History of Western Art continued

• Aeneas

  Great Trojan hero, son of Venus, escapes the destruction of Troy with his mortal father and styles in Italy
• Romulus and Remus


  Twin descendants of Aeneas, and the sons of Mars, the god of war, are left for dead and raised by a she-wolf
• Romulus founds the city of Rome


  1. Kills his brother

  2. Founds the city of Rome
• Romulus


  Ensures population growth by stealing women from the neighboring city
• Portrait busts from the Roman Republic period

  • Represented the head, neck, and upper body of an individual
• Pompeii fresco paintings

  • Technique for making a mural painting:
  • Layers of mortar and plaster applied to the surface of the walls
  • With the final layer still damp, artists would outline their composition and begin to paint
  • The paint and plaster of the wall would dry together - very stable technique!
  • Only small segments could be complete at any given time
  • Seams between these segments were skillfully disguised by the design of the painting
  • When finished, the surface of the painting would be polished with marble dust to make it smooth
  • A final gleam was obtained by applying a wax varnish
• Augustus' reign and the Pax Augustus


  • Rome transitions from a Republic to an Empire (rule by one emperor)
  • Augustus occupies key positions in all areas
  • Emperors begin to use art to control popular opinion of their rule
  • Distribute images of themselves to get their image out among the masses
  • Engage in public works to better Rome and give back to the people (roads, baths, stadiums)
• Nero's disastrous reign


  Emperors who don't placate the people find themselves in trouble
• Concrete

  • The Romans were the first to invent concrete
  • Recipe includes lime mortar, volcanic sand, water, and small stones
  • Since concrete isn't aesthetically pleasing, it is often faced with brick, marble, or stucco
• Advantages of using concrete

  • Strong, durable, long lasting
  • Less need for interior support (columns)
  • Can be shaped with more possibility
  • Can build higher than was previously possible
  • Can be fenestrated (made with openings) without undermining stability
• The Colosseum


  • Made of concrete
  • Arches and vaults were used for support
• The Arch of Constantine


  The arch was made of concrete which was covered by a layer of marble
• The instability of the Roman Late Empire Period


  Emperors terms were ending through assassinations making it full of instability
• The religious reform of Constantine


  Constantine was the first emperor to accept Christianity as his religion
• Byzantium / Constantinople

  • Before Constantine, the city was Greek and called byzantine, later renamed constantinople
  • Byzantine refers to the eastern part of rome
• Hagia Sophia


  • Made of concrete, brick and mortar
  • Used pendentives to support the dome
• The Byzantine Style of Art


  • The naturalistic, classical style from greece
  • The non-naturalistic, stylized style of the Late Roman Empire and Jewish & Early Christian art
  • Subjects were depicted in angular forms and had elongated faces
• Early Christian Worship Practices

  Early Christians were forced to worship in underground catacombs or secretly converted houses to avoid persecution from Romans
• The earliest representations of Jesus Christ vs. modern depictions


  Early representations look roman
• The adaptations that took place between Early Christian art and Greco-Roman traditions


  • Iconography
  • Architectural Influence
• Classicism


  • The revival of the styles, forms, and techniques of Ancient Greece and Rome.
• Humanism


  • Movement that focused on the worth of individuals.