Etruscan and Roman Art and Architecture PDF

UAE U Etruscan and Roman Art and Architecture Introduction to Art History Dr. Clarisse Roche – HIS 133  Introduction  The very rich culture of the Greeks had a profound infl uence on their neighbours. The Etruscans and the Romans,...

UAE U Etruscan and Roman Art and Architecture Introduction to Art History Dr. Clarisse Roche – HIS 133  Introduction  The very rich culture of the Greeks had a profound infl uence on their neighbours. The Etruscans and the Romans, in particular, borrowed heavily from Greek culture.  However, both peoples took Greek art in new directions that reflect their own unique civilizations.  In early times, the Romans were dominated by the Etruscan people of northern Italy. The Etruscans lived in wealthy city- states that were ruled by kings. Under their infl uence, Rome began to grow from a small village into a city.  The Etruscans were skilled artists who created beautiful wall paintings and statues in terra-cotta and bronze.  Most surviving Etruscan artworks come from underground tomb chamber.  A) Etruscan art: the underground tomb chamber.  Not much is known about the Etruscans because, beginning in the late 5th century BCE, the Romans took over Etruria city by city, erasing their above-ground culture.  By the 1st century BCE, all that was left were their tombs.  That is why to decipher Etruscan life, we have to go inside the houses of the dead, which were often built like houses for the living.  In fact, some Etruscan cemetery were designed like underground towns and even had streets connecting tombs, presumably so the dead could visit each other.  Most scholars believe that the early Etruscans viewed death as a continuation of life. Interior of the Tomb of the Leopards Fresco Painting. The tomb of the Leopards takes its name from the pair of Leopards on the rear wall of the burial chamber. They are in the long tradition of guardian figures in gateways, tombs, and temples. Detail of the Tomb of the Leopards  Men (with dark skin) and women (with light skin) dine together at Etruscan banquets, in striking contrast to the all-male Greek diner.  The colour of the skin is in conformity with the age- old convention.  The egg that the man holds is a symbol of regeneration.   Musicians entertain the guests. In characteristic Etruscan fashion, the guests, servants and musicians all make exaggerated gestures with unnaturally enlarged hands. The tone is joyful, rather than gloomy. The banqueters do not contemplate death. They celebrate the good life of the Etruscan upper-class.   In the Tumuli in the Banditaccia Banditaccia necropolis necropolis, the Etruscans buried several generations of families in multichambered rock-cut underground tombs covered by great earthen mounds (Tumuli). Many ancient civilizations did not permit families to bury their dead within the boundaries of cities. The Etruscan solution to the problem was to build necropolis A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over (“city of the Dead”) a grave or graves. outside of the city of the living.  The technique of the Etruscan tumuli recalls that of the rock-cut Egyptian tombs such as Amenemhet’s at Beni Hasan.  It also highlights the very different values of the Etruscans and the Greeks.  The Etruscans’ temples no longer stand because they constructed them of wood and mud brick, but their subterranean tombs are as permanent as the bedrock itself.  The Greeks employed stone for their gods but only rarely built monumental tombs for their dead.  B) Roman Art: Art as a mirror  In the 6th century BCE, Rome was a small city-state in Italy ruled by kings. By the end of the 1st century BCE, it had conquered the entire Mediterranean world.  In 510 BCE, Rome became a republic.  In the 1st century BCE, after a series of civil wars, a general named Octavian (later known as Augustus) took over the republic and became Rome’s first emperor.  The Romans were PRACTICAL PEOPLE. In art, their chose REALISM: their sculptural portraits (busts and statues) give the impression to be face to face with real Romans. The artists showed the flaws of the model. ROMAN REALISM, HOWEVER, TOOK AN IDEALISTIC TURN WHEN AUGUSTUS BECAME THE EMPEROR. Head of an old man, from Osimo, Italy Veristic (=superrealistic) portraits of old men from upper class families were the norm during the Republic. The sculptor of this head painstakingly recorded every detail of the elderly man’s face.  Generally only elder held power in the Republic.  THESE MEN REQUESTED IMAGES MEMORIALIZING THEIR DISTINCTIVE FEATURES.  Portrait of a Roman general, from the sanctuary of Hercules The sculptor based this life-sized portrait of a general on idealized Greek statues of heroes and athletes (cf. the Diskobolus or Disk Thrower, PP Greek Art)  His head, however, is a veristic (=superrealistic) likeness.  The combination is typical of Republican portraiture. Portrait of Augustus as general, from Primaporta, Italy, 1st century BCE. Marble, Rome Roman realism took an idealistic turn when Augustus became Emperor. His idealized statues made himself appear godlike and worthy of his imperial title.  Idealism in Roman art usually means that the art is propaganda.  The statue of A ugustus of Primaporta depicts the youthful Augustus as a general of generals, pointing the way to Rome’s imperial future.  A ugustus of Primaporta is the embodiment of Roman virtues: youthful energy, honesty and confidence.  It also expresses Rome’s and Augustus’s imperial dignity.  The statue was so popular that is was copied at least 148 times.  Though this form of idealism was very Roman, the sculptor modelled Augustus of Primaporta on two famous Greek statues.  BUT MOST OF ROMAN STATUES AND BUSTS, EVEN OF EMPERORS, ARE NOT IDEALIZED.  2) Realism in painting  Roman mural painting, which appeared suddenly in the second half of the 1st century BCE, surpassed all earlier paintings in depicting life realistically.  The Romans used intuitive perspective to create the illusion of three-dimensionality on flat surfaces. They did not have a system for creating perspective. They had a feeling of it.  Roman painters sought to “open” the room’s walls by replacing them with the illusion of an imaginary three-dimensional world.  Wall paintings, from the villa of Publius Fannius Synistor,  Roman painters created the illusion of an imaginary landscape.  The painter opened up the walls with views on towns, temples, and colonnaded courtyards.  The convincing illusionism is due to the use of LINEAR PERSPECTIVE. Gardenscape, wall painting, Fresco, from the villa of Livia, Rome, Italy.  The ultimate example of a “picture-window” wall is Livia’s gardenscape.  The painter used ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE, intentionally blurring the most distant forms.  3) Roman mosaics  When Roman artists wanted an image to last, they used MOSAICS.  Roman mosaics are made with small coloured stones, pebbles, or pieces of glass. Detail of Alexander Mosaic, depicting Alexander the Great  4) Roman architecture: A marriage of Greek and Etruscan styles.  The artists and architects of the Roman Republic drew on both Greek and Etruscan traditions for their paintings, sculpture, and buildings.  Exposure to Greek sculpture and painting and to the splendid marble temple of the Greek gods increased as the Romans expanded their conquests beyond Italy. Greece became a Roman province in 146 BCE.  Architecture is the best-preserved art form of the Republican period. Temple of Portunus, Rome  The mixing of Greek and Etruscan forms is the primary characteristic of the Republican-era Temple.  The high podium and a flight of steps only at the front follow the Etruscan pattern.  The temple has an Etruscan plan, with a main entrance, whereas Greek temples can be access from all sides.  The ionic order marks the a Greek influence. The temple was originally overlaid with an imitation of marble.  The result of the mix is distinctively Roman.  Roman Concrete Construction  The history of Roman architecture would be very different had the Romans been content to use the same building materials that the Greeks, Etruscans, and other ancient people did.  INSTEAD, THE ROMANS DEVELOPED CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION, WHICH REVOLUTIONIZED ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN.  Roman builders mixed concrete according to a changing recipe and small stones (in latin caementa, from which English word cement derives).  After mixing the concrete, the builders poured it into wood frames and left it to dry.  When the concrete hardened completely, they removed the wood moulds, revealing a solid mass of great strength.  The Romans often covered the coarse surfaces with marble or local stones.  Despite this lengthy procedure, concrete walls were much less costly to construct than walls of imported Greek marble or even local stones.  The advantages of concrete went well beyond cost, however.  It was possible to fashion concrete shapes unachievable in masonry construction, especially huge vaulted and domed rooms without internal supports.  The new medium became a vehicle for shaping architectural space and enabled Roman architects to design buildings in revolutionary ways.