According to ancient traditions, Rome was formed in the middle of the 8th century BC. e. The culture of the Roman Empire, which was considered one of the most influential in the period of antiquity, had a huge impact on European civilization. And this despite the fact that the painting and sculpture of Ancient Rome are based on Greek motives, and the theater and music are inextricably linked with Etruscan ancient traditions.
Characteristics of Ancient Roman Art
Unlike other ancient countries, the Romans did not assign art to educational or moral tasks. On the contrary, the fine art of Ancient Rome was more utilitarian in nature, since it was considered only a way to rationally organize living space. That is why architecture played an important role in the life of the population of this ancient country. The civilization of Ancient Rome still reminds itself of monumental buildings: temples, arenas and palaces.
In addition to magnificent architectural monuments, the culture of Rome in the era of antiquity can be judged by the numerous sculptures that were portraits of those who lived at that time. Life in ancient Rome was always subject to strict rules, and in some periods sculptural portraits were created solely to perpetuate the faces of rulers or famous people. Only after some time, Roman sculptors began to endow their statues with characters or special features. Roman creators preferred to depict important historical events in the form of bas-reliefs.
It is worth noting that the peculiarities of the culture of Ancient Rome consist in the almost complete absence of such phenomena as theater - in our usual understanding, as well as our own mythology. Using the images created by the Greeks for many magnificent works of art, the Romans either distorted events to please their authorities, or did not attach great importance to them at all. This happened primarily because the fine art of Ancient Rome developed under the influence of the prevailing ideology, which was alien to abstract philosophical principles and artistic fiction.
Distinctive features of the art of ancient Rome
Despite the proven existence of Rome as a separate civilization, historians for a long time could not separate ancient Greek art from Roman. However, due to the fact that many works of the artistic and architectural heritage of Ancient Rome were preserved to this day, it was possible to determine the main features inherent exclusively in ancient Roman works. So, what achievements and inventions of Ancient Rome in the field of fine arts characterize it as an independent phenomenon?
- The architectural achievement of the Romans was the combination of spatial perception and art forms in the buildings. Roman architects preferred to build separate buildings and ensembles in natural lowlands, and if there were none, surrounded the buildings with small walls.
- In contrast to the Greek plastic images, Roman art put allegory, symbolism and illusory space. These inventions of ancient Rome in relation to sculptural and artistic images made it possible to give character not only sculptural portraits, but also mosaic or fresco images.
- Ancient Roman artists developed the easel painting that originated in Greece, which was practically not widespread in its historical homeland.
Despite the abundance of subtle and barely noticeable features to the average person, there is a factor that allows even a layman to determine whether a sculptural or architectural object belongs to ancient Roman culture. This is its size. The civilization of Ancient Rome is known throughout the world for its grandiose buildings and sculptures. Their value is several times higher than analogues from Ancient Greece and other countries.
Periodization
The fine art of Ancient Rome developed in several stages, which corresponded to the periods of the historical formation of the state itself. If historians subdivide the evolution of ancient Greek art into formation (archaic), prosperity (classics) and the crisis period (Hellenism), the development of ancient Roman art acquires new features during the change of the imperial dynasty. This phenomenon is due to the fact that socio-economic and ideological factors played a fundamental role in changing stylistic and artistic forms.
The stages of the evolution of art in Rome are considered to be the period of the Roman kingdom (7-5 centuries BC), the republican (5-1 centuries BC) and the period of the Roman empire (1-2 centuries BC). The real flourishing of all types of arts, including sculpture, theater, music, and artistic and applied arts, came at the end of the 1st century BC. e. and continued until the fall of the Roman Empire.
The art of the royal period
The formation of ancient Roman art dates back to the 8th century BC. e., when the main motives in architecture are Etruscan methods of planning buildings, masonry and the use of building materials. This can be judged by the temple of Jupiter of Capitoline. Painting and the manufacture of decorative objects are also closely related to Etruscan roots. Only by the middle of the 7th century BC e. when the Romans colonized Greece, they became acquainted with the artistic techniques of the Greeks. It is worth noting that the ancient Roman artists already then sought to create their works as close as possible to the originals. Historians attribute this to the tradition of making posthumous wax masks that faithfully replicate a person’s facial features. The gods of ancient Rome, whose statues were made during the period of the Roman kingdom, were depicted in the same way as ordinary people.
Republican Art
The republican period of the Roman state was marked by the final formation of architecture: without exception, all complexes (residential and temple) acquired axial structure and symmetry. The facade of the building took shape more luxuriously, and led to the rise of the entrance (usually a stone staircase). In cities, residential development from multi-storey buildings is spreading, while wealthy sections of the population are building suburban terraced houses decorated with frescoes and sculptural compositions. During this period, such types of buildings as the theater of Ancient Rome (amphitheater), aqueducts, bridges were finally formed.
Fine art was based on portrait sculpture: official and private. The first served the purpose of perpetuating statesmen, and the second existed thanks to orders for the manufacture of statues and busts for houses and tombs. Public buildings were decorated with bas-reliefs depicting historical scenes or paintings of the state’s daily life. In the temples, it was most often possible to see paintings (including mosaics and frescoes), which depicted the gods of Ancient Rome.
Roman Empire: The Final Period of the Development of Art
The period of the Roman Empire is considered the time of the true heyday of ancient Roman art. The architecture is dominated by arch, arch and domes. Stone walls are everywhere faced with brick or marble. Large spaces in the premises are occupied by decorative painting and sculptures. The art of ancient Rome during this period undergoes significant changes. In the manufacture of sculptural portraits less attention is paid to individual features, which sometimes look somewhat schematic. At the same time, the sculptors tried to depict the swiftness of the movements, the emotional state of the portrait (the position of the body, arms and legs, hairstyle, etc.). The bas-relief images take the form of panoramas with a gradually developing plot.
Decorative painting, unlike the previous period, becomes more complex due to the introduction of landscape and architectural backgrounds. The colors used for the frescoes are brighter, and the color combinations are more contrasting. In addition to color mosaics, black and white is widely distributed.
The most famous sculptural portraits
Roman portraits of statesmen, gods and heroes are represented by busts or full-size statues. The earliest ancient Roman portrait is considered to be a bronze bust of Junius Brutus. In it, a great influence of Greek art is felt, but the facial features typical of the Romans and slight asymmetry make it possible to once again make sure that the ancient Roman sculptors were already then, in the 3rd century BC. e., gave their works the maximum of realism. Despite the lack of modern metal processing technologies, the small details of the bust are beautifully executed. First of all, this is noticeable in the fine engraving of the beard and hair.
The most realistic is still considered a sculptural portrait of Vespasian, the Roman emperor. The master not only conveyed his image in the smallest details, but also endowed the bust with characteristic features. Particular attention is attracted to the eyes: deep-set and small, they radiate the cunning and wit of the emperor. But the most remarkable is the fact that the sculptor depicted the smallest details (strained veins and veins on the neck, crossing wrinkles on the forehead), which speak about the strength and inflexibility of the state leader. The sculptors and bust of the loan shark Lucius Cecilia Yucunda, whose greedy eyes and greasy hair are depicted with amazing accuracy, turned out to be no less expressive.
Great monuments of architecture of the ancient Roman era
To date, none of the buildings built in the era of Ancient Rome have been completely preserved. The most famous and famous of them is the Colosseum - an arena where fights of gladiators and speeches of statesmen of different levels, including emperors, took place. The temple of Saturn also has a no less vivid history, which has repeatedly been destroyed and rebuilt. It, unlike the Colosseum, cannot be seen, since only a few columns remain from the magnificent structure. But it was possible to save the famous Pantheon, or the temple of all the gods, which is a fairly large building, crowned by a dome.
Poets of Ancient Rome and their works
Despite the mythology borrowed from the Greeks, the ancient Romans also had their own talents in the field of composing verses, songs and fables. The most famous poets of Rome - Virgil and Horace. The first was famous for writing the poem "Aeneid", which was very reminiscent of the "Iliad" of Homer. Despite the less expressive poetic and artistic component, this poem is still considered the standard of the original Latin language. Horace, on the contrary, had an excellent command of the word of art, thanks to which he became a court poet, and lines from his poems and songs still appear in the works of many writers.
Theater art
The Theater of Ancient Rome initially had little resemblance to what we consider today as such. Almost all the performances took place in the genre of competitions between poets and musicians. Only sometimes the ancient Roman art lovers could enjoy the game of actors accompanied by a large choir. Often, circus performances, theatrical pantomime and solo or group dances were shown to the audience. A distinctive feature of the ancient Roman theater performance was the large number of troupes. Regarding this, viewers said that there are fewer of them than actors.
It is worth noting that the costumes and makeup did not pay much attention then. Only occasionally, playing the role of an emperor or a person significant in the state, actors dressed in more magnificent red clothes. The repertoire consisted mainly of works by Roman poets: Horace, Virgil and Ovid. Often, leisurely narrations and chants in theaters replaced the bloody battles of gladiators, which the audience went with no less pleasure.
Music and Musical Instruments
The music of ancient Rome was formed independently of the ancient Greek. During mass events and performances, the most popular were musical instruments capable of producing a very loud sound: pipes, horns and the like. However, most often during the performance they preferred stringed instruments: timpani, harp, kiphara. It is worth noting that everyone was fond of music, including the Roman emperors. Among the musicians and singers were those who were immortalized in sculpture. Especially popular and the love of the Roman people in that era were singers and kyfared Apelles, Terpny, Diodorus, Anaxenor, Tigellius and Mesomed. The music of Ancient Rome is still alive, since not only the main motifs, but also musical instruments are preserved.
The influence of ancient Roman art on modernity
The influence of Roman civilization on modernity is said a lot and everywhere. Of course, the characteristic of Ancient Rome, or rather, its area that relates to art, is still not represented in its entirety. Nevertheless, it can already be argued that the architecture, sculpture and fine art of the ancient Roman era directly influenced the cultural component of almost all European states. This is especially noticeable in architecture, when the harmony and majesty of buildings is enclosed in a clear symmetrical form.