Ancient Roman Art
Map of Roman Empire ca. 4th c. CE
VOCABULARY
Romulus & Remus, Aeneid, Arno river, Tiber river,
Vitruvius, Tuscan columns, terracotta, sarcophagus,
republican government, Palatine Hill, senate, consuls,
engaged columns, patrician, plebian, Roman verism, Pax
Romana, Pompeii, forum, porticos, pseudoperipteral,
basilica, nave, concrete, arch, keystone, barrel vault,
groin vault, fenestration, Marcus Aurelius’ Mediations,
Pantheon dome, oculus, aqueduct, amphitheater,
tetrarchy, triumphal arch, Edict of Milan
Important figures: Julius Caesar, Cicero, Virgil, Augustus,
Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Caracalla, Constantine
Essential Questions
1. What were the major contributions of the Etruscans
to Roman art and culture?
2. Why were the Romans so interested in Greek art?
3. What were the major contributions of the Romans to
western art?
4. How was Roman power represented in their art?
5. How was Roman Republican art different from the
art of the Empire?
6. How does Roman art phase itself out at the end of
Constantine's reign and evolve into what will
become Christian art?
Aule Metele (The Orator)
from Cortona near Lake Trasimeno, IT
1st c. BCE
bronze
approx. 5’ 7” high
Museo Archeologico Nazionale,
Florence, IT
• The orator raises his hand as a
rhetorical gesture; his audience would
have known the specific meaning of
this movement, as it would have
underscored the words he spoke.
• Compare and contrast the Roman
sculpture with Greek sculpture? Would
you misidentify this bronze as Greek?
If not, why not?
Ancient
Ancient Greek Art Etruscan Art
Ancient Roman Art
Temple of Portunus
Rome, IT
ca. 75 BCE
• The Temple of
Portunus (Roman god
of harbors--think
“port”) features all the
important architectural
elements of the
Roman temple. What
are they?
• Define the terms: pseudoperipteral, portico, cella, plinth.
Head of a Roman patrician
from Otricoli, IT
ca. 75 - 50 BCE
marble
approx. 1’ 2” high
Museo Torlonia, Rome, IT
• How is this portrait an
example of Roman verism?
AP AH Agenda
• Prompt: Who has power in today’s
culture? How did they get that power?
What are the symbols of that power?
• Objective: SWBAT see differences in styles,
intentions and functions of specific works as
they relate to the goals of the Roman city
state.
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Act I: Roman Art – Painting
Act II: Roman Art - Architecture
Act II: Roman Art – Sculpture
Exit: Compare to previous era’s work.
Roman Wall Painting
First Style
Third Style
Fourth Style
Second Style
Dionysiac Mystery frieze
Second Style wall paintings in Room 5 from the Villa of the Mysteries
Pompeii, IT; ca. 60 - 50 BCE; approx. 5’ 4” high
• Who is Dionysus? What is his role in the pantheon?
• What is the meaning of this wall painting found in Pompeii?
• How does the artist portray the human figure? Compare and contrast
this work with Greek representations of the human figure.
Portrait of a husband and wife
wall painting from house VII, 2, 6,
Pompeii, IT
ca. 70 - 79 BCE
approx. 1’ 11” x 1’ 8 1/2”
Museo Nazionale, Naples
• This is history’s earliest example
of an intimate wedding portrait.
• How is this painting different from
most of the works you have
studied to date?
• How do you come to understand these two people, as individuals and as
partners, from this painting?
Portrait of Augustus as a general
from Primaporta, IT
copy from a bronze original of
ca. 20 BCE
marble
6’ 8” high
Vatican Museums, Rome
Click here for Wikipedia’s entry on Roman
Emperors, which includes a hyperlinked
chronology of all emperors.
• Augustus’ position is reminiscent of
two sculptures you have studied:
which ones?
• What is the meaning of the cupid
riding a dolphin by his right leg?
• Read the question twice
• Second read: Circle the
essential parts of the
question
• Take 10 percent of your
time working on the
outline or brainstorming.
• List art history vocabulary
terms you will use.
• Write out a thesis
statement that uses part of
the question in it.
• ANSWER THE
QUESTION FIRST!
• Add other information
afterwards.
Write a short essay comparing these two works. Identify both and
the era in which they were created.
10 mins.
In the mid-fifth century B.C.E., a Greek
sculptor wrote a treatise entitled the Canon
that was summarized as follows. Beauty
consists in the proportion, not of the elements,
but of the parts, that is to say, of finger to
finger, and of all the fingers to the palm and
the wrist, and of these to the forearm, and of
the forearm to the upper arm, and of all the
other parts to each other. Identify the sculptor
who wrote the Canon. Select and fully
identify one work of art that reflects his ideas.
Making specific reference to both the text
above and your selected work, analyze how
the work reflects those ideas. (10 minutes)
• Read the question twice
• Second read: Circle the
essential parts of the
question
• Take 10 percent of your
time working on the
outline or brainstorming.
• List art history vocabulary
terms you will use.
• Write out a thesis
statement that uses part of
the question in it.
• ANSWER THE
QUESTION FIRST!
• Add other information
afterwards.
Ara Pacis
Augustae
(Altar of Augustan
Peace)
Rome, IT
13 - 9 BCE
• What is the purpose of this architectural structure?
• What are some of the allegories and narratives told in the reliefs on the
Ara Pacis?
• To whom was the Ara Pacis dedicated?
• What is the Pax Romana?
Procession of the imperial family (from Ara Pacis Augustae)
• Discuss the naturalistic elements in this relief.
• Identify figures in the relief.
Maison Carrée
Nimes, FR
ca. 1 - 10 CE
Pont-du-Gard; Nimes, FR; ca. 16 BCE
• What would the Romans have called this architectural structure? What is
the function of the Pont-du-Gard?
• What are the different levels of the Pont-du-Gard used for?
Colosseum (Flavian
Amphitheater)
Rome, IT
ca. 70 - 80 CE
• What are the features of
the Colosseum that are still
used in the architecture of
large stadiums today?
• Visit a website devoted to
the Colosseum.
• Video: Rome: Engineering
an Empire
• Describe the elevation of the Colosseum, starting at the first
level and moving upwards.
• Check out PBS’s website on the Colosseum.
Arch of Titus
Rome, IT
after 81 CE
• What was the function of
the triumphal arch? Why
would an emperor build
one?
• What story is told in relief
on the interior of the
archway?
• Define attic. What does it
say atop the arch?
Trajan’s Forum
with the Basilica Ulpia (model)
Rome, IT
dedicated 112 CE
• In what ways has Trajan represented himself in his forum?
• Using architectural terms, describe the basilica.
Column of Trajan (base); Forum of Trajan
Rome, IT; dedicated 112 CE
Scene shown: Romans crossing the Danube and building a fort
How does this work’s structure convey
power and authority?
• Click here to read about Trajan’s column.
• View video from How Art Made the World
Markets of Trajan (aerial
view)
Appolodorus of Damascus
Rome, IT
ca. 100 - 112 CE
• Think of the markets of Trajan like the world’s first mall.
• In what ways did the architect take into consideration the ways that vendors
would sell in and shoppers would move about the space?
Arch of Trajan
Benevento, IT
ca. 114 - 118 CE
Pantheon (aerial view)
Rome, IT
118 - 125 CE
• What makes the
Pantheon a
revolutionary building?
• Read Wikipedia’s entry
on the Pantheon.
Equestrian statue of
Marcus Aurelius
from Rome, IT
ca. 175 CE
bronze
approx. 11’ 6” high
Musei Capitolini, Rome
• Statues of leaders on horses
are famous throughout
history--here is the first one.
• What are the ways that
Marcus Aurelius advances
his identity as a leader in this
sculpture?
• What does the posture of the
horse suggest?
Compare these two portraits. What does the facial features or
expression say about the subject.
8 minutes
Portrait of Caracalla
(bust)
ca. 211 - 217 CE
marble
approx. 1’ 2” high
Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York
• What conclusions can
you make about the
character of Caracalla
from this portrait?
Baths of Caracalla
(plan of central section)
Rome, IT
212 - 216 CE
• What role did the baths play in the lives of the Romans?
• For what reasons were the baths eventually shut down?
• Using the scale, compare the size of the baths to some familiar,
contemporary building or site.
Battle of the Romans and barbarians (Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus)
from Rome, IT; ca. 250 - 260 CE
marble; approx. 5’ high
Museo Nazionale Romano-Palazzo Altemps, Rome
Portrait of the four Tetrarchs
from Constantinople
ca. 305 CE
porphyry
approx. 4’ 3” high
St. Mark’s, Venice
• What is the relationship of
these figures? Why are
they embracing?
• How might this sculpture be
seen as a dramatic shift in
the representation of the
human form?
Constantine’s Conversion
Maxentius organized his forces—still twice the size of Constantine's—in long lines
facing the battle plain, with their backs to the river. Constantine's army arrived at the
field bearing unfamiliar symbols on either its standards or its soldiers' shields.
According to Lactantius, Constantine was visited by a dream the night before the
battle, wherein he was advised "to mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his
soldiers...by means of a slanted letter X with the top of its head bent round, he marked
Christ on their shields." Eusebius describes another version, where, while marching at
midday, "he saw with his own eyes in the heavens a trophy of the cross arising from
the light of the sun, carrying the message, In Hoc Signo Vinces or "with this sign, you
will conquer"; in Eusebius's account, Constantine had a dream the following night, in
which Christ appeared with the same heavenly sign, and told him to make a standard,
the labarum, for his army in that form. Eusebius is vague about when and where these
events took place, but it enters his narrative before the war against Maxentius begins.
Eusebius describes the sign as Chi (Χ) traversed by Rho (Ρ): ☧, a symbol
representing the first two letters of the Greek spelling of the word Christos or Christ.
The Eusebian description of the vision has been explained as a type of solar halo
called a "sun dog", a meteorological phenomenon which can produce similar effects.
In 315 a medallion was issued at Ticinum showing Constantine wearing a helmet
emblazoned with the Chi Rho, and coins issued at Siscia in 317/18 repeat the image.
The figure was otherwise rare, however, and is uncommon in imperial iconography
and propaganda before the 320s.
Wikipedia
Arch of Constantine; Rome, IT; 312 - 315 CE
• What is interesting about the relief sculpture that adorns Constantine’s arch?
• Video on Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire on Constantine.
Portrait of Constantine
(fragment)
from the Basilica Novo,
Rome, IT
ca. 315 - 330 CE
marble
8’ 6” high
Palazzo dei Conservatori,
Rome
• What would have been
the original setting for this
sculpture?
• Why is this figure so
important to Roman
culture?
• Ancient Roman Art
• While the traditional view of Roman artists is that they often borrowed from, and
copied Greek precedents (much of the Greek sculpture known today is in the form
of Roman marble copies), more recent analysis has indicated that Roman art is a
highly creative pastiche relying heavily on Greek models but also encompassing
Etruscan, native Italic, and even Egyptian visual culture. Stylistic eclecticism and
practical application are the hallmarks of much Roman art.
• Roman painting resided mostly in private villas. Most were in coastal towns such as
Pompeii. Painting was divided into four styles with each representing either a faux
surface or the desire to extend the space beyond the walls.
• Roman architecture was the defining art form of the empire. It revealed the
accumulated skills acquired through the conquered local city states and tribes such
as the Etruscans. Romans improved their city state through these great engineering
feats with works such as aqueducts, roads, bath houses, amphitheaters, as well as
monuments and temples.
• The slow disintegration of the Roman Empire coincided with the rise of Christianity
and the subsequent conversion of the empire to this religion through Constantine
and the Edict of Milan.