etruscan to early christian
TRANSCRIPT
Etruscan to Early Christian
Etruscan ArtCapitoline Wolf• Tense, watchful animal• Spare flanks, gaunt ribs• Alert eyes and ears, fierce and
protective• May not have had children; current
children made in the Renaissance• Expresses defiance, snarls• Not wolf-like: wolves have no
manes nor locks shaped like hooks• Wolf-like in its long pointed nose,
small head, short ears, and strong forelegs
Apollo from Veii•Terracotta•Stood on the roof of a temple•Greek Archaic in inspiration, but having a warmer sense of personality•Meant to be seen from below•Strides forward•Tightly fitted drapery
http://www.mysteriousetruscans.com/aplu.html
Sarcophagus from Cerveteri• Banquet scene• Made of separate terracotta pieces
then joined together• Ashes buried inside• Symbiotic relationship emphasized:
man protects woman with a gentle hand on shoulder; woman feeds man with her gesture
• Familial union• Broad shoulders, large chests of
men, legs seem neglected• Strange turn of the body• Greek Archaic smile• C. 520 BCE
Apollo from Veii
•Terracotta
•Stood on the roof of a temple
•Greek Archaic in inspiration, but having a warmer sense of personality
•Meant to be seen from below
•Strides forward
•Tightly fitted drapery
The inside of the lid of the tomb, a man diving into the water from a tall structure. What does it represent? The diving into the world of the dead (into the Okeanos)? Another interpretation is that the columns represent the Pillars of Hercules as a symbol of the end of the world maybe a symbol of the end of life
Tomb of the Leopards and Tomb of the Reliefs
•Underground tomb chambers reflect homes of the living
•Buried in necropolises
•Brightly painted walls, or high relief carving of walls
•Everyday items on walls
•Carved stone seats to sit on
•Paintings of banquets and entertainment
• Circa 30 CE – Jesus Crucified• 65 CE – Peter and Paul executed• 312 – Constantine Converts after the Battle of the
Mulvian Bridge• 313 –Edict of Milan (a legal religion)• 325 – Council of Nicea• 381 – The co-emperors Gratian and Theodosius
publish their edict that the doctrine of the Trinity is to be the official state religion.
• 410 – Rome is Sacked• 430 - St. Augustine Dies• 476 – Last Western Emperor – Romulus Augustus
Rome, c. 80 B.C.
Head of a Roman Patrician
•Bust
•Severe, unwavering, resolute
•Knowledgeable, respected
•Romans felt the head was a good enough representation of a person
•Traditional family values
•Influenced by Hellenistic Greek art
•Shows the virtues of old age
•Was old age enhanced on the figure?
Temple Virilis, Rome• Temple to the Roman god of
harbors, Portunus• Etruscan influence in the
elevation of the temple on a pedestal
• One main entrance in the front• Wide flight of stairs• Ionic columns• Roman desire for big interiors
pushes the walls out to meet the columns
• Influence of the Greeks in overall design
Pompeii
Explosion by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD buried Pompeii
Forum• Large rectangular public square
in center of town• Surrounded by a colonnade• Temple of Jupiter focus of
forum• Surrounding the forum are the
buildings that housed the business, government and religious activities of Pompeii
PompeiiRoman Houses• Faced inward• Interiors lit from atrium, few
windows on exterior• Atrium formed the opening for
rainwater to fall in the impluvium
• Columns surround impluvium• Interiors of rooms are painted;
open up interior space• Shops are outside the house
facing the street• Windows are small and limited
in number
Ixion Room•Fresco, linear perspective, atmospheric perspective
•Foreshortening
•Ixion murdered his father-in-law and planned to seduce Hera
•Zeus struck him with a thunderbolt and ordered him to be tied to a wheel in hell
•Scheme of red and white fields
•On bottom painted to resemble marble slabs
•On top, architectural vistas that do not align to a single viewpoint
•Thin delicate motifs alternate with framed mythological scenes
Villa of the Mysteries
Dionysiac Mystery Frieze•Fresco, Foreshortening
•2nd Pompeian Style painting
•Large figures in a frieze-like format
•Initiation rites into the female cult of Dionysos
•Figures act out mystery rites
•Painted marble panels at bottom, from the First Pompeian style of painting
•Bright Pompeian red background pushes figures forward
•No linear perspective, but three dimensional illusionism
•Figures interact with each other on adjacent wall spaces
4th Pompeian Style
Head of Emperor AugustusFirst half of the 1st century A.D.; Roman; Marble; 48.3 cm (19 in.); Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James S. Holden; 24.101
This portrait of Rome's first emperor is an idealized, youthful image, which harks back to the representation of athletes and heroes of 5th-century B.C. Greece. It follows the portrait well known from a marble statue of Augustus, discovered in the villa of Augustus's wife Livia outside of Rome. That handsome likeness was the source of inspiration for hundreds of portraits of the emperor all over the expanding Roman Empire. The statue may have served as the cult figure in a temple to the deified emperor, or stood in a public or private place of honor.
Roman Early Imperial ArtAugustus of Primaporta• Idealization, generalized face• No personal idiosyncrasies• Contrapposto• Suggests a god and a man• Bare feet gives him heroic stature• Sharp eyebrow edges• Oratorical pose• On military breastplate, the return of a Roman standard from
Parthia• Back not carved, placed in a niche• Cupid riding on a dolphin is a reference to Venus, Augustus’ great
ancestor• Sword in hand is modern• He was 76 when it was carved
Rome, c.15 CE
Augustus of Primaporta
•Idealization, generalized face
•No personal idiosyncrasies
•Contrapposto
•Suggests a god and a man
•Bare feet gives him heroic stature
•Sharp eyebrow edges
•Oratorical pose
•On military breastplate, the return of a Roman standard from Parthia
•Back not carved, placed in a niche
•Cupid riding on a dolphin is a reference to Venus, Augustus’ great ancestor
•Sword in hand is modern
•He was 76 when it was carved
Ara Pacis and Procession of the Imperial Family•Altar of Peace
•Delicately carved acanthus leaf patterns on the exterior
•Altar connected with Augustus’ homecoming after a long absence
•Romans appear as a ruling class, not as gods
•Actual identifiable Romans depicted
•Children are depicted as children, not shown as small adults•Crowding of figures in processional, not classically dispersed•Augustus passed laws to promote family valuesTellus Relief •Mother Earth suckles her children•Personifications of earth, wind, fire and water rest at peace around her•Roman peace brings bounty to all
Roman EmperorsA. Ceasar AugustusB. TiberiusC. NeroD. VespasianE. TitusF. TrajanG. HadrianH. Marcus AureliusI. DiocletianJ. Constantine
• 27 BC – 14AD• 14 – 37• 54-68• 69 – 79• 79 – 81• 98 – 117• 117 -138• 161 – 180• 284 – 305• 306 - 337
Roman Architecture: Colosseum
Colosseum, Rome• Real name, Flavian Ampitheatre• Accommodates 50,000 spectators• Miles of vaulted spaces• Barrel vaults, groin vaults• Concrete• Elliptical form• 80 entrances• Top floor flat columns in Corinthian style,
most decorative• Imperial box opposite gladiator entrance• Small rectangular windows on fourth floor
let in light into upper corridors
Façade of travertine blocks
Flagstaffs balanced on marble buttresses visible on fourth floor held up a sunshield for the spectators
Used for gladiator combat, naval battles
Roman High Imperial Art Column of Trajan• Ashes of Trajan placed at base• Stood in Trajan’s Forum,
surrounded by buildings so that the reliefs could be read
• Low relief, no shadows to enhance visibility
• Originally painted• Continuous narrative around
column• 2,500 figures in all, 150 separate
episodes• Depicts the war against the
Dacians
Roman ArchitecturePantheon, Rome• Dedicated to all the gods• Porch has 16 columns• Influenced by the Parthenon• Corinthian capitals• Two pediments• Dome made of concrete, at base 20
feet thick• Interior height equals width• A hemisphere shape• Coffers relieve concrete stress on
dome: each contains four recesses except the top contains three
• Ancient metal roof almost gone• Repetition of square and circle
Roman Architecture
Pantheon, Rome (continued)• Original dome decorated with
stucco and painting• Original marble walls survive• Floor has drainage system• Oculus allows light and air in• Light from oculus symbolizes
sun’s movement through the sky
• Base of building made of concrete
Equestrian statue of Marcus Aureliusca. 175 AD
Marcus Aurelius•Mistaken for Constantine, which is why it survives•Appears as head priest: Pontifex Maximus•Wears a toga•Passing before people•Gesture is oratorical•Horse is spirited, difficult to control, but Marcus controls him effortlessly•Rider is larger than horse
Roman Late Imperial Art
The Tetrarchs• Depicts four emperors who
ruled at once• Figures are cylinders, lack body
articulation• Same gestures, a Roman salute• Done in porphyry, a purple
stone symbolizing royalty• Stubby proportions• Squat bodies• No emotion on faces• Deeply furrowed lines on
foreheads
Roman Late Imperial Art
Head of Constantine• 8 ½ foot head• Part of a seated statue that
must have been 30 feet• Enthroned in the Basilica of
Constantine• Metal crown was attached to
brow• Enlarged and detailed carving
of eyes• Lack of individuality
Roman Late Imperial ArtArch of Constantine, Rome• Commemorates Constantine’s victory at
the Milvian Bridge• Friezes and sculptures taken from the
monuments of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius
• New friezes done in situ• Renunciation of classical images• Heads are larger than bodies• Lack of space, very crowded
composition• Figures face center• Mechanical and repeated stances• Shallow relief• Not fully modeled• Details not incised• Rigid and formal composition
Catacombs, Rome• Four million buried under
Rome alone• Galleries are 1 meter wide and
2-3 meters high• Loculi, cubiculum• Burial underground cheaper
than surface burials• Christian belief in burial
because Christ was buriedhttp://www.catacombe.roma.it/
Early Christian Art
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus in the Vatican, Rome, 359 A.D.
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus• Christ in the center seated as
an emperor• Sits on a personification of the
sky: Jupiter/Poseidon? with a veil over his head
• Christ seated in a heavenly Jerusalem
• Scenes not in narrative order• Classical elements in
pediments, arches and columns• Figures much larger than
animals they are next to
Early Christian Art in the Age of Constantine
Old Saint Peter’s, Rome• Placed over the site where Saint Peter
may have been buried in a pagan cemetery
• Roman basilica• Axial plan• Atrium, narthex, nave, transept, apse:
each has a function• Longitudinal orientation with entrance at
one end leading directly to the apse, unlike Basilica of Constantine
• Roman arch over the altar• Wall space has arches, transept,
clerestory• Timber Roof• Lavish mosaics decorated interior• Replaced in the 16th Century
Early Christian Art in the Age of Constantine
Santa Costanza, Rome• Centrally planned building with
Tholos structure• Altar in center• Aisles surround the altar and are
barrel vaulted• 12 column pairs and 12 clerestory
windows symbolize the apostles• Austere interior not original• Mosaic subjects stress salvation• Interlace patterns• Classical subjects incorporated
into Christian context• Mosaics adorn ceiling, in Roman
period they were used on floors
•Contains shading to indicate depth & light source
•Hint of landscape and rocks
•Young adult with a halo
•Imperial gold and purple
•Long golden staff that ends wit a cross
The Good Shepherd
Galla Placidia, Ravena
c. 425-26
In the late Fifth and early Sixth Centuries, the Western half of The Roman Empire fell into a shambles. Even Italy was under the control of feuding barbarians.The Emporer Justinian rallied his forces and Recoverred Ravenna. For a short time Ravena became the byzantine capital in the West and a number of important early Byzantine monuments are preserved there today. The church of San Vitale in Ravenna is one of these monuments. SanVitale's humble exterior protects a glistening interior full of glass mosaics and sumptuous deccorative marble.
Emperor Justinian and Attendants, Saint Vitale, Ravenna, c.547
Early Byzantine Art in the Age of Justinian
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul• Combination of central plan and axial
plan• Exterior: plain and massive, little
decoration• Altar at far end, but emphasis placed
over the area covered by the dome• Dome supported by pendentives• Powerful central dome, with forty
windows at base• Cornice unifies space• Arcade decoration: wall and capitals
are flat and thin but richly ornamented
• Great fields for mosaic decoration• At one time had four acres of gold
mosaics on walls •Many windows punctuate wall space
•Minarets added in Islamic period
Built during the city’s rebuilding after riots of 532
“Purple makes a fine shroud” – attributed to Theodora
Hagia Sophia
• Designed by 2 scholar-theoreticians:• Anthemius of Tralles (geometry and optics) &
Isisorus of Miletus (physics)• Rumored to have been constructed by angels in 5
years (532 – 537)• Massiveness of piers and walls disguised by mosaics• Dome has a band of 40 windows around the top
making it appear to float (first one fell in 558)
Early Byzantine Artin the Age of Justinian
San Vitale, Ravenna (c. 547)• Byzantine forces capture
Ravenna in 540• 8 sided structure• Plain exterior except porch
added later in Renaissance• Large windows for illuminating
interior designs• Interior has thin columns and
open arched spaces, complex spatial system
• Sense of mystery in the space
Justinian and Attendants• To his left the clergy, to his right the
military• Dressed in royal purple and gold• Symmetry, frontality• Holds a plate for the host, or perhaps
a golden bowl• Slight impression of procession
forward• No volume of figures, seem to float,
and yet step on each other’s feet• No background to set the figures in
space• No landscape, gold background
indicates timelessness• Maximianus identified, patron of San
Vitale• Halo indicates saintliness
Pictorial space not depicted as a window to the natural world (i.e. Romans)
Theodora and Attendants• Hieratic composition• Slight displacement of
absolute symmetry with Theodora
• Sumptuously executed• She holds a chalice for
the ceremony and is about to go behind the curtain
• Altar boys and ladies at court accompany her
Transfiguration of Christ with Sant’Apollinare, 1st Bishop of Ravenna (549)
•Revelation of Christ’s divinity
•12 sheep surround Christ
•Expressing essential spiritual meaning rather than the material world
Byzantine Icons
How Icons Are Made• Made of rectangular wooden panels• Painters were monks and worked with humility, rarely signing anything• Wood prepared by covering the surface with fish glue and then a layer of
putty• Cloth placed on top and successive layers of stucco are laid over the cloth• Paper sketch is placed over and lines are traced on the surface• Gilded, then painted• Varnish applied last to make it shine and protect the surface• Icons were often handled and kissed
Byzantine Icons
• Iconoclastic Controversy: icons prohibited as sacrilegious and pagan between 726-843
• Pronounced by Leo III and caused widespread destruction, destroying most icons
•Thought to have miraculous powers
•Jesus sent a portait to King Abgar of Edessa, known as the Mandylion. In Constantinople and taken by Crusaders in 10th century
•Church ar firt was uneasy about the power of images, but accepted as aids to meditation and prayer
•Created aneed for more immediate and personal religion
Virgin and Child Enthroned between Saints Theodore and George (c. 600)
• Theodore and George, two military saints, have rigid frontal poses, as befits the military
• Archangels painted with free open brushwork
• Devoid of depth• Virgin relatively solid and three-
dimensional, her knees to the right• Virgin’s head frontal, but eyes
averted• Christ convincingly rendered as a
child• Perhaps executed by three
different artists in different styles
Byzantine Icons
Annunciation (c. 1300)• Classical looking angel with
heavy modeling• Strong line surfaces• Mary sits enthroned• Realistic setting contrasts with
golden background• Small squashed figures hold up
canopy
Rüblev, Old Testament Trinity(Three Angels Visiting Abraham)c. 1410 - 25
• Byzantine affinity for repeating forms from older art
• Forms of angels are traditional• Heads of angels nearly identical• Poses are mirror images• Luminous appeal of colors• Deep color harmonies of
draperies• Extensive use of gold• Nearly spaceless background