Ancient Mediterranean. Etruscan and Rome

Transcription

1 Ancient Mediterranean Etruscan and Rome

2 10 th century BCE-c. 270 BCE ETRUSCAN

3 Historical Background Lived in Etruria, Italy (Tuscany) prior to the arrival of the Romans. Established Florence, Pisa, and Siena. Influenced Roman culture alphabet, literacy, engineering, gladiatorial combat, temple design, religious ritual however their language and societal customs were different than the Romans. What survives of their culture is art work from necropoli therefore much of what we know comes from their tombs. No history or literature survives.

4 Etruscan Architecture Tumulus/Tumuli-tombs are earthen mounds and stones placed over graves. Larger Tumuli had a door which led to an interior. Doors and interiors were brightly painted. Tombs had symbols of Etruscan life, entire families and their servants were buried in one tomb. What we know about Etruscan temples, which were inspired by the Greeks, comes from the writings of Vitruvius. Buildings were made from wood and mud-brick, single flight of stairs leading to temples, and deity sculptures on top of temples. Variation of Greek Doric order, called Tuscan column raised on podium.

5 31. Temple of Minerva (Veii, near Rome, Italy) and sculpture of Apollo Vulca c B.C.E. Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufa (volcanic rock); terra cotta sculpture

6 What survives is funerary, done on the walls and ceilings of tombs. People are represented as cheerful dancing, eating, and playing music. Etruscan Painting

7 32. Tomb of the Triclinium Tarquinia, Italy Etruscan c B.C.E. Tufa and fresco Known for its painted tombs. Takes its name from the threecouch dining room of the ancient Greco-Roman Mediterranean, known as the triclinium. Banquet scene-festive funerary art--people reclining, eating, dancing. Funeral games. Skin of females is lighter/men darker (ancient convention).

8 Etruscan Sculpture Preferred terra cotta, stucco, and bronze for their sculpture. Style shows awareness of Greek Archaic art stylized figures and hair with broad shoulders. Etruscans differ in style showing more movement of figures who are aware of the world around them.

9 31. Apollo from the Temple of Minerva Sculptures, like Apollo, would have been placed on the roof. Video in notes Apollo

10 29. Sarcophagus of the Spouses Etruscan c. 520 B.C.E. Terra Cotta Majority of our knowledge of Etruscan art comes from burial sites. Etruscans were cremated and put in a tomb with all earthly items needed for the afterlife. Kline-reclining couch; Couple reclining, eating. Social, not divine subject matter. Archaic, stylized, elongated figures; unrealistic positioning. Made in 4 separate pieces and joined together.

11 Terracotta was standard in sculpture and temple decoration. Marble had not yet been discovered as an available material. Video in notes

12 Video in notes ROMAN

13 Historical Background A small hillside village rose to power through diplomacy and military success. Effects of Rome are felt today in the fields of law, language, literature, and the fine arts. Romulus and Remus (abandoned twins) were suckled by a She-Wolf, later to establish the city of Rome on its seven hills. Originally ruled by kings, then governed semi-democratically as a republic through a senate, then as an empire under Octavian or Augustus Caesar) from 27 BCE until its fall in the 5 th century CE. Romans borrowed heavily from the Greeks. We know much about daily Roman life because of Pompeii (79 CE). The Roman state and wealthy citizens were the major patrons of the arts. Artists, however, were low on the social scale.

14 Roman Architecture Master builders-constructing roads and aqueducts to connect cities of large, impressive structures. Temples to gods are also sources of civic pride. Vast use of the arch-could span large spaces without the support of post and lintel construction. The arches are made of wedge-shaped stones, held together by a center keystone, and do not need mortar to connect themselves (ashlar masonry). An arch extended into space is a barrel vault. Two barrel vaults that intersect is a groin vault. The intersecting groin vault only needs piers to support itself, rather than a continuous wall. The space between the piers are called spandrels. Arches make buildings like the Colosseum and the Pantheon possible.

15 Coffers are used to lighten the weight of concrete ceilings. Concrete, while not a Roman invention, is used vastly throughout empire, faced with marble. Domestic spaces have few exterior windows but are elaborately decorated and open to the exterior through an atrium and impluvium once in the entrance of the home. Bedrooms, or cubicula, flank the atrium. This system provides light and air flow throughout the home. Once further into a home, more private rooms surrounded a peristyle court. Roman Architecture

16 Roman Architecture In the center of the Roman business world was the forum a large public square flanked by civic buildings and auxiliary structures such as bath houses and markets. Gods were also worshipped here, each forum having a favored local god. Romans used a mixture of architectural elements such as the Composite and the Tuscan columns, as seen on the Colosseum.

17 39. House of the Vettii Pompeii, Italy Imperial Roman c. 2 nd century B.C.E.; rebuilt c C.E. Cut stone and fresco Atrium area for receiving visitors. Peristyle in rear with fountain, statuary, and more cubicula Would have been the private area of the house. Axial symmetry someone entering the house would have seen to the rear of the peristyle court.

18 A Roman townhouse (domus) Pompeii destroyed in 79 C.E., rediscovered in 18th century. The domus reinforced social status, as patrons would receive clients in the atrium of the home during the business day. The patron-client relationship in the Roman Republic (5th-1st centuries B.C.E.) was important. Patrons provided support, protection, and benefaction and in turn clients would trust and be dutiful to the patron. It was important for the patron to keep an aesthetically pleasing and fashionable house. Vitruvius even wrote about this, which becomes a canon for domestic dwellings.

19 Roman Painting Wall paintings intended to liven up the windowless cubicula. Frescoed with mythological scenes, landscapes, and city plazas. Mosaics were favored for floor decoration. Encaustics (wax painting) provided individual portraits of the deceased. Understanding of perspective evident.

20 39. Pentheus Room CE Fresco Pompeii, Italy Owned by former slaves, one brother held a top civic position. Showed signs of wealth in the home, like a strongbox. Wall paintings are designed for the viewer to have a gallery-like experience. Fourth style wall painting (painted marble at base with smaller paintings above and larger paintings taking up most of field). Offers insight to domestic architecture and interior decoration into the last days of Pompeii.

21 44. Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) Rome, Italy Imperial Rome C.E. Stone and concrete Link and video in notes Accommodated 50,000 spectators. Concrete core, brick casing, travertine facing. 76 entrances/exits Barrel vaults, groin vaults, and arches. Designed for spectacle entertainment Gladiatorial combat, animal hunts, naval battles but not religious persecution. Façade has engaged columns: first story Tuscan, second story Ionic, and third story Corinthian, top is a flattened Corinthian each considered lighter than the previous. Square windows at the top are designed to hold flagstaffs which were the anchors for the retractable canvas roof. Most of the marble of taken down during the Middle Ages.

22

23 45. Forum of Trajan Rome, Italy Apollodorus of Damascus. Forum and markets: C.E.; Column completed 113 C.E. Brick and concrete (architecture); marble (column) Built with booty collected from Trajan s victory over the Dacians. Large central plaza flanked by stoalike buildings on each side. Originally held an equestrian monument dedicated to Trajan in the center. Part of a complex that included: Basilica Ulpia, Trajan Markets, and Column of Trajan Forum of Trajan (reconstruction)

24 45. Basilica Ulpia (reconstruction) 385x182 feet with two apses; grand interior space. Nave is spacious and wide. Double colonnaded side aisles. Timber roof 80 feet across. Law courts held here; apses were settings for the judges. Ulpius was Trajan s family name.

25 45. Trajan Markets Originally had 150 shops. Multilevel mall Semi circular building held several levels of shops. Main space is groin vaulted; shops are barrel vaulted.

26 Video in notes

27 46. Pantheon Imperial Roman C.E. Concrete with stone facing Temple to all the gods. Inscription reads Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, having been consul three times, built it. Ravaged by fire, rebuilt by Hadria in 128 CE. Corinthian porch on front of building. Façade has two pediments, one recessed behind the other. Video in notes

28 Square panels in floor and coffers contrast with roundness of walls. Coffers originally filled with bronze rosette designs to simulate stars? Cupola walls are thick 20 feet at the base. Walls become thinner towards to top; coffers taking weight out of walls and ceiling. Oculus is 27 feet across allows for sunlight and air; acts as a moving spotlight across the interior. Sundial? Oculus illuminates the doorway on special days such as 4/21 and equinoxes. Connection between religion and emperors? Height of building equals its width; interior of building based on the circle (a hemisphere) Walls have seven niches for the statues of the gods. Originally the entrance was high on a podium. Modern Rome is now at the same level as the entrance.

29 42. Head of a Roman patrician Republican Roman c B.C.E. Marble Veristic portrait/republican era Influence of Greek Hellenistic art Differs from Greek idealism/imperial era Conveys seriousness and truth of the responsibility of holding public office traits revered by Roman patricians. Characterized by furrowed brow, deep wrinkles, sagging skin. Imagines-death masks Veristic portraits are busts of mostly elderly men.

30 43. Augustus of Prima Porta Imperial Roman Early first century C.E. Marble 1 st emperor of Rome Political propaganda Portrays himself as political leader (judges robe), military leader(breast plate), and supporter of Roman religion all at the same time; idealized view of a Roman Emperor. A characteristic specific to Augustus is the part in the hair over the right eye. Foreshadowing Pax Romana. Recalls Greek ideals of Doryphorus sculpture; contrapposto; following canon-connecting himself to Golden Age of Greece Cupid riding a dolphin=victory and divinity (reference to his descent from Venus) Breastplate=gods on his side Back is not carved=meant to be placed against a wall. Standing barefoot=standing on sacred ground. Found in Villa Livia, the private residence of his wife. Video in notes

31

32 45. Trajan s Column (From Trajan s Forum) Commemorative column celebrating the defeat of the Dacians also serves as Trajan s burial place (ashes placed in base). 128 feet high; 625 foot continuous narrative; 150 episodes; 2500 figures; 23 registers Low relief sculpture is comprised of a crowded composition. Unclear how it is to be viewed/read. Designed to be entered (interior spiral staircase now closed). At the top was a nude statue, now St. Peter.

33 Video in notes Pontoon bridge with Roman soldiers (detail), Column of Trajan, Carrara marble, completed 113 C.E., Rome

34 47. Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus Late Imperial Roman c. 250 C.E. Marble Roman army defeats barbarians. Young Roman General appears at top center with no helmet and no weapons indicating he is invincible. Crowded surface with figures piled on top of each other. Figures lack individuality. Confusion of the battle is mirrored by the chaotic representation. Reflective of a period of warfare during the 3 rd century.

35 *Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun Pompeii Republican Roman c.100 B.C.E. Mosaic From largest and most elaborately decorated mansion in Pompeii. Moment when Alexander the Great is defeating Darius and the Persian army. Movement and frenzy. Based on Ancient Greek painting? 1.5 million pieces of glass Video in notes

36

37

38

39

40

41 Rome Short Essay-The Meaning of Classical-30 points Think about the following styles: Greek Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic; Roman Republican, Early and Late Imperial. We call this era of history the classical past. Citing at least two specific examples of art, what is meant by the word classical? How does this term relate to ideals that change over time. What does this word, and the ideals associated with classical tell us about the past and our present?