Concrete, as the Romans developed it, had some very definite technical and
practical advantages over the traditional, and mainly Greek, methods of enclosing
space by the use of cut-stone and post-and-beam structures.
1. it was exceptionally strong and could span great distances when shaped
into arches, vaults and domes.
2. it had greater flexibility in molding space since concrete was virtually
"poured" (or layered) into a formwork and took the shape of its
container
3. it did not require special, skilled labor, therefore, it was cheaper;
4. it was much faster to construct than laboriously cut ashlar masonry.
5. since concrete-vaulted roofing was fireproof, unlike the wooden-beamed
roofs of traditional systems, it was safer
Arch:
It is significant because it converts tensile stresses in
spanning structural members into compression
stresses only. Stone is weak in tension and cannot span
significant distances without collapsing under its own
weight. By configuring it into an arch, significant spans
can be achieved.
The Roman round arch contains "voussoirs"
(voo/swars'), or bricks. The "keystone" is the center
voussoir that supports the other bricks. The push or
thrust of the cemented voussoirs push outward and
downward in the arch.
A row of arches is called an "arcade."
If a person takes the legs of an arch and stretches
them length-wise, this is called a "barrel vault." Barrel
vaults are used today as entrances and exits in
stadiums. Before you arrive at your seat at a baseball
or football game, you probably will have to walk
through a barrel vault.
In a tall building, such as a church, where two barrel
vaults meet and divide each other into half, this is a
"groin vault." A groin vault supports high ceilings
and allow a building to have several entrances and
exits, at least four.
The Colosseum or Flavian Amphitheater was
begun by Vespasian, inaugurated by Titus in 80
A.D. and completed by Domitian. It was the
first permanent amphitheater to be built in
Rome.
The amphitheater is a vast ellipse with tiers of
seating for 50,000 spectators around a central
elliptical arena. Below the wooden arena floor,
there was a complex set of rooms and
passageways for wild beasts and other
provisions for staging the spectacles. This was
called the hypogeum. Eighty walls radiate from
the arena and support vaults for passageways,
stairways and the tiers of seats.
The three tiers of arcades are faced by threequarter columns and entablatures, Doric in the
first story, Ionic in the second, and Corinthian
in the third.
HYPOGEUM
Gladiators were either slaves or prisoners
of war and were sometimes given the
chance to fight for their freedom. It is
estimated that over 500,000 people and
close to a million animals died
throughout the time period that the
colosseum was used for gladiatorials and
hunting events.
In 107 CE, Emperor Trajan is said to have
celebrated his victories in Dacia with contests
involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators
within 123 days.
Roman Sculpture
Verism
Roman sculpture sought truthfulness -- verism -- in art beyond all else,
at least initially. Roman sculpture was determined to portray the
individual as he or she actually looked, whether an ordinary person or
an emperor. That the appearance of an individual was important and
says something about the value of the individual in Roman society.
Romans believed that each family had a unique
genius, or spiritual gift. Caesar claimed his family
was descended from the Trojan hero Aeneas, and
from the goddess Aphrodite. These are impressive
ancestors indeed! This pedigree was meant to
impress Romans that his genius was truly divine
and was associated with the foundation of Rome
itself.
The whole family--dead and alive--were brought to
be present at important occasions. Romans loved
commemorative portrait busts to honor the
departed ancestors, a tradition with a long history
in Western Civilization.
The statue of Augustus from Livia's villa at Prima
Porta is a marble copy of a bronze statue that
celebrates the return in 20 BCE of the military
standards captured by the Parthians in 53 after the
defeat of Crassus at Carrhae.
It was probably set up in 15 CE, the year after
Augustus' death. It is 7 ft. (2.08 m.) tall (Augustus was
1.70 m., about 5'7") and shows him as a young man.
He is barefoot (a sign of divine status) and Cupid
(riding on a dolphin beside his right foot) reminds the
viewer of Venus, the divine ancestress of the family of
Augustus, the gens Iulia. Augustus holds a spear in his
left hand, and his right hand is extended as he
addresses his armies. His stance is that of the
Doryphoros (spear-bearer) by the fifth century Greek
sculptor, Polyclitus
. The shoulder-clasps of the cuirass (breastplate)
are in the form of sphinxes: the Sphinx was the
image on Augustus' seal (later he used an image
of Alexander, and finally his own portrait).
Roman Houses
The First Style Roman
wall painting,
"Incrustation" (right) is
thought to imitate Greek
painting that created flat
areas of color and 'faux"
finishes (like a fake
marble or oak finish).
Second Painting Style - In the second
style Roman wall painting, called the
"architectural style," space extends
beyond the room with various
perspective ("illusion of threedimensional space on a flat twodimensional surface) devices. Roman
artists came close to developing a true
linear perspective
In the Third Style Roman Wall
Painting, called the "Ornate
Style," pictorial illusion is
confined to "framed" images,
where even the "framing" is
painted on. The overall
appearance is flat rather than
a 3-D illusion of space
The Fourth Style Roman Wall Painting, called the
"Intricate Style," confines full three-dimensional
illusion to the "framed images," which are placed
like pictures in an exhibition. The images
themselves do not relate to one another nor do
they present a narrative, as in the Second Style.
The Fourth Style is also characterized by the
open vistas and the use of aerial perspective, as
well as the elaborate architectural framing