Roman Architecture and Art
Why Rome?
• The ancient Romans created one of the
most complicated, highly organized, and
well-documented civilizations of ancient
times.
Parallels between Rome and
the Modern World
• AN UNIQUE EMPIRE: The Romans are the
only people in history to have successfully
united into one state the lands and peoples of
what today comprises Western Europe, North
Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean.
• A MULTICULTURAL, INCLUSIVE, EMPIRE:
Within Rome’s huge, long-lasting empire, some 55
million people lived together, speaking dozens of
languages, practicing their own religions, with minimal
interference by the Roman state.
• SOLDIERS AND CITIZENS: One reason for
Rome’s success was the efficiency and
professionalism of its armies; more important
still was Rome’s invention of a political concept
of citizenship (as based not on blood descent
rather on becoming a member of the Roman
political community through legal cooptation).
• LONGEVITY AND PROSPERITY: The ancient
Romans dominated most of western Europe
from the 3rd century BCE into the 5th century CE
and enjoyed unparalleled stretches of peace
and prosperity.
Legacy of Rome
• Cultural
Roman civilization has been the source of
repeated cultural revivals through the centuries:
like in the Italian Renaissance;
• Propagandistic
Rome also left a legacy in its use of propaganda.
The Roman emperors had images of themselves
and their accomplishments disseminated
throughout the empire to advertise and promote
their rule.
• Legal
Roman law has endured to shape Western
jurisprudence to this very day. The legal codes of
most European countries, for instance, are firmly
based upon Roman law.
• Religious
Within or on the borders of Rome’s empire that
the three great modern monotheistic religious
traditions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, either
evolved or were born.
Quick historical overview
MONARCHY (753-509 BCE)
• According to legend, the city of Rome was
founded by Romulus and his twin brother
Remus on a hill above the Tiber River in
753 BCE.
• After killing Remus, Romulus selected the
members of Rome’s first Senate.
• Rome was then ruled successively by
seven kings.
• REPUBLIC (509-44 BCE)
• Two linked developments dominated
Rome’s Republican history:
1. The “conflict of the orders” i.e. the
struggle for power between the patricians,
who were wealthy landowners, and the
plebeians, essentially the poorer citizens.
2. Rome’s gradual political domination of
peninsular Italy, Northern Africa and
Eastern Mediterranean.
• EMPIRE (44 BCE-330 CE).
As Rome grew stronger and stronger, internal
strives for power took place. First Julius Caesar
got himself granted the title of dictator for life, but
he was assassinated on 15 March 44 BCE.
As a consequence another civil war was ignited
and saw Julius Caesar’s adoptive son Octavian
confronting Mark Antony and Cleopatra.
Octavian won the war and was awarded the
honorific title of Augustus giving rise to the
Imperial period.
A. Roman Architecture
• The Roman architecture is utilitarian, practical,
because the Romans were pragmatic in spirit.
Most of the Roman buildings are for civil use,
not religious.
• Romans invented materials and construction
techniques that allow them to build multistorey buildings – concrete, brick and the arch.
Ceramic is the most durable material in the
world and used for indoor plumbing and
hypocaust heating.
Hypocaust
• A hypocaust was an ancient Roman
system of underfloor heating, used to
heat houses with hot air.
• The word derives from the Ancient Greek
hypo meaning "under" and caust-,
meaning "burnt”.
Plumbing
1. Roman Utilities/Amenities
• Aqueducts – using arcades to deliver water to
cities from mountain sources.
• Bridges – permanent crossings of rivers.
• Roads – for army use and trade.
• Amphitheaters – for mass entertainment, not
culture or arts. They have 2 parts – Theatron for
spectators and Arena for performance. No
religious significance.
• Baths – community centers with attached
library, gym, swimming pool, spa and
conference rooms
Roman Aqueducts
Another aqueduct
The Coliseum
Circus Maximus
Via Appia
Via Appia
Roman bridge in Spain
Roman Bath
Roman bath
2. Political Architecture
• The Forum – center of public life and trade. The
largest is the Forum of Trajan in Rome.
Rectangular shaped with public buildings around
it.
• The Triumphal Arch – built by Emperors as a
symbol of Victory in war. They have inscriptions
celebrating the event they were built for –
primary source.
Forum in Rome
Arch of Constantine
C. Private Architecture
• The Roman house – accommodates the
extended family. Comfort and durability.
Decorated with mosaics and wall
paintings.
• The Roman villa –in the country or by the
sea, eventually some of them developed
into country estates.
Roman house
House in Pompeii
Pompeii
The famous eruption of
79 CE buried Roman
cities in a time capsule
Mediterranean Volcanoes
Naples and Vicinity
Crater of Vesuvius
Street Scene in Pompeii
Roman Fast Food
The Gladiator School
Frescos
Victim of Vesuvius
Victims of Vesuvius
4. The Roman temples
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Roman temples were built close to the forum.
Religion was a very public function in Rome
. Temples accommodate several gods.
Romans often built round temples accessible
trough only one door (like the Pantheon). Greek
columns were borrowed, but the orders were
mixed; often only with decorative .
The Pantheon
The Pantheon
Basilicas
• Originally used to describe an open,
Roman, public court building, usually
located adjacent to the forum of a Roman
town.
• Became the main source of inspiration for
the first Christian churches.
Roman basilicas
The Roman Art
• Same as architecture, art is practical, realistic, used
often for entertaining and not religious purposes.
• Republican art – bronze portraits, realistic bronze copies
of Greek originals (gods and heroes). Simple paintings.
• Imperial art – more idealized images, marble portraits of
emperors and empresses, mosaics, and wall painting
(Pompeii).
• Much more nudity than in Greek art.
• Scenes from mythology or leisure, not sports.
• Local influences in the provinces (e.g. Faiyum portraits).
Etruscan Terracotta
Etruscans
The Etruscans were an ancient Italic culture linguistically
identifiable by about 700 B.C. Their culture developed from a
prehistoric civilization known as Villanovan (ca. 900–500 B.C.).
By the beginning of the seventh century B.C., the Etruscans
occupied the central region of Italy.
They flourished until the end of the second century B.C., when
they were fully subsumed into Roman culture.
The Etruscans were master bronze smiths who exported their
finished products all over the Mediterranean
The Etruscans were also well known for their terracotta
freestanding sculpture and architectural reliefs.
Portraits of Augustus
Claudius and Nero
Trajan and Hadrian
Marcus Aurelius
Relief – Column of Trajan and Arch
of Trajan
Mosaics - Pompeii
Wall paintings - Pompeii
More Pompeii
Faiyum Portraits