October 11, 2010

Art history

Italy: roman art.

Italy: ancient italy: romans

-Most words in the English language based on roman language

-law codes based on roman law
-political organization- many things in constitution trace back to rome.
-art and architecture-

Rome: large population: nobody had as large a city until 1850..

2nd century there were 46,000 apartments etc.
-very few places in the world were you can go and have sense of continuing history.
Rome- ancient rome and renaissance rome right on top of eachother

Roman portraiture- shows emotion etc.

Verist style: 180 degrees different then the Greek tradition.
-portraits share certain aspects (generic) furrowed forehead (there old)

-Romans were very different then Greeks: i.e. roman society very distinguished class
wise: social status very important, plebeians (lower class) patricians (aristocratic)
tradition: you grow up, work as a farmer, go into the army (good portion of life
soldiering) when they reach retirement age they go back to farming- portraits- man
spent entire life outside working- lined cheeks, lined face.. etc. (comes from long
hard work) according to roman law the head of the family had the legal right of life
or death of his family. (patrician) (Greeks looked down on manual labor)

-statue shows an aristocrat wearing toga (only allowed to be worn by patrician)

only people allowed to make portrait busters’ of ancestors are patricians.
Son holding grandfathers head and fathers head.
Augustus and wife used to go to some villa to relax: portrait of Augustus shown
there as military commander: holding staff, below shows little doll, shows divinity.

Greek portrait of god (Saigon) (Romans copied this for Augustus’s statue) Romans
inherited Greek art (absorbed and modified) clothed vs. naked. Arm up: deliberate
gesture of army commander addressing troops. (statue is addressing us) classical
Greek art does not do that. Roman art reaches out and grabs you: has something to
say to you.

Statue of Augustus (Greek ideal) classicizing (showing him in ideal way) deliberately
showing himself in a different way. Exception: wearing body armor, in the middle
shows roman solider approached by a parathion soldier(Persia) handing him
standard(roman legion flag)
 We know in roman time a roman legion tried to expand- entire legion was
wiped out and mark of dishonor was that standard was taken. –diplomatic treaty
and they returned standard to him. – specific message told by statue.

Romans inherited Greek art: made it very different: absorbed and modified.

Romans were extremely practical- when they paid for piece of art they wanted
money back. Specific agenda. Building is designed to somehow justify or establish
the social order. (the coliseum) 600 ft across 150 ft tall holds ~80,000 people 100
public games for free (like being able to watch bills everyday) 6 tiers of seats, when
you went in you presented ticket made of bronze that marked you of social class----
the emperor had box- first tier for senate second tier for patrician third tier etc. etc.

-Romans are practical – rather then building up theatre along hill they made an
amphitheater (double theatre) they know how to build theatre but are choosing to
adapt. Made out of stone, cement, brick, and some wood. Seats were made out of
white marble skin.. if you went inside you would see all marble… when Rome
became Christian the coliseum became a quarry. A series of ramps that would take
animals up into interior. (gladiatorial and man vs. animal) Doric ionic and
Corinthian orders (taken directly from Greek architecture) used to decorate outside.
Absolutely no relation between those and this building. (“we know about Greek
architecture”)
-roman history first century b.c. men who tried to gain control of roman army and
roman people – civil wars- in gratitude year 13-9b.c. senate commissioned
monument to thank him. The altar of Augustan peace. Paid poets (indirectly) to
produce propaganda. –tried to get across idea that by having him as emperor would
let golden age occur.. monument has balustrade around side with scenes.
Scene shows Aeneas, mythological founder of Rome. About to sacrifice a sow-
told to and then build a city. Long side shows procession---- that came to
meet Augustus in year 13 when he was returning from Spain. Shows imperial
family with kids… welcoming Augustus home. Romulus and Remus on lap.
Study on fertility and prosperity. Women is not named (personification for
Italy) 3 scenes are trying to say: (programmatic art, making a statement by
juxta of three scenes) the past: beginning of rome, the present procession
that took place: the future: the golden age of prosperity which he is
promising … (propaganda)
Wanted moneys worth: propaganda aspect is very obvious. Essentially a billboard.

Collections of complexes built by emperors Trajan built a huge structure with

outside court and basilica on outer end and temple: in center of court was
equestrian statue-wooden roof two stories (one area used for legal matters)
Used for business trade socializing etc. then you walk out back end… two libraries
one with Greek literature and one with Roman literature both face out to this
monument (125 ft high) with relief that is 600 ft long… 250,000 figures on it (shows
military campaigns of Trajan- area of Romania. Hollow statue.
Pantheon: (all the gods) monument started by Hadrian—brought architect form
Syria and got so angry at him that he had him killed. Then he took over architecture
on his own… you would see façade. In antiguity there was no street.. wall went right
into side of building. Odd square set in back to mask the back part of the building.
(all you would see was the façade of the building (greek temple) expectation your
going to enter a greek temple: what happens is when you enter you enter into a
dome area. A total surprise. Showed gods that represented planets. (in each niche)
Opening in top with huge semi spherical dome. During the day the sun shined
through the dome and showed you the light (depending on time of day you entered
what you see the sphere of light traveled across the circle of the dome (144 feet)
diameter of dome is 144 feet. Interior is a perfect sphere. Court. Architect took
tremendous effort to have a sphere Hadrian is in the middle of the cosmos
(metaphor) tremendously effective.

6-18 augustus, primaporta, 20 B.C,

pp 176-177 Ara Pacis augustae, rome, 13 b.c.
6-34-35 coliseum, rome. 70 AD
6-32/33 arch of titus rome 81 AD
6-43/44 column of Trajan, rome 112
6-45/46 pantheon , hadrion 125