ap art history test 4

AP Art History

Test 4

Tomb of Reliefs• Cerveteri, Italy, 3rd century BCE• Carved out of rock to resemble a house• Walls were plastered and painted and it

was fully furnished• The Etruscans made every effort to

provide earthly comforts for their dead• Sometimes tomb decorations included

creatures from Etruscan mythology• A kind of dog with many heads is

shown on the back wall = Cerberus, the guardian of the gates of the underworld

• They cremated their dead• Like Egyptians, wanted to create

paradise for eternity• This is not like the Greeks who had no

say about the afterlife• Brightly colored paintings of convivial

scenes of feasting, dancing musical performances and other pleasures often decorated tomb walls

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Sarcophagus• C. 520 BCE, from Cerveteri, Italy,

painted terracotta• They added a domestic touch• The two are lively, happy individuals

rendered in sufficient detail to convey current hair and clothing styles

• They gesture to communicate something important with the viewer

• Looks like Kouros/Kore• Shows banquet for eternity• Shows gender equality



Capitoline Wolf (She-Wolf)• C. 500 BCE, Rome, 2’7” high,

bronze• Most famous symbol of Rome• The twins were added during the

Renaissance• Stood on Capitoline Hill, the

governmental ad religious center of ancient Rome

• It was at once placed outside the Lateran Palace, the home of the pope

• At one time, two small men stood under the wolf & personified the alliance between the Romans and their former enemies the Sabines

• The sculpture was later misidentified and people thought it dealt with the founding of Rome



Aulus Metellus (Arringatore)• C. 80 BCE, bronze, 6’• Roman republic artists sought to

render accurate and faithful portraits of individuals

• This way may have been derived from Roman ancestor veneration and the practice of making death masks of dead relatives

• Skilled Etruscan artists often executed the roman portraits

• This roman official’s name is inscribe don the hem of his garment in etruscan letters

• It is also known as The Orator• It depicts the man addressing a

gathering with a pose of authority• Large statues like this were often

placed atop columns as memorials to the individuals portrayed



Temple of Portunus • 2nd century BCE, Rome• Small rectangular temple, stands on

raised platform beside Tiber River• May have been dedicated to Portunus,

god of harbors and ports• Had a rectangular cella and a porch at

one that was accessed by a single flight of stairs

• It echoes the Greek prostyle plan with a colonnade across the entrance, but it adapted the Etruscan podium and front porch entrance with stairs

• The ionic columns are freestanding on the porch and engaged around the cella

• It also resembles that of a peripteral temple but because the columns around the cella are engaged, it is called a pseudoperipteral

• Shows interest in internal space





Head of a Roman Patrician• C. 75 BCE, marble• The Romans created more realisitc

portrayals of humans• They did not always give the statues

a look of youth and strength• This shows all the details of an aged

face• Veristic portrait• Exacting truthful likeness -- not

idealized• Found in homes - served as records• Virtuous remembrances• Later, busts like these become

narrative and are used in funerary art (?)



Initiation Rites of the Cult of Bacchus• C. 50 BCE, Second Style wall paintings from the

Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, Italy, frieze section 5’

• Romans painted landscapes, city views, and historical and mythological scenes in still lifes and portraits

• This is one of the most famous painted rooms in Roman art

• The rites of mystery religions were often performed in private homes as well as in special buildings or temples

• This room must have been a shrine or meeting place for such a cult

• Bacchus was the god of vegetation and fertility as well as wine

• The architectural setting was completely painted and consisted of a “marble” dado (lower part of wall)

• The deep red color was very popular among Roman painters

• The scene unfolds around the entire room





Second Style wall Painting• C. 50 BCE, Boscoreale, Italy• The walls open to a fantastic urban panorama• Roman artists attempted to produce the illusion of

thin slabs of marble covering the walls• Later, architectural details such as columns were

painted, and they became increasingly fanciful• The wall surfaces seem to dissolve behind columns

and lintels, which frame a maze of floating architectural forms creating purely visual effects

• These paintings may have been inspired by theater scene painting

• The artist used intuitive perspective to create a general impression of real space



Augustus of Prima Porta• C. 20 BCE, marble, 6’8”, in Rome• Roman artists of the Early and High Empire

created figures ideally• Discovered in the villa belonging to Augustus’s

wife, Livia• It demonstrates the creative assimilation of

earlier sculptural traditions into a new context• In its idealization of a specific ruler and his

prowess, the sculpture also shows use of imperial portraiture for political propaganda

• This figure eloquently adapted the orator’s gesture of Aulus Metellus and combined it with the pose and ideal proportions developed by the Greek Polykleitos and shown in his Spear Bearer

• Mythological imagery exalts Augustus’s position

• Cupid, son of Venus, rides a dolphin next to emperor’s leg = a reference to the claim of the emperor’s family to descent from the goddess Venus thru her human son Aeneas

• His bare feet suggest his elevation to divine status after death



Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace)• C. 13-9 BCE, marble, Rome• The combination of realism and idealism is

apparent• The altar commemorates Augustus’s triumphal

return to Rome after establishing Roman rule in Gaul

• Its decoration is a thoughtful union of portraiture and allegory, religion and politics, the private and the public

• On the inside, garlands of flowers suspened in swags (loops) surround the altar

• The ox skulls symbolize sacrificial offerings• The garlands signify continuous peace• On north side there is a scene of a procession with

double lines of senators• On the south side, the imperial family members

were depicted• The people are recognizable• Unlike the ideal procession created for the

Parthenon frieze, this procession depicted actual individuals participating in a specific event at a known time

• To suggest a double line of marchers in space, they varied the height of the relief, with the closest elements in high relief and those farther back in low relief Panels on the east and west side show an allegory of Peace and War







• Romulus, the first king of Rome, is shown• On the east side are personifications of war

and peace• two young women with billowing veils

personify the wind• This would have reminded contemporaries

of Rome’s dominion over the Med. Sea• The land wind, symbolized by the swan,

and the sea wind shown by the sea monster and waves

• The inclusion in the panel of features from the natural world - sky, water, rocks- represents a Roman contribution to monumental sculpture

• The idealized figures themselves, however, are clearly drawn from Greek sources

• The artists conveyed a sense of 3D and volume by turning the figures in space and wrapping them in revealing draperies

• The delicacy and minute details are characteristic of Roman decorative sculpture

• Exquisite skill characterizes the all the arts of the Augustan period







Pont-du-Gard• C. 16 BCE, Nimes, France• Aqueduct• Conveys balance, proportion, and

rhythmic harmony of a great work of art

• Fits naturally into landscape - reflection of Roman’s attitude toward the land



Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater)• C. 70-80 CE, Rome• Construction began under

Vespasian and completed under Titus who dedicated it as Flavian Amphitheater

• “Colosseum” derived from a statue of Nero known as Colossus

• Athletic events occurred here• Sand floor laid over foundation of

service rooms and tunnels• It could hold 55,000 spectators• Barrel-vaults were greatly used• There was a sun screen awning• The outer wall of the colosseum

consists of 3 levels of arcades• Friezes mark division between levels• Each level uses a different order,

increasing in complexity from bottom to top



Arch of Titus• C. after 81 CE, concrete and white marble,

Rome, Italy• Free standing arch commemorates a triumph or

formal victory celebration, through which war heroes and their captives would parade

• This arch was commisioned by Domitian to honor the capture of Jerusalem in 70 CE by his bro Titus

• The arch’s passage is covered by a barrel vault• The structure originally served as a giant base

for a statue of a four-horse chariot and driver• There are engaged columns of the composite

order• The inscription on the attic story declares that

the Senate and Roman people erected the monument to honor Titus

• The sculptors’ use of elegant Roman capital letter established a standard that calligraphers and alphabet designers still follow



Spoils from the Temple of Solomon, Jerusalem• Relief on Arch of Titus, 7’ marble• The capture of Jerusalem ended a fierce

campaign to crush a revolt of the Jews in Palestine

• The Romans sacked and destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem and carried off its treasures

• The reliefs on the inside walls of the arch show Titus’s soldiers flaunting their riches as they travel through the streets of Rome

• Spatial relationship is demonstrated among figures by rendering close elements in higher relief than those more distant



Column of Trajan• Dedicated c. 112 CE, marble, 125’

high• Would’ve been painted• Continuous narrative of Dacian

campaign• Has been Christianized• Shows Roman bureaucracy• Specificity of soldiers• Shows military strategy and was

imperial propaganda• Trajan is repeatedly displayed as a

strong, stable, and efficient commander of a well-run army

• His enemies are shown as disorganized and pathetic

• Natural and architectural elements in the scenes have been kept small to emphasize the important figures

• The beginning of the narrative starts at the bottom with Trajan’s army crossing the Danube River





Pantheon• C. 118-125 CE, Rome• Temple to the Olympian gods, literally “all the

gods”• Originally stood on a podium and was

approached by stairs from a colonnaded square

• Designed and constructed entirely during the reign of emperor Hadrian

• The building says it was built by Marcus Agrippa son of Lucius who was consul three times, but this is only as a gesture to the memory of the famous consul

• The rotunda walls are 20 ft thick• The cut away squares or coffers -- which once

may have held rosettes -- draw the viewer’s eye to the oculus

• This gives the viewer a sense that he could rise upward out of the building and talk with the gods

• A marble façade hides its brick and concrete interior

• Pope Boniface IV dedicated it as the Christian church of Saint Mary and the Martyrs, ensuring its survival through the Middle Ages





Hadrian’s Villa• C. 125 CE, Tivoli, Italy• Each building of the villa had its own inner

logic and each took advantage of natural land formations and attractive views

• Walls and floors had veneers of marble and travertine or exquisite mosaics and paintings

• Copies of famous Greek statues and sometimes even the originals filled the spaces between columns

• Hadrian loved Greek sculpture and even had the caryatids of the Erechtheion replicated for his palace





Apartment block (insula)• C. 2nd century CE, Ostia• Roman architects based urban plans on the

layout of army camps• The grid plan was adopted from Etruscan

and Greek cities• Towns were divided into 4 quarters defined

by intersecting north-south and east-west avenues called decumanus and cardo

• Ostia was a commerical city with a population of 100k and was laid out for the convience of merchants and traders with a long mainstreat paralleling the Tiber River

• Insulae (“islands”) consisted of brick apartment blocks with internal courtyards, multiple floors, narrow staircases, and occasional overhanging balconies

• Unlike Greek women, Roman women enjoyed a public life outside the home



Equestrian of Marcus Aurelius• C. 175 CE, gilded bronze, 11’, Campidoglio,

Rome• Marcus Aurelius was a successful military

commander who was equally proud of his intellectual attainments

• His imperial portrait also served as propaganda

• It came to be revered mistakenly as a statue of Constantine and therefore escaped being melted down

• The horse’s raised foreleg once trampled a crouching barbarian

• His hair and beard resemble traditional philosopher portraits of the Republican period

• He wears no armor and carries no weapons• Like Egyptian kings, he conquers

effortlessly by the will of the gods• Like his predecessor Augustus, he reaches

out to the people in a persuasive, beneficent gesture

• The sculptor found a balance between the horse and rider size, and it became a model for later artists



Mummy portrait of a Man• C. 160 CE, from Fayum, Egypt, encaustic on

wood• After the death of Cleopatra VII, the Romans

succeeded the Ptolemies as Egypt’s rulers• Fayum portraits were painted faces on panels

inserted into mummy wrappings



Baths of Caracalla• C. 211-217 CE, Rome• Septimius Severus began the popular

public-works project, but his son, Carcalla completed and inaugurated them in his own name

• Baths were recreational and educational centers

• These baths were laid out on a strictly symmetrical plan

• The facilities were grouped in the center of the main building to make use of below-ground furnaces

• Many other facilities -- exercise rooms, shops, latrines, dressing rooms -- were housed on each side of the bathing block

• The baths covered 5 acres• Men and women had separate baths in

some places, but not others• Men had access to the full range of

facilities







Heroic portrait of Trebonianus Gallus• C. 251-253 CE, bronze, 7’11”• “pinhead”• Proportions skewed• Really awkward• Symbolism of taking over• The huge body resembles that of an

athlete or gladiator, like those in the baths of caracalla



Portrait of the Tetrarchs

• C. 305 CE, porphyry (purple stone from Egypt), 4’, from Constantinople

• The idea of a tetrarchy was devised by Diocletian• This sculpture documents a turn in art toward

abstraction and symbolic representation• The 2 figures with beards (probably the senior

Augusti) and the 2 clean-shaven (probably the Caesars) are nearly identical

• Dressed in military garb w/ swords, they embrace each other in a show of imperial unity, proclaiming a kind of peace thru concerted strength and vigilance

• Served as a piece of propaganda and a summary of the state of affairs at the time

• The difficulty of the stone to carve may have added to the figure’s abstractness

• There is great simplification of natural forms to geometric shapes, the disregard for normal human proportions & the emphasis on a message or idea -- this is common in Roman art by the end of the 200’s

• It may have been made in Egypt• Today it is installed at the corner of the façade of the

Cathedral of Saint Mark in Venice



Palace of Diocletian• C. 300 CE, Split, Croatia• Architecture changed under

Diocletian’s patronage• Previously, great palaces had been

semipublic• Diocletian broke with this tradition, by

building a huge and well-fortified imperial residence at Split on the Dalmation coast after he retired from active rule

• Revolutionary in design, the structure recalls the compact, regular plan of a Roman army camp rather than the irregular, sprawling design of Hadrian’s Villa

• The palace was surrounded by a wall and crossed by 2 colonnaded streets dividing it into quarters, each w/ a certain function





Church of Santa Maria Degli Angeli • (Baths of Diocletian, c. 300 CE)• His palace incorporates other buildings (like

the baths)• They were designed by Michelangelo• The baths were later used as a Church





Arch of Constantine• C. 312-315 CE, Rome, next to the colosseum• Erected by senate to memorialize Constantine’s victory

over Maxentius as succesor of Diocletian and Maximian• This huge triple arch dwarfs the nearby Arch of Titus• The attic story has inscribed “To the Emperor

Constantine from the Senate and the Roman People…”• The triumpal insignia on the arch were in part looted

from earlier monuments made for Constantine’s famous predecessors (Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius)

• These reused items show old Roman strength, courage, and piety

• New reliefs made for the arch reflect the long-standing Roman affection for depicting important events w/ realisitc detail

• The figures are stocky, mostly frontal, and are compressed by the buildings into the foreground plane

• The figures, besides Constantine, all look alike• He is visually connected to his predecessors on each

side• This 2-D and abstract style are far removed from the

realism of earlier imperial reliefs• It has an emphasis on authority, ritual, and symbolic

meaning -- this style was adopted by the emerging Xtian Church

• Constantinian art bridges the art of the classical world and the art of the middle ages



Basilica of Constantine• C. 306-313 CE• Maxentius, Constantine’s rival ordered the repair of

many buildings - this was his most impressive undertaking

• This was the last imperial government building erected in Rome

• It functioned as an administrative center and provided a magnificent setting for the emperor when he appeared as supreme judge

• The central hall is covered with groin vaults• And the side aisles, lower barrel vaults





Portrait of Constantine• C. 315-330, from basilica of Constantine,

marble, 8’• This statue, although made of less expensive

materials, must have been awe-inspiring• Constantine was a master at the use of portrait

statues to spread imperial propaganda• He used visible symbols to express authority• He commissioned this statue and had it placed

in the original apse• The statue acted as Constantine’s stand -in • The sculpture combines features of traditional

Roman portraiture with the abstract qualities evident in The Tetrarchs

• The work projects imperial power and dignity with no hint of human frailty or imperfection



Priestess of Bacchus• C. 400 CE, right panel of an ivory

diptych, 11”x 4”• Diptych = pair of panels attached by

hinges• It attests to the close relationship

between their families, perhaps through marriage, as well as to their firmly held beliefs

• One family’s name is inscribed at the top of each panel

• This panel has the family name Symmachorum inscribed at the top

• A stately priestess burns incense at a beautifully decorated altar

• On her head is a wreath of ivy, sacred to Bacchus

• The event occurs under an oak tree, sacred to Jupiter

• It imitates the Augustan style• There is great rendering of the

drapery and foliage that recalls the reliefs of the Ara Pacis



ap art history test 4

Documents

marcus aurelius

roman art

tiber river

middle ages

flavian amphitheater

hadrians villa

shows

paintings