Roman Architecture and Art: Republic and Empire

Rome: Republic and Empire

Roman Art

Roman art adopted Greek forms, creating a realistic and sober style that prioritized practicality and functionality over pure aesthetics.

Roman Architecture

• Imitated Greek models, emphasizing practicality and functionality in large cities and public buildings.
• Utilized arches and barrel vaults.
• Common materials included brick, marble, and concrete.
• Combined architectural orders.
• Civil architecture was more prominent than religious architecture.

Arches and Vaults

Used in homes and temples, these structures were often clad with exterior marble panels. The Colosseum exemplifies a composite order, featuring Doric on the first floor, Ionic on the second, and Corinthian on the third.

Civil Architecture

Cities

Initially agricultural, Roman cities evolved into large urban centers. They were designed on a grid system, divided into two axes, and surrounded by a wall with four gates. The central forum housed the theater, basilica, and temple.

Basilicas

Early Christian temples came in two types, with the ground floor resembling Eastern Greek designs.

Housing

• Domus: Detached houses built around an atrium (an open central area collecting water, air, and light).
• Insulae: Five or six-story rental housing buildings.
• Triclinium: Dining room.
• Villa: Country estate or mansion.

Theaters

Comprised of the cavea (seating area), orchestra, proscenium stage, and front stage. They featured semicircular seating, often dug into a mountainside, with a semicircular orchestra and side access.

Amphitheaters

Formed by the union of two theaters, these elliptical structures had a cavea, a central arena, and lower corridors or moats.

Circuses

Used for chariot and horse races, circuses were elliptical, with a central spine (spina) adorned with obelisks and statues.

Baths

Serving hygienic, leisure, and social functions, Roman baths included game rooms, gyms, and libraries. The hypocaust, a heating system, utilized a second-floor furnace. Key areas included the apodyterium (changing rooms), caldarium (hot water and steam), tepidarium (warm water), and frigidarium (cold water).

Religious Architecture

Temples featured an entrance portico, columns attached to the sides, and were raised on a podium with a staircase.

Memorial Buildings

• Triumphal Arches: Imitated Hellenistic Greek designs.
• Memorial Columns: Huge structures decorated with spiral sculptures, windows, vaulted memorial inscriptions, and a personal statue on a chariot.

Roman Sculpture

Materials used included marble, bronze, and wood. Sculptures often depicted citizens and served to honor individuals. Two main genres existed:

• Anonymous Works: Portraits of ancestors, full-body, in various poses: standing, sitting (women), equestrian (Imperial), wrapped in robes (togati), or protected by a shell (thoracati).
• Historical Reliefs: Found on columns, triumphal arches, tombs, and shrines.

Latin Alphabet

Derived from the Etruscan alphabet, the Latin alphabet initially had 21 letters, with two more added after the conquest of Greece. Three types of Roman letters existed:

• Capitalis Monumentalis: Monumental uppercase letters used for inscriptions.
• Capitalis Quadrata: Square uppercase letters with marked spaces between lines and letters, but no spaces between words. The letters 'F' and 'L' were typically larger.
• Capitalis Rustica: Condensed uppercase letters written quickly to save space on papyrus or parchment.

The scroll, often made from animal skins, was more durable and flexible than papyrus rolls and thus more commonly used. The codex, a collection of two, four, or eight sheets of parchment sewn into a book, allowed writing on both sides.