Ancient+Roman+Art

=**ANCIENT ROMAN ART**=

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 * Before a time of billboards magazines and television there only existed paintings, sculpture and architecture as a medium to inform the public. In Ancient Rome, artists and craftsman would be commissioned by emperors to create works of art. Within the ancient works, the patron would designate messages and specific meanings to be translated through each piece. During the time of the Roman Empire, the majority of people were unable to read of write. Therefore the elements of art through visual mediums were crucial for interpretation.**

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(Photo by Amy Soares)

To the Romans, architecture did not serve as purely denotative structure to provide shelter and so forth. Roman architecture processes a language for its onlookers to read and encode on its own. Sure the messages were high context in nature, but anyone who was anyone in the Roman Empire, whether rich or poor would contain the knowledge to understand and encode the messages and the stories that were told though the architecture. Roman Architecture, often was decorated with many relief sculptures, these reliefs often were of mythical nature illustrating stories of the gods, or to heroize political leaders of the empire. This is especially prevalent in the time when Augustus had taken power in 27 BCE ( Ramage, 96) Augustus was responsible for the reinvention of the Roman society, he did this by using a sophisticated style of propaganda infused within Roman Art genre, in order to instill morals and beliefs within Rome. However this was the time before the Gutenberg Press, before mass media. Therefore it was though the mediums of decorative architecture sculpture and painting that the Emperor would communicate his messages to the Roman population.


 * Roman Sculpture**

Portrait sculpture and the way that classical portrait busts were depicted were very crucial to the Roman society. The bust portraits were a form of keeping ancestry, and respect for the past. To the Romans every single element on the face was shown to mean something of great importance that would in turn reflect the persona of the model the work is after. Romans unlike the Greeks preferred not to idealize there sculptural portraits, they intended the work to be very life-like. In fact, many of the portraits are made from death masks, which were taken molds of a persons face after they have died. The Classical Roman idea of virtus is the theory that sets the stand point for a serious Roman man with old fashion morality, public bearing responsibility and bravery. The greatest public figures of Ancient Rome often obtained a great deal of virtus. Virtus was something to be proud of and it was an important element that the artists would try to capture within their sculptures.Within the portrait called ‘**Brutus'** done first century B.C. Virtus is strongly represented. Brutus is the man that was the first consul of Rome and the founder of the republic.

(Head of bearded Man called "Brutus" First Century BC Bronze.) (Ramage)

The portrait is hyper-realistic and demonstrates a serious man, with a strong sense character. The facial features of the portrait are disguisable and unique; not idealized. There is a use of brutal realism, not hiding any flaws because the purpose of the work was to commemorate who exactly the portrait figure was, to educate future decadences how the person really looked like, so they could acquire an idea of who he really was. Brutus is characterized with indivualized features such as deep set eyes, a big brow, a long slim nose and thin lips accompanied by a beard. The thin downward sloping lips added to the figures solemn character, while his beard that gives you an idea about his age and wisdom. He also wears short hair that is combed forward which was known as a military style, therefore illustrating his military persona. In addition, the character’s military personality demonstrates that he would have been regarded with a great deal of respect and as a very important public figure. Furthermore, though his body is not completely seen, one can infer that the man has a fairly strong muscular build judging by his broad shoulders and chest. He wears a traditional Roman toga, again to signify the man’s high status within society. Facial features were considered to be major indicators of individualism and personality, age was often emphasized to stress the idea of wisdom, and the notions of a hard working life experience. Strong facial features demonstrated to the public the qualities that they respected in the most in a leader. With the sculpture of Brutus, the man’s age is portrayed by the wrinkles on his forehead, under his eyes, his thick brow, neck and beard. During the time prestige came along with the journey of aging, and the experience of struggle in the political world. This portrait demonstrates a man that seems to have gone through immense pain and struggle in his lifetime in order to have achieved the noble position that he is represented in. Ergo, the communication process used in art and architecture was understood by all to have meaning behind it.

Roman Architecture and Augustus
Roman Architecture is one of the most influential styles still to this day within the practice of modern architecture. The Romans contributed a lot to society and architecture. Though the Romans were influenced by Greek and Etruscan fundamentals they have been able to create a style that is distantly theirs. Also the Romans have developed technologies that are still implemented to this day such as the innovation of the arch, and the life changing material of concrete (Ramages). When someone thinks about architecture it is easy to think about buildings and towers, but for the Romans their was an emphasize on building amphitheatres like the Coliseum, Arches like the Arch of Constantine, and sacrificial alters, like the **Ara Pacis** which I will analyze in further detail. As previously mentioned art was commissioned by most likely an emperor or someone with incredible power so that they could have a medium of expression. The ideas of expression were not created by the artist but were set out by the patron of the work. An emperor like Augustus had many intended messages to give to his people and through Architecture is one of the ways he did it best.

Augustus is known by exemplifying his image as a peacekeeper in order to instill the peaceful mindset within the violent society that was so prevalent at the time. Rome of course had been a victim of to a long duration of civil wars and had seen much bloodshed, therefore was Augustus’s goal to turn around the Roman image of civil strife into an image of a peaceful state. Augustus also, associated himself with the gods, to remind his public his divine heritage, so that the public would in turn feel inferior to him in order for the public to give him their trust in his power, in order to achieve exactly what he intended, a peaceful, rich and plentiful empire. Emperors like Augustus would also promote fruitfulness, for a bigger and stronger population in order to achieve a bigger and stronger Rome. Propaganda through architecture served well for many emperors, especially for Augustus in his goal to spread the ideal of the golden age to come. An architectural monument that illustrates Propagandist intentions is the **Ara Pacis**, other wise known as the alter of peace.

ARA PACIS AUGUSTUS, ROME 13-9 BC. MARBLE. (Ramage)

The monument was a raised sacrificial altar surrounded by walls with two doorways along the east to west axis. The north and south walls are decorated with large friezes that illustrate the reliefs of the sacrificial procession complete with individuals portraits of Augustus. The Reliefs depict historical documentation of the of the actual founding of the alter after Augustus had returned home to Rome from his Gallic and Spanish campaigning in 13 B.C (Zanker).Within the series of reliefs mythical qualities are juxtaposed to the actual historical journey that Augustus had experienced, in order to make Augustus seem more of a celestial power figure. Myth, was the true backbone of roman existence, it was through the stories of the gods that people would contextualize such abstract notion of their creation, and their end, and so forth. Myth was an element that commonly dipicted within reliefs on architectural elements. The particular myth presented in the Ara Pacis, is about Aeneas the god that is the founder of Roman culture ( Zimmerman, 9). Hence, Augustus intentionally would commission these works to juxtapose himself with a greater power in order to connect himself to the heavenly virtues within the myths. In these case the creation of the culture that is so richly surrounded by those in which he governs.

Roman Painting
Though many paintings from the Roman Empire have not survived to this day, there is still alot that can be told from the deteriorating canvases and walls of ancient artifacts. In many roman paintings dipictions of luscious greens, flowers and garlands were popular. In addtion baskets of fruit would be used to symbolize fertility, peacefulness and the richness of the ideal Roman Empire.Therefore through the medium of painting Romans were able to learn and understand whatever the emperors wanted to instill with the mind of the roman citizen.


 * Art was not intended as leisure or past time, as it is today. Art, Architechture and Sculpture were necessary tools in communicating messages whether they were propaganda, or mythical they had the intention to inform Rome much like the mulitple media genres of today. For more information on communication in the Roman Empire vistit the link.**

Boscotrecase Villa, Pompeii.



REFERENCES_
Aldrete, Gregory. Guestures and Acclamations in Ancient Rome. Balitmore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 1999 Atchity, Kenneth. The Classical Roman Reader. New York: Oxford University Press.1997. Boscotrecase Villa. //Roman Art.//  Ramage, Andrew. Ramage, Nancy. Roman Art Romulus to Constatine. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc., 2001. Zanker, Paul. “ The City of Rome as a Reflection of State and Society,” and “Architecture innovation and competition,” from The Power of the Images in the Age of Augustus. Trans. Alan Shapiro. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1990. Zimmerman, J. Dictionary of Classical Mythology. New York: Bantam Books, 1964.