8-2 Early Imperial Roman Art and Architecture

Street Plan of Pompeii

temples and government buildings surrounded a main square, or forum; shops and houses lined mostly straight, paved streets; and a protective wall enclosed the heart of the city. the forum was the center of civic life in Roman cities. business was conducted in its basilicas and porticos, religious duties performed in its temples and speeches delivered in its open square.

House of the the Vettii, Pompeii, 
62-79 CE

surrounded on three sides by a portico which protected a large cistern on one side that supplied the house and garden with water.

Wall Paintings, Ixion Room, House of the Vettii, Pompeii

complex combination of painted fantasies fills the walls of reception room off the peristyle garden. base of walls holds a lavish fried of simulated colored marble imitating the actual stone veneers that are found in some roman residences. above that are broad areas of pure red or white(dado). pictures of greek mythology

Villa of the Mysteries, near Pompeii, 60-50 BCE, Plan

just outside the city walls. villas were the country houses of wealthy romans and their plans. the entrance leads through the peristyle to the atrium, a reversal of the standard progression. elaborate figural murals-rises of a mystery religion.

Initiation Rites of the Cult of Bacchus, Villa of the Mysteries, near Pompeii,  60-50 BCE

mystery religon. often performed in private homes as well as in special buildings. perhaps room was a shrine for a meeting place. simulated marble dado

Cityscape, Villa at Boscoreale,
ca. 50-30 BCE

urban panorama. surfaces seem to dissolve behind an inner frame of columns and lintels, opening onto a maze of complicated architectural forms, like the painted scenic back-drops of a stage. intuitive perspective. general impression of real space.

Still Life with Peaches, House of the Stags, Herculaneum, before 79 CE

items have been carefully arranged on two stepped shelves to give the composition clarity and balance. A strong clear light floods the picture from left to right, casting shadows, picking up highlights and enhancing the illusion of solid objects in real space.

Portrait of a Married Couple, Pompeii, ca. 50 CE

look out from their simulated spatial world through the wall into the viewers' space within the room. the swarthy, wispy-bearded man addresses us with a direct stare holding a scroll in his left hand (education) wife(more prominent in foreground) less direct gaze.

Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum), Rome, 70-80 CE

159 ft high it is an oval measuring 615 by 510 feet. the floor was laid over a foundation of service rooms and tunnels that provided an area for the athletes, performers, animals, and equipment. three levels of arcades surmounted by a wall-like attic story. each arch is framed by engaged columns. entablature-like friezes mark the divisions between levels. each level also uses a different architectural order, increasing in complexity

Arch of Titus, Rome, ca. 81 CE

constructed of concrete and faced with marble. free standing gateway whose passage is covered by a barrel vault. composite order columns supporting an entablature. inscription on the uppermost or attic story declares that the senate and the roman people erected the monument to honor titus

Spoils of Jerusalem, relief, Arch of Titus, Rome, ca. 81 CE

a relief on the inside walls of the arch capturing the drama of the occasion. titus' soldiers flaunting this booty as they carry it through the streets of Rome.

Young Flavian Woman, ca. 90 CE

her well observed recognizable features a strong nose and jaw heavy brows deep set eyes and a soft neck contrast with the smoothly rendered flesh and soft sensual lips. her hairs is piled high in an extraordinary mass of ringlets following the latest court fashion. took drillwork (cutting deep grooves with straight sides)