FREE A HISTORY OF ROMAN ART PDF Steven L. Tuck | 408 pages | 27 Jan 2015 | John Wiley and Sons Ltd | 9781444330267 | English | Chicester, United Kingdom Introduction to ancient Roman art – Smarthistory Trajan's Column Showing pedestal, shaft, capital and statue of St Peter on top. Note: For later artists and styles inspired by the arts of ancient Rome, see: Classicism in Art onwards. The Severan Tondo: panel painting of the Imperial Family c. Depicts the "rain miracle of Quadi". God rescues the Roman Legion from destruction by barberians by creating a terrible storm. For several centuries Ancient Rome was the most powerful nation on earth, excelling all others at military organization and warfare, engineering, and architecture. Its unique cultural achievements include the invention of the dome and the groin vault, the development of concrete and a European-wide network of roads and bridges. Despite this, Roman sculptors and painters produced only a limited amount of outstanding original fine artpreferring instead to recycle designs from Greek art, which they revered as far superior to their own. Indeed, many types of art practised by the Romans - including, sculpture bronze and marble statuary, sarcophagifine art painting murals, portraiture, vase-paintingand decorative art including metalworkmosaics, jewelleryivory carving had already been fully mastered by Ancient Greek artists. Not surprisingly, therefore, while numerous Greek sculptors like Phidias, Kresilas, Myron, A History of Roman Art, Callimachus, Skopas, Lysippos, Praxiteles, and Leochares, Phyromachos and painters like Apollodorus, Zeuxis of Heraclea, Agatharchos, Parrhasius, Apelles of Kos, Antiphilus, Euphranor of Corinth were accorded great respect throughout the Hellenistic world, most Roman artists were regarded as no more than skilled tradesmen and have remained anonymous. Of course it is wrong to say that Roman art was devoid of innovation: its urban architecture was ground-breaking, as was its landscape painting and portrait busts. Nor is it true that Roman artists produced no great masterpieces - witness the extraordinary relief A History of Roman Art on monuments like Ara Pacis Augustae and Trajan's Column. But on the whole, we can say that Roman art was predominantly derivative and, above all, utilitarian. It served a purpose, a higher good: the dissemination of Roman values along with a respect for Roman power. As it transpired, classical Roman art has been immensely influential on many subsequent cultures, through revivalist movements like Neoclassical architecturewhich have shaped much European and American architectureas exemplified by the US Capitol Building The lesser-known Classical Revival in modern art led to a return to figure painting as well as new abstract movements like Cubism. Although Rome was founded as far back as BCE, it led a precarious existence for several centuries. Initially, it was ruled by Etruscan kings who commissioned a variety of Etruscan art murals, sculptures and metalwork for their tombs as well as their palaces, and to celebrate their military victories. After the founding of the Roman Republic A History of Roman Art BCE, Etruscan influence waned and, from BCE, as the Romans started coming into contact with the flourishing Greek cities of southern Italy and the eastern Mediterranean, they fell under the influence of Greek art - a process known as Hellenization. Soon many A History of Roman Art works of art were being taken to Rome as booty, and many Greek artists followed to pursue their careers under Roman patronage. However, the arts were still not a priority for Roman leaders who were more concerned about survival and military affairs. It wasn't until about BCE after it won the first Punic War against Hannibal and the Carthaginians, that Rome felt secure enough to develop its culture. Even then, the absence of an independent cultural tradition of its own meant that most ancient art of Rome imitated Greek works. Rome was unique among the powers of the ancient world in developing only a limited artistic language of its own. Cultural Inferiority Complex. Roman architecture and engineering was never less than bold, but its painting and sculpture was based on Greek traditions and also on art forms developed in its vassal states like Egypt and Ancient Persia. To put it another way, despite their spectacular A History of Roman Art triumphs, the Romans had an inferiority complex in the face of Greek artistic achievement. Their ultra-pragmatic response was to recycle Greek sculpture at every opportunity. Greek poses, reworked with Roman clothes and accessories, were pressed into service to reinforce Roman power. Heroic Greek statues were even supplied A History of Roman Art, to enable the buyer to fit his own portrait head. An example is the equestrian bronze statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius c. A History of Roman Art Greek Sculpture Made Simple. The reason for Rome's cultural inferiority complex remains unclear. Some Classical scholars have pointed to the pragmatic Roman temperament; others, A History of Roman Art the overriding Roman need for territorial security against the waves of marauding tribes from eastern and central Europe and the consequent low priority accorded to art and culture. To which we might add that - judging by the narrowness of Celtic art c. Moreover, we A History of Roman Art note that cities in Ancient Rome were less provincial and far more powerful than Greek city-states, so that its art invariably played a more functional role - not least because Roman culture was actually a melange of different beliefs and customs, all of which had to be accomodated. Thus, for example, art quickly became something of a status symbol: something to enhance the buyer's home and social position. And since most Romans recognized the intrinsic value of Greek artistry, buyers wanted Greek-style works. Like the Romans themselves, early Roman art c. Portraits, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional, were typically detailed and unidealized, although later during the age of Hellenistic-Roman art c. The same PR value was accorded to relief sculpture see, for instance, the Column of Marcus Aureliusand to history painting see, Triumphal Paintings, below. Thus when commemorating a battle, for example, the artwork used would be executed in a realistic - almost "documentary" style. This realistic down-to-earth Roman style is in vivid contrast to Hellenistic art which illustrated military achievements with mythological imagery. Paradoxically, one reason for the ultimate fall of Rome was because it became too attached to the propagandist value of its art, and squandered huge resources on grandiose building projects purely to impress the people. Construction of the Baths of Diocletianfor instance, monopolised the entire brick industry of Rome, for several years. Rome's greatest contribution to the history of art is undoubtedly to be found in the field of architectural design. Roman architecture during the age of the Republic knowledge of which derives largely from the 1st-century Roman architect Vitruvius discovered the round temple and the curved A History of Roman Art but, after the turn of the Millennium, Roman architects and engineers developed techniques for urban building on a massive scale. The erection of monumental structures like the Pantheon and the Colosseum, would have been impossible without Rome's development of the arch and the dome, as well as its mastery of strong and low-cost materials like concrete and bricks. For a comparison with building design in Ancient Egypt, please see: Egyptian Architecture c. The Romans didn't invent the arch - it was known but not much used in Greek architecture - but they were the first to master the use of multiple arches, or vaults. From this, they invented the Roman groin vault - two barrel vaults set at right-angles - which represented a revolutionary improvement on the old Greek post-and-lintel method, as it enabled architects to support far heavier loads and to span much wider openings. The Romans also made frequent use of the semicircular arch, typically without resorting to mortar: relying instead on the precision of their stonework. Arches and vaults played a critical role in the erection of buildings like the Baths A History of Roman Art Diocletian and the Baths of Caracallathe Basilica of Maxentius A History of Roman Art the Colosseum. The arch was also an essential component in the building of bridges, exemplified by the Pont du Gard and the bridge at Merida, and aqueducts, exemplified by the one at Segovia, and also the Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus in Rome itself. A further architectural development was the dome vaulted ceilingwhich made possible the construction and roofing of large open areas inside buildings, like Hadrian's Pantheonthe Basilica of Constantineas well as numerous other temples and basilicas, since far fewer columns were needed to support the weight of the domed roof. The use of domes went hand in hand with the extensive use of concrete - a combination sometimes referred to as the "Roman Architectural Revolution". But flagship buildings with domes were far from being the only architectural masterpieces built by Ancient Rome. Just as important was the five- storey apartment building known as an insulawhich accomodated thousands of citizens. It was during the age of Emperor Trajan CE and Emperor Hadrian CE that Rome reached the zenith of its architectural glory, attained through A History of Roman Art building programs of monuments, baths, aqueducts, A History of Roman Art, temples and mausoleums. Many of the buildings from this era and later, served as models for architects of the Italian Renaissancesuch as Filippo Brunelleschi designer of the iconic dome of the cathedral in Florence, and both Donato Bramante and Michelangelodesigners of St Peter's Basilica. The time of Constantine CE witnessed the last great building programs in the city of Rome, including the completion of the Baths of Diocletian and the erection of the Basilica of Maxentius and the Arch of Constantine.