 6” high. Musei
Capitolini, Rome.
Emperor portrayed as merciful and
masterful, world-weary and wise.
Not portrayed as “super human”
or godlike. Ultra- veritism, in a
way.
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Mummy portrait of a priest and ABOVE
portait of a young woman, from Hawara
(Faiyum), Egypt, ca.140–160 ce. Encaustic
on wood, 1’ 4 3/4” X 8 3/4”. British
Museum, London. Portraits graced tombs
and even mummy sarcophagus.
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Late Empire (192-337 A.D.)
• Two centuries after Augustus, Rome’s
power is in decline. Outer tribes begin to
fight in the frontier territories, the
imperial ruling sector was beset by
ineptitude and scandal and in-fighting.
The “Soldier Emperors” fought, assumed
power, were in turn, assassinated, where
another general took his place, over and
over. The economy was faltering. Other
religions were challenging the Roman
status quo.
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Above left-Portrait bust of Trajan Decius, Rome, Italy, 249–251 CE. Marble, 2’ 7” high.
Right – Portrait of Trebonainus Gallus 251-253 CE Bronze
These are imperfect men, betraying the nervous, weary and/or sad expressions and imperfect bodies. A snapshot of the timbre
of the time they ruled.
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Portrait of the four
Tetrarchs
300 CE
Venice, Italy
4 emperors split
power, now note
the stylistic change
here:
Naturalism,
separate identity,
the ideal, and
personality is gone.
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Portrait of Constantine,
from the Basilica Nova,
Rome, Italy, ca. 315–330
CE. Marble, 8’ 6” high.
Musei Capitolini, Rome.
A last throwback to
imbuing Emperors with
godlike aspirations and
qualities. He is going to
convert to Christianity on
his deathbed, signaling
essentially the end of the
Roman Empire.
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Aula Palatina (exterior), Trier, Germany, early fourth century CE
Served as an audience hall for Constantine. Note the severe lack of finish. No relief
carvings. No columns or scrollwork. A coffered ceiling in the interior is only an echo of
the Pantheon’s inner dome treatment. This building signals a move to a different kind
of architecture. This hall serves now (and then) as a Roman basilica, or now, church.
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Discussion Questions
 What are some of the unique elements of Roman art and
architecture that distinguish it from Greek and other art of
the same time period?
 In what ways does Roman art and architecture incorporate
the arts of conquered peoples from England to Egypt?
 What does the presence of veristic portrait art of the
Romans say about Roman culture?
 Why does the art under Constantine begin to move away
from the verism of the High Empire?
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