arh2050 the burden of glory art of the high late roman empire (without pompeii)

The Burden Of GLORY The Art Of The High Roman Empire

IntroductionToArtHistoryIProfessorWillAdams

Pont-du-Gard,Nîmes,France;19BCE

The Imperial Age §  TheRomanstypically

builtaqueductstoserveanylargecityintheirempire.

§  ThecityofRomeitself,beingthelargestcity,hadthelargestconcentrationofaqueducts,withwaterbeingsuppliedbyelevenaqueductsconstructedoveraperiodof500years.

The Imperial Age

The Imperial Age

The Imperial Age §  Therewere

approximately300milesofaqueducts,whileonly29ofthemwereaboveground.

§  TheaqueductprovidedaboutonehundredgallonsofwateradayfortheinhabitantsofNîmesfromasourcesomethirtymilesaway.

The Imperial Age

Pont-du-Gard,Nîmes,France;19BCE

The Imperial Age

The Imperial Age §  ThiscivicRomantemplewasbuilt

byAgrippa,whodiedin12BCE.§  Itwasthendedicatedtohistwo

sons,CaiusandLucius,heirsofAugustuswhobothdiedveryyoung.

§  Itshowstheallegiance&loyaltyoftheRomancolonytotheempire.

§  Itstandsontheshortsouthsideoftheforumonapodiumwhichisnearly10feethigh.

§  Itwasbuiltoflocallimestone,butwithoutadoubtthearchitectandworkmencamefromRome.

MaisonCarrée,Nîmes,France;c.10CE

The Imperial Age

MaisonCarrée,Nîmes,France;c.10CE

An empire emerges §  Afterhisfather’sdeath,

Vespasian’sson,Titus,assumescontroloftheEmpirein79CE,thesameyearthatMt.VesuviuseruptsandburiesthecitiesofPompeiiandHerculaneum.

§  Despitethedisaster,EmperorTituswasknownas“thelightoftheworld”duringhisreign,inrecognitionofhisadministrationandcompletionofhisfather’sColiseumproject.

§  Tituswasmysteriouslykilledin81CE.

Pompeii & Herculaneum

§  Pompeii&neighboringHerculaneumwereburiedonAugust24&August25,79CEbytheeruptionofMt.Vesuvius.

§  PompeiiisthemostimportantarchaeologicalsiteforlearningaboutlifeinaRomancity.

The Imperial Age §  OriginallyformedpartofaFourth

Stylewallofanexedra,recessedareaontheopeningoftheatriumofaPompeiianhouse.

§  StandardattributesofRomanmarriageportraitsaredisplayedherewiththemanholdingascrollandthewomanholdingastylusandawaxwritingtablet.

§  Theseportraitssuggestedhigheducationevenifitwasn’ttrueofthesubjects.

§  Theheadsareindividualizedtothesubject’sfeatures,notsimplystandardtypes.

§  Thisistheequivalentofmodernweddingphotographs.

12

PortraitofaHusband&Wife;Pompeii,Italy;c.70-79CE

§  Romanpainters’interestinthelikenessofindividualpeoplewasmatchedbytheirconcernforrecordingtheappearanceofeverydayobjects.

§  ThisstilllifedemonstratesthatRomanpainterssoughttocreateillusionisticeffectswhiledepictingsmallobjects.

§  Heretheyusedlightandshadewithattentiontoshadowsandhighlights.

Still-LifewithPeaches,Fresco,Herculaneum,Italy;AD62-79

The Imperial Age

The Imperial Age §  Theillusioncreatedhereisthe

furthestadvancebyancientpaintersinrepresentationaltechnique.

§  Itappearsthatthisartistunderstoodthatthelookofthingsisafunctionoflight.Also,thegoalwastopaintlightasifitwereatouchableobjectthatreflectsandabsorbsit.

§  Thismarksthefurthestadvancebyancientpaintersinrepresentationaltechniqueandwasn’tseenagainuntiltheDutchstill-lifesinthe1700’sCE.

ArchofTitus,Rome,Italy;81CE

The Imperial Age §  WhenVespasian’solderson,

Titus,diedonlytwoyearsafterbecomingemperor,hisyoungerbrotherDomitian,tookover.DomitianmadethisarchinTitus’shonorontheSacredWayleadingintotheRepublicanForumRomanum.

§  Thistypeofarch,theso-calledtriumphalarch,hasalonghistoryinRomanartandarchitecture,beginninginthesecondcenturyB.C.andcontinuingevenintotheeraofChristianRomanemperors.

The Imperial Age §  TheRomanarches

celebratedmorethanjustmilitaryvictories,astheyoftencommemoratedeventssuchasbuildingroadsandbridges.

§  ThisarchcommemoratesTitus’sackofJerusalemaround70CE.

§  Thisistheoldestarchofitskind.

TheSpoilsoftheTempleReliefdepictsthetriumphalparadedowntheSacredWayafterhisreturnfromtheconquestofJudaeaattheendoftheJewishWarsin70CE.Thispanelcontainsadepictionofthesacredseven-branchedmenorah,fromthe

TempleofJerusalem.

The Imperial Age

TheTriumphofTitusReliefdepictstheactualtriumphalprocessionwiththetoga-cladTitusinthechariot,butwiththeadditionofallegoricalfigures(thewinged

VictoryridinginthechariotwithTituswhoplacesawreathonhishead,thegoddessRomaleadingthehorses).Becausethereliefsweredeeplycarved,someofthe

forwardheadshavebrokenoff.

The Imperial Age

The Imperial Age

The High Imperial Age

PortraitBustofHadrianasGeneral,TelShalem,Israel;c.130-138CE

The High Imperial Age §  Hadrianwasaconnoisseur

andloverofallthearts,aswellasanauthorandarchitect.

§  TherearemoreexistingportraitsofHadrianthanofanyotheremperor,exceptAugustus.

§  ThoughheruledRomeformorethan20years,heisdepictedinportraitsasamatureadultwhoneverages.

The High Imperial Age §  Hadrian’sportraitsmoreclosely

resembleGreekportraitsofPericlesthanthoseofanyRomanemperorbeforehim,undoubtedlyhislikenesseswereinspiredbyClassicalGreekstatuary.

§  Hadrianworeabeard,ahabitthat,initsRomancontext,mustbeviewedasaGreekaffectation(anappearanceormannerassumedorputonasashoworpretense,oftentoimpressothers).

§  BeardsthenbecamethenormforallsubsequentRomanemperorsformorethanacenturyandahalf.MarbleBustofHadrianWearingMilitary

DressTivoli,Italy;c.117-118CE

PantheonRome,Italy;125-128CE

The High Imperial Age §  WiththenewEmperor

Hadrianinpower,workonanewtemplededicatedtoallthegodsbegan.

§  ThistemplebecameknownasthePantheon.

§  ExcludingtheuseofaneightCorinthiancolumnfacade,thetemple’sdesignwascompletelyrevolutionaryforitstime.

The High Imperial Age

The High Imperial Age

The High Imperial Age

The High Imperial Age §  ThedomeofthePantheon

steadilydecreasesinthicknessfromthedrumtotheapex,andisconstructedfrompumice&Romanconcrete.

§  Intheverymiddlethereisanopeningcalledanoculusthatactsasaskylight.

§  Theoculusistheonlysourceofnaturallightingforthebuilding’sinterior.

The High Imperial Age §  Theoculusmeasures30feet

indiameter.§  Thisistheoldestdomed

buildingintheworldthatstillhasitsoriginalroof.

§  FromthisindoorphotoofthePantheonyoucanseethecarvedpanelsaswellastheintenselightthattheoculusprovidesfortheroom.

§  Thesedecorativepanelsarecalledcoffers,andservetwopurposes.

The High Imperial Age

Originally,theinterior’snichesandaltarscontainedimagesoftheRomangodsandgoddesses.However,whenthePantheonwas

consecratedasaCatholicchurchin609CE,theywerereplacedbyimagesofsaintsandthoseburiedwithinthestructure.

The High Imperial Age

The High Imperial Age §  DuringHadrian’sreign,he

orderedconstructionofamonumentalstonewalltokeepthe‘barbaric’ScotsandPictsfrominvadingfromtheNorth.

§  This74-milestretchacrossNorthernEnglandisknownasHadrian’sWall.

§  Itwas8-10feetwideand20feettall,withatowerlocatedateverymilemark.

§  Itwasbuiltinonlyabout8years,from122–130CE!

The High Imperial Age

The High Imperial Age

Acta Est Fabula