Ancient Roman Civilization

Ancient Roman Civilization

• The Roman Republican Period lasted from 500 to 27 BCE
• During this time, Rome transformed from a city-state on the Italian Peninsula into the center of a powerful empire
• This expansion was partly achieved by extending citizenship to conquered peoples
• The Early Roman Empire spanned from 27 BCE with Emperor Augustus to 180 AD with Marcus Aurelius
• The Late Roman Empire began in 180 AD ending in 330 AD
• Emperor Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium in 330AD

Quick Overview of Roman Achievements

• The Romans adopted and improved upon the best aspects of conquered cultures
• Impressive technological and architectural accomplishments include aqueducts, roads, monuments, palaces, and public facilities
• Engineering innovations featured the arch, vaults, and dome
• Roman art is characterized by realism in portraiture and relief
• Animals and humans were depicted with realism and anatomical accuracy
• Roman painting methods were inspired by Greek techniques

Portrait Sculpture

• Portrait sculptures emphasize the peculiarities of individuals to capture their uniqueness

Sarcophagus

• Sarcophagi were marble or limestone coffins decorated with elaborate carvings

Relief

• Relief is a sculptural technique where elements remain attached to a solid background of the same material
• Roman reliefs are renowned for their narrative qualities
• Reliefs were found on altars, arches, and tombs

Bust

• A bust is a sculpture or cast representation of the upper part of a human figure, including the head, neck, and a portion of the chest
• Portrait busts in Roman sculpture are closely linked to funerary contexts

Roman Fresco

• Roman Fresco involves painting directly on a plaster wall
• Buon Fresco (true fresco) is painting on wet plaster
• Fresco secco is dry fresco

Mosaic

• Mosaic is a pattern or picture created by assembling small colored pieces of glass, stone, tiles, or other materials

Trompe-l'oeil

• Trompe-l'oeil is an art technique using realistic imagery to create the optical illusion of depicted objects existing in three dimensions

Equestrian Monument

• Equestrian monument is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse

Roman Architecture

• Roman architecture is known for massive brick and concrete construction
• Roman architecture employs the semi-circular arch, barrel and groin vaults, and the dome
• The elaboration of Greek orders are purely decorative motifs, and the use of marble linings, mosaics, and molded stucco for interiors
• Construction involves post, lintel, and truss systems
• Arches are made from wedge-shaped stones using centering
• Vaults feature arched masonry forming a ceiling
• Domes are extended round arches
• Concrete consists of small stones, sand, lime, and water poured onto wooden forms to solidify

Arch

• An arch is a curved structural member spanning an opening, possibly supporting weight above it
• The keystone is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch

Arcade

• Arcade is a series of arches

Vault

• Vault is arched masonry forming the ceiling of a building

Groin and Barrel Vaults

• A groin vault or groined vault is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults
• A barrel vault forms a half-cylinder shape
• Curves are typically circular, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance

Dome and Centering

• A dome is a rounded vault forming the roof, usually with a circular base
• Centering is framing used to support an arch or dome during construction

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio

• Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, known as Vitruvius, was a Roman author, architect, civil engineer, and military engineer during the 1st century BC
• Vitruvius set rules for standardizing Greek architectural orders, modifying proportions and details
• Entablature height equals ¼ of the column height
• Shaft tapers by 1/6 smaller in diameter at the top

Roman Orders

• The Composite Order combines the Ionic shaft and Corinthian capital
• The Tuscan Order is a simplified Roman Doric order with fewer, bolder mouldings, unfluted columns, a plain frieze, and no triglyphs

Forum

• The Forum is the counterpart of the Agora
• It is composed of temples, triumphal arches, pillars of victories, a Roman basilica, senate, and shops

Insulae

• Insulae are blocks of flats used as shops and apartments

Domus

• Domus is a Roman house of the middle class

Villa

• A Villa housed the upper class Roman

Amphitheatre

• An amphitheatre is a large, circular, or oval open-air venue with raised seating
• Amphitheatres are used for events like gladiator combats, animal slayings (venationes), and executions
• Early amphitheaters date from the Republican period, becoming more monumental during the imperial era

Venatio

• Venatio is a type of entertainment in Roman amphitheaters involving the hunting and killing of wild animals

Circus

• Circus is a long hairpin race course for chariot races
• The Circus is also called Hippodrome (Greek)

Aqueduct

• Aqueducts are watercourses constructed to carry water from a source to a distribution point far away

Basilica

• A basilica is a building used to house the Roman law court
• A basilica eventually became a hall of justice and commercial exchange

Theater

• Roman theater has a more impressive skene than the Greek version.
• Roman theaters are usually built on level ground
• The orchestra became semi-circular, while Greek versions were circular

Triumphal Arch

• A Triumphal Arch is a commemorative arch-monument
• These are decorated with reliefs that show monuments of victory

Victory Column

• A Victory Column is a single, free-standing colossal column
• The Victory column is used as a commemorative monument to honor a victorious battle, war, or revolution

Ara Pacis

• Ara Pacis means altar of peace
• The Ara Pacis is a great marble monument constructed during the reign of Augustus
• It is an altar dedicated to Pax Romana, the Roman goddess of Peace

Temple

• In Roman temples, the stairs that lead up to the podium are at the front, and there is a deep portico filled with columns
• The temples are usually rectilinear
• The interiors consist of at least one cella (equivalent of Greek Naos) that contained a cult statue
• They were typically made of brick and concrete and then faced in either marble or stucco
• Engaged columns adorn the temples' exteriors

Plan of a Typical Roman temple

• Podium (or base)
• Engaged column
• Freestanding column
• Entrance steps
• Porch
• Cella

Thermae

• Thermae are large palatial imperial bath complexes

Parts of the Thermae

• Caldarium is the hot room
• Tepidarium is the warm room
• Frigidarium is the cold room
• Lanconicum is the dry sweating room
• Unctuaria is where there is oiling and shampooing
• Apodyteria is the dressing rooms

Pantheon

• The Pantheon was started by Marcus Agrippa in 27 BC
• Emperor Hadrian rebuilt the Pantheon in 120 AD to its current circular shape
• The diameter of the floor plan equals the height of the dome
• There is an oculus (a circular opening) at the dome's center to admit light
• The portico incorporates elements of an earlier temple building

Colosseum

• The Colosseum is also known as the Flavian Amphitheater, built for Roman games
• It features Roman arch and vault construction
• Exterior walls are 48m high
• Built with travertine, tuff, and brick-faced concrete, it is the largest amphitheater ever built

Gothic Period

• The Gothic style grew out of the Romanesque architectural style due to cultural development and peace
• Complex cathedrals and churches were mostly built in Britain and France between the 12th and 15th centuries
• The Gothic style evolved from the Romanesque period and was succeeded by the Renaissance Period
• Based on the Romanesque buildings, churches and buildings changed in the Gothic period.
• The Romanesque structures, with round arches and supportive pillars, allowed for monumental heights possible
• The churches walls were disbanded with glass windows
• The name " Opus Francigenum"" which means 'French Style'
• The Gothic style developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD
• Led by Gothic architecture, it spread to all of Western Europe and much of Southern and Central Europe

Abbot Suger

• Abbot Suger (c 1081 to 1151) was the abbot of the French abbey of Saint-Denis
• Suger was an early patron of Gothic architecture and is credited with popularizing the style
• He designed the faćade, ambulatory, and chapels of the Royal Abbey Church of St. Denis
• The first use of all elements of Gothic architecture appears in the Basilica of Saint Denis' choir, completed in 1144
• The rose window above the West portal is an early known example, though Romanesque circular windows preceded it

French Gothic Architecture Phases

• Early French Gothic Style is characterized by the pointed arch and geometric tracery
• Rayonnant style (late 13thc - late 14thc) is characterized by circular windows with radiating lines and tracery
• Flamboyant style/High Gothic (late 14th – mid 16th c) is characterized by flamelike tracery, intricacy of detailing, and frequent complication of interior ornamentation

English Gothic Architecture Phases

• Early English/lancet style (12thc - 13thc) features lancet windows and plate tracery
• Decorated style (late 13thc - late 14thc) is characterized by rich tracery, elaborate ornamental vaulting, and refined stone-cutting techniques
• Perpendicular/rectilinear style (late 14thc - early 16thc) features perpendicular tracery and elaborate fan vaults

Sculpture

• Possessed some elements of classical sculpture such as idealized faces, Contrapposto, natural draperies, and anatomical correctness
• High Relief is a sculptural relief where the forms project at least half or more of their natural circumference from the background

Painting

• Paintings saw a gradual increase in realism
• Madonna enthroned was a favorite painting theme
• Painters made Early attempts at perspective
• Tempera Technique is a painting technique in which the pigments are combined with egg

Polyptych

• A polyptych is a painting, typically an altarpiece, consisting of more than three leaves or panels joined by hinges or folds

Illuminated Manuscripts

• Medieval books enriched with decorations through illustrations, borders, and decorative initials in gold or silver is the illuminated manuscriphts

Stained Glass

• Stained glass refers to colored glass used to make decorative windows
• Stained glass is colored by certain metallic oxides and cut into shapes
• the shapes are determined by the artist's design after a molten state passes
• The shapes are assembled together to create decorative windows

Cimabue

• Cimabue, also known as Cenni di Pepo or Cenni di Pepi, was an Italian painter and designer of mosaics from Florence
• He was the last great Italian artist in the Byzantine style, which dominated early medieval painting in Italy

Giotto

• Giotto di Bondone, a student of Cimabue, was an Italian painter in the 14th century
• Giotto's work influenced Renaissance style that was developed a century later
• Giotto’s major contribution was his unparalleled grasp of human emotion

Pointed Arches

• A key characteristic of Gothic architecture is the pointed arch

Triforium

• A triforium is a gallery or arcade above the arches of the nave, choir, and transepts of a church
• It can be located at the level of the clerestory windows

Clerestory Windows

• Clerestory Windows are the high section of wall that contains windows above eye level

Rose window

• A rose window is a circular window with tracery mullions radiating from a central point

Flying Buttresses

• Flying Buttresses are a buttress slanting from a separate pier, forming an arch with the wall

Ribbed vault

• At the intersection of a two to three barrel vaults, the ribbed vault is produced or the ribbed vault edged with piped, decorative masonry

Boss

• A boss is a stone or wood protrusion often found in buildings ceilings, near intersecting keystones of a rib vault

Lierne Vault

• A Lierne Vault is a small subordinate rib inserted between the main ribs, usually as an ornament

Fan Vault

• A Fan Vault has ribs all of the same curve, spaced equidistantly

Gargoyles

• Gargoyles are grotesquely carved figures with a spout.
• The spouts are designed to convey water from a roof, preventing erosion

Pier

• Piers are columns made to support arches

Compound Pier

• A Compound Pier is a support made up of several small shafts (colonettes) attached to one shaft

Crockets

• Crockets are projecting leaf ornaments used to accent the sides of pinnacles and spires

Corbels

• Corbels are brackets which are set into walls to carry a beam

Spire

• A Spire is a tapering conical / pyramidal building at the top of a church/building

Finial

• A Finial is a distinctive decoration on a roof, pinnacle, or spire

Tracery

• Tracery refers to the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window

Lancet window

• A Lancet window is a narrow window with an arch

Plate Tracery

• Plate Tracery is the simplest, earliest form of window tracery
• Is of Gothic architecture and known to this day as plate tracery

Flamelike tracery

• Flamelike tracery is the dominance in stone window tracery of a flamelike S-shaped curve.

Perpendicular Tracery

• Perpendicular Tracery suggests vertical lines in prominence

Gothic Architectural Landmarks

• Gothic period churchs containt he principal seat of a bishop
• Gothic included great building as well as a hightening structures

Abbey Church of Saint Denis, France, by Suger

• Designed by Abbot Suger

Duomo di Milano

• Known today as its Milan Cathedral in the city of Italy as the cathedral church
• The architect is Mario Delpini for The Nativity of St Mary/Santa

Amiens Cathedral, France

• Also currently known for the tallest complete cathedral
• It is currently found in france

Chartres Cathedral, France

• Currently is known as known as the Cathedral
• Also with its great model and towers

Reims cathedral, France

• Built currently around the style gothic
• Features the windows and walls
• Is also made with filled glass
• And also known for having porches

Notre Dame de Paris

• A historical and french center, with stone being built
• Known also on the 12th and 14th

Salisbury Cathedral, England

• Known for the tower and spire in its unique style

Cologne Cathedral, Germany

• Currently with the feature of a great gothic inside its churches

King's College Chapel, UK

• The Chapl is located in college and its a University of Cambridge
• Known as the finest and current of what could be with english architure
• One main feature to it is one that vaultings

Doge's Palace, Italy

• Current residence of Venice

Ca' d'Oro, Italy

• A palace in the Canal in viencea, styled currently to the gothic by architects Bartolomeo Bon and Giovanni Bon