ANCIENT ROMAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Christina Grande
This course follows Ancient Greek Art and Architecture held in
November/December 2012. It will be held on THURSDAY AFTERNOONS from
2pm-4pm in January and February 2013, beginning on 1 0 January and
continuing until 7 February 2013, at the Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church,
235 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H SEP.
th
th
We start by considering the cultural context of the Mediterranean world that formed
the foundation of Roman visual culture. Hellenistic kingdoms like Pergamon created
baroque images that referred back to the old Greek world. Rome responded to this
legacy by producing art of specific relevance to the people and emperors that would
shape the city and empire. Architectural innovation would create monuments and
public architecture of vast scale and virtuosity. Private art also flourished and
Pompeian houses reveal frescoed interiors and mythologically themed sculpture. Late
Roman art changed its form and expressed Christian new belief, paving the way for art
of the Byzantine world.
The five two hourly sessions will be arranged as follows:
1. The Hellenistic World: Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic kingdoms
used the language of Greek art and myth to create challenging images that
broke away from the idealism of the old Greek world This was the cultural
template that Rome inherited.
2. Etruscan Italy and the Roman Republic: Rome responded to Greek,
Hellenistic and Etruscan cultural inheritance by importing artistic ideas to
express traditional Roman beliefs and embellish Rome with new sculpture,
portraiture, and architectural innovations.
3. The Roman house: wall painting and mosaics from Pompeii and
Herculaneum reveal private art and responses to Greek culture.
4. Rome and the Emperors: Augustus, Trajan & Hadrian embellished the city
with inventive architectural projects and sculpture.
5. Late Antiquity and Early Christian art: the use of pagan imagery by early
Christians & changes in representation during the 3 and 4 centuries created
the foundation for art of the Byzantine world.
r d
t h
Suggested reading (both available in paperback in different editions):
Ramage N. & A., Roman Art, Pearson 2008
Sear F., Roman Architecture, Routledge 1998
Christina Grande is a lecturer in Classical Art, Architecture & Archaeology. She has
been a sessional lecturer at Birkbeck College Art History Dept for many years. She has
been Lecturer in Classical Art at Leicester University Classics Dept, and the Open
University. She is currently Lecturer in Classical Art & Archaeology at Winchester
University's Dept of Archaeology. Christina has lectured on Classical art and
architecture and its influence on later artists for many institutions including the British
Museum and National Gallery