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CHAPTER SEVEN
ROMAN ART
Early Rome and the Republic
Key Images
Architecture
Temple of Portunus, Rome, p. 180, 7.2
Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, p. 182, 7.6
Theater Complex of Pompey, Rome, p. 184, 7.8
Sculpture
Sculptural reliefs from statue base, showing sea thiasos and census, p. 185, 7.9
Brutus, p. 187, 7.10
Veristic male portrait, p. 188, 7.11
Pompey, p. 189, 7.12
Togate male portrait with busts, p. 189, 7.13
Funerary relief of the Gessii, p. 190, 7.14
Painting
Esquiline tomb painting, p. 190, 7.15
The Early Empire
Key Images
Portrait Sculpture
Augustus of Primaporta, p. 191, 7.16
Portrait of Livia, from the Fayum, p. 192, 7.17
Portrait of Vespasian, p. 192, 7.18
Portrait of Hadrian, p. 193, 7.19
Portrait of Domitia Longina, p. 193, 7.20
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, p. 194, 7.21
Portrait of Faustina the Younger, p. 195, 7.22
Relief Sculpture
Ara Pacis Augustae, west façade, p. 195, 7.23
Ara Pacis Augustae, Imperial procession south frieze, p. 196, 7.24
Arch of Titus, Rome, p. 196, 7.25
Relief in bay of Arch of Titus, showing procession of spoils from the Temple in Jerusalem,
p. 197, 7.26
Relief in bay of Arch of Titus, showing Titus riding in triumph, p. 198, 7.27
Column of Trajan, Rome, p. 199, 7.28
Lower portion of Column of Trajan, Rome, p. 199, 7.29
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Column base of Antoninus Pius and Faustina, Apotheosis relief, p. 200, 7.30
Column base of Antoninus Pius and Faustina, Decursio relief, p. 201, 7.31
Funerary relief of a butcher and a woman, p. 201, 7.32
Architecture
Forum of Augustus, Rome, p. 202, 7.34
Forum of Trajan, Rome, p. 203, 7.35
Colosseum, Rome, p. 204, 7.36
Colosseum, exterior, p. 205, 7.38
Pantheon, Rome, p. 206, 7.39
Pantheon, Rome, Interior, p. 207, 7.41
Scenic Canal, Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, p. 208, 7.44
Art and Architecture in the Provinces
Key Images
Aqueduct, Segovia, p. 209, 7.45
Maison Carrée, Nîmes, p. 210, 7.46
El Khasneh, Petra, Jordan, p. 211, 7.47
Funerary relief of Tibnan, from Palmyra, Syria, p. 211, 7.48
Portrait of a Woman, from the Fayum, p. 213, 7.49
Domestic Art and Architecture
Atrium of the House of the Vettii, Pompeii, p. 214, 7.50
First Style painting in the Samnite House, Herculaneum, p. 215, 7.52
Second Style wall painting from the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, p. 215, 7.53
Second Style wall painting from the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, p. 216, 7.54
Wall painting of garden, from the Villa of Livia at Primaporta, p. 216, 7.55
Third Style wall painting from Villa of Agrippa Postumus, Boscotrecase, p. 217, 7.56
Fourth Style wall painting, Ixion Room, House of the Vettii, p. 217, 7.57
Still life painting of peaches and water jar, from Herculaneum, p. 218, 7.58
The Late Empire
Key Images
Portrait Sculpture
Portrait of Philip the Arab, p. 219, 7.59
Portrait group of the Tetrarchs, p. 219, 7.60
Portrait of Constantine the Great, p. 220, 7.61
Relief Sculpture
Meleager Sarcophagus, p. 220, 7.62
Arch of Constantine, Rome, p. 221, 7.63
Constantinian relief from Arch of Constantine, Rome, p. 223, 7.65
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Architecture
Baths of Caracalla, Rome, p. 224, 7.66
Basilica of Maxentius, renamed Basilica of Constantine, p. 225, 7.68
Late Roman Architecture in the Provinces
Key Images
Basilica, Lepcis Magna, Libya, p. 226, 7.70
Palace of Diocletian, Spalato, Croatia, p. 226, 7.71
Peristyle, Palace of Diocletian, Spalato, Croatia, p. 227, 7.72
Interior of Basilica of Constantius Chlorus, Trier, Germany, p. 228, 7.74

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
prostyle plan, but they also employed new forms, such as the arch, and invented concrete
which gave them increased flexibility in building forms.

Early evidence of Roman building characteristics can be seen in the sanctuary of Fortuna
Primigenia at Praeneste. Dating from the early 1st century BCE, this complex exhibits an
early use of concrete, barrel vaults, and engaged columns.

The potential of vaults and arches and the use of concrete was explored by the Romans in
such buildings as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Basilica of Constantine.

The Forum of Caesar, constructed during the end of Julius Caesar’s life, furnished the
prototype for all later Imperial fora.

Portrait sculpture from the Republican period tends to be veristic.

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 youth.
In Augustan art there is often a link to the emperor’s divine ancestry, proposed by Virgil in
The Aeneid. Modeled after Greek sculptures, such as the Doryphoros by Polykleitos, the
Augustus of Primaporta carries various levels of meaning with the presence of Cupid
referring to Augustus’ relationship to Venus through his Trojan ancestor Aeneas, and his
breastplate showing his victory over the Parthians. The emperor is depicted barefoot, which
often denotes divine status.

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.
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
August Mau has suggested that there were four styles of wall painting. The First Style, is
meant to imitate masonry blocks with no figural scenes. The Second Style features
illusionistic architectural vistas. The Third Style gives way to a more decorative scheme
centered on a formal ornament, and the Fourth Style is a more extravagant style. While these
styles are not canonical, they are useful in distinguishing between earlier and later styles of
Roman wall painting.

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.

Late Roman portraiture moves away from the highly realistic busts of Republican and early
Imperial Roman sculpture. During the late Roman Empire, we witness a new abstracted
patterning that exalts an inner spiritual life rather than an exact portrait representation. The
colossal head of Constantine, dating from the early 4th century CE, combines specific
physical traits with abstracted features.

New spiritual attitudes are evident in late antiquity in the writings of Plotinus. Eventually
this anti-physical attitude will correlate with the development of Early Christian Art.

Roman illusionist painting, also known as trompe l’oeil (″fool the eye″) was indebted to an
earlier tradition that developed in Greece. Paintings such as Still Life with Eggs and
Thrushes or Garden, from the Villa of Livia are meant to amuse and delight us, as was
recognized by Philostratus the Younger, writing in the 3rd century CE.

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.
Key Terms/Places/Names
syncretism
barrel vault
opus incertum
opus reticulatum
opus testaceum
exedrae
triumphal arch
veristic portraiture
equestrian statue
liminal area
decursio
caryatids
amphitheater
oculus
recessed coffers
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aqueduct
encaustic
atrium
compluvium
impluvium
tablinum
peristyle
cubicula
insulae
still life
trompe l’oeil
ekphrasis
spolia
rostrum
frigidarium
caldarium
tepidarium
natatio
palaestra
basilica
Discussion Questions
1.
Outline the plan of a typical Roman house.
2.
Discuss the iconography in the Augustus of Primaporta. How could this work be considered
a work of Augustan propaganda?
3.
Using specific examples, discuss the ways in which Republican portraiture differs from
Imperial portraiture.
4.
How is the Augustan ideal of filial piety reflected in the construction of the Pantheon?
5.
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?
6.
What do the archaeological remains from Pompeii tell us about the people who lived there?
7.
Why is Pliny the Younger’s account of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius so critical to our
understanding of what happened on that day?
8.
Describe the rooms of the Roman Bath and the purpose of each.
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Resources
Books
Boatwright, Mary, Daniel J. Gargola, and Richard Talbert. The Romans: From Village to
Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Cary, M. and H. H. Scullard. A History of Rome. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.
Gabucci, Ada. The Colosseum. Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2002.
Ramage, Nancy H., and Andrew Ramage. Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine. New York:
Abrams, 1991.
Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew. Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1996.
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
Secrets of Lost Empires: Roman Bath (NOVA)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/
The Pompeii Forum Project (University of Virginia) http://pompeii.virginia.edu/
UCLA Digital Roman Forum http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu:8080/projects/Forum
VRoma: A Virtual Community for Teaching and Learning Classics
http://www.vroma.org/