ROMAN ART TIMELINE

Ancient Roman Art ◦ Ancient Roman art is a very broad topic, spanning almost 1,000 years
and three continents, from Europe to Africa and Asia.

The Julio-Claudians (27 B.C.–68 A.D.)

- During this time, the Julio-Claudian principate commenced with Augustus (r. 27
B.C. -14 A.D) included the reigns of Augustus (r. 27 B.C.–14 A.D.), Tiberius (r.
14–37 A.D.), Gaius Germanicus, known as Caligula (r. 37–41 A.D.), Claudius (r.
41–54 A.D.), and Nero (r. 54–68 A.D.).
- The Roman empire enjoyed a period of prosperity, technological advance, great
achievements in the arts, and flourishing trade and commerce.
- The dissemination of imperial portraiture in the provinces, in sculpture, gems, and
coins, was the chief means of political propaganda in the Roman empire, (and all
of the Julio-Claudians subscribed to the basic imperial image established by
Augustus. Even Caligula, who was obsessed with his own appearance, adhered
to this formula. His reign of extravagance, oppression, and treason trials ended in
his assassination in 41 A.D.)
- The Julio-Claudians were Roman nobles with impressive ancestry, but their
fondness for the ideals and lifestyle of the old aristocracy created conflicts of
interest and duty. They cherished the memory of the Republic and wished to
involve the Senate and other Roman nobles in the government. This proved
impossible and eventually led to a decline in the power and effective role of the
Senate, the elimination of other aristocrats through treason and conspiracy trials,
and the extension of imperial control through equestrian officers and imperial
freedmen.
 Augustan Rule (27 B.C.–14 A.D.)

Terracotta bowl
- Craftsmen from all around the Mediterranean established workshops that were soon
producing a range of objects - silverware, gems, and glass. The highest quality and
originality.

- This cup is stamped by M. Perennius Tigranus, who owned one of the most prolific
workshops operating at Arretium (modern Arezzo, Italy) during the Julio-Claudian
period. The relief decoration depicts heroic seminude hunters pitted against a bear
and a boar.

- The dancers and musicians on this cup frolic in a field decorated with cymbals,
panpipes, and tambourines that are suspended from bows tied to garlands

- Rome was the biggest, wealthiest, and most powerful city in the Mediterranean
region by the first century B.C. However, it was turned into a genuinely imperial city
under the rule of Augustus. Writings that foretold Rome's imperial future were
encouraged; the Histories of Livy as well as Virgil's Aeneid were meant to show that
the gods had appointed Rome “Mistress of the world.”

The Flavian Dynasty (69–96 A.D.)

- The reigns of the emperors Vespasian (69–79 A.D.), Titus (79–81 A.D.),
and Domitian (81–96 A.D.) comprised the Flavian dynasty.
- The Flavians, unlike the Julio-Claudians before them, were Italian gentry, not
Roman aristocracy. They restored stability to Rome following the reign of Nero
(54–68 A.D.) and the civil wars that had wreaked havoc on the empire,
particularly on Italy itself.
- Artistic talent and technical skills inherited from Nero’s regime were used
to aggrandize the Flavians’ military accomplishments.
- Titus’ brother and successor, Domitian, was responsible for erecting the
Arch of Titus in Rome (82 A.D.) in commemoration of the capture of
Jerusalem.
- In the provinces, where there were fewer commemorative
monuments, portraiture and coinage persisted as the chief reminders
of imperial power.