The Tiber Muse, originally discovered in the vicinity of the Tiber River in Rome in 1885, is a product of the Graeco-Roman era and is dated around the 2nd-1st century BCE. This date and other formal qualities of the sculpture such as the pose, drapery and medium suggest that it was produced during the Hellenistic Period of Greece and Asia Minor, and then imported to Rome at a later date. The importation, copying, and public display of Greek art were common from the start of Roman conquering of Greek territories and throughout the Roman Imperial era. The formal qualities of this piece, to be explored later in this exhibition, are comparable to those of the Nike of Samothrace in that they both exhibit the dramatic, elaborate techniques common of the Hellenistic Period (323-30 BCE) that embrace a range of emotions, providing us with an overpowering, multi-sensory experience as we view these pieces. The qualities and purpose of art during the Hellenistic Period were quite different from those of the Byzantine Era, to be further explored by comparing these two sculptures with the Justinian and Attendants mosaic from San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. Through a formal analysis of these three works, the meaning, purpose and values of the culture that produced them will become clear, and we can further understand the historical context of these two very different time periods.…
SHELDON NODELMAN from E. D’Ambra, ed., Roman Art in Context. NY: Prentice Hall. 1993 pp. 10‐20 Like all works of art. the portrait is a system of signs; it is often an ideogram of “public’ meanings condensed into the image of a human face. Roman portrait sculpture from the Republic through the late Empire-the second century BCE. to the sixth CE -constitutes what is surely the most remarkable body of portrait art ever created. Its shifting montage of abstractions from human appearance and character forms a language in which the history of a whole society can be read. Beginning in the first century B.C., Roman artists invented a new kind of portraiture, as unlike that of the great tradition of Greek Hellenistic art (whence the Romans had ultimately derived the idea of portraiture itself and a highly developed vocabulary of formal devices for its realization) as it was unlike that of their own previous Italo-Hellenistic local tradition. This new conception, conferring upon the portrait an unprecedented capacity to articulate and project the interior processes of human experience, made possible the achievement in the ensuing six centuries of what is surely the most extraordinary body of portrait art ever created, and forms the indispensable basis for the whole of the later European portrait tradition, from its rebirth in the 13th and 14th centuries to its virtual extinction in the 20th. No clear account of the nature of this reformulation of the structure of representation or of its historical significance has so far been given. That the portraiture which it engendered is strikingly “realistic” in the sense of evoking the presence of an astonishingly concrete and specific individuality, to a degree previously unknown and rarely equaled since, has been the universal experience of every observer. But this question-begging term (first used to characterize Roman portraiture, in opposition to the “idealism” imputed to the Greeks, three…
Many of William Shakespeare’s plays are so memorable because of the protagonists presented in them. Shakespeare delicately crafts (his) protagonists as complex characters that (evoke) different responses from the audience, often leaving the audience with a memorable impression of how they initially felt about the protagonist and how over time those feelings changed due to their experiences in life. Even after the play, the protagonist’s reactions to the events that took place in the play stay with us, because they make us question how we would have handled the situations that the protagonist was presented with. This exact feeling happens in two of Shakespeare’s early plays, Titus Andronicus and Hamlet. Both plays present two protagonists of…
Catullus was a Roman poet in the 1st century BCE. His poems were known for being differently written from what his contemporaries were writing at the time. While others were writing more “manly” poetry, about their sexual conquests, Catullus was less racy in his writings. In his “Poem 1”, Catullus is dedicating his new poetry to a man named Cornelius. While not a love poem like he usually wrote, “Poem 1” shows several aspects of Roman culture and gives us a glimpse of how Romans tried to make a lasting impression on the world of the future.…
Art historians labeled Romantism as artwork with loss features fluid brushwork and strong colors, dramatic contrast from light and drack contrast, complex composition and expressive posses meant to create dramatic paintings and sculptures. Romantism was a very imaginative and expressive approach to art. The piece I choose to display Romantism is Large ODALISQUE this oil on canvas painting was created by Jean-auguste-dominique ingref in Paris during 1814. In this painting we see a young woman naked facing away and looking back toward us. The cool blues of the bed and curtains make her skin pop off the painting really giving her larger then life appeal. Her body is not proportionate it but is still compelling to the audience. This painting shows Romantism because of the light and dark contrast, crisp lines and exotic larger then life appeal. This piece screams Romantisim from the look in her eyes, seducing you into imaging what life would be like lying next to her. Realism replaced and changed Romantism and provides a great contrast of change within a short time period. The piece I choose to compare to Odalisqu is Olympia by Edouard Manet, which is also oil on canvas created in pairs 49 years later in 1863. The Realism in this piece is easy to see after a few minutes of observations. This woman displays in this picture was not like the one before. She is a prostate and we can see this by the way she carries herself and the fact that she is naked but has high heels on just like modern day stripers. We can also tell from her necklace being tided in the front. Symbolizing easiness because she can put it on and off herself. One would only have to look at her facile expression to realize that she is not seducing you or trying to fantasize your imagination like to pervious painting. Her hand is also covering up gentles in a way that displays “pay me first”. That is the deference between Romantism…
There we observed the change in the form of statues. Being able to see the statues and painting we’ve studied and saw in our textbook in real life amused me. Being able to go up to them and look at the details rather than staring at the photographs also made me more interested in the art itself. For this assignment I decided to compare “Seated Statue of Gudea” and “Statue of Eros Sleeping”.…
Picture yourself driving down the road to your favorite sporting event. You are driving along and eventually get to a bridge that crosses state lines. You cross the bridge and continue on down the road to the sports stadium. As you are driving, you think to yourself, I wonder where all of this came from. The answer to this is Rome. As I will discuss in my paper, roads, bridges, and sporting arenas are all examples we can thank the Romans for. Also in this paper I will explain the importance Roman society has on the world today. I will discuss many topics including events and ideas from the Pax Romana period, ideas and virtues from the Sermon on the Mount, and the magnificent Roman Colosseum.…
At the start of the 14th century a time period in human history started that lasted until the mid-seventieth century known as the Renaissance. A rebirth occurred that made this era captivating to study. This rebirth of intellect was in the form of a renewed interest in the classical form of thinking. This renewed way of thinking shifted the prime importance of culture away from divine and supernatural matters, to humankind now being the main importance. With this new culture based on classism, artworks started to become more common and wanted as the artists began to gain recognition. The scholars saw a new found interest in the studding of ancient Greek and Latin classics. The art work that was being produced showed increase detail in not only…
Yavetz, Zwi. Julius Caesar and His Public Image. Aspects of Greek and Roman Life. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983. Web.…
The Satyrica, by Petronius, helps the modern historian visualize what activities may have occurred in a house like the House of the Vettii. Although Petronius’ work is a satire criticizing the copious decorations and other displays of wealth at fictional Trimalchio’s home, it provides the modern historian with a glimpse of how a home of a wealthy person may have been decorated and how invited guests may have reacted. After all, satire is a hyperbole of the truth that makes fun of certain customs in order to provide a social commentary. It is evident that to the narrator Encolpius, the displays of wealth in Trimalchio’s home serve as a distraction and, later in the narrative, a nuisance. As a result, one can infer that opulence in a Roman home…
One of the best known works of Hellenistic sculpture is Nike of Samothrace, now located in the Louvre museum in Paris. It is a demonstrative, and powerful sculpture which encapsulates everything great about Ancient Greece. The sculpture is made of Rhodian marble, stands 2.45 meters tall and 2.35 meters wide including its wings (Burn, 2004, p. 89). Nike’s sculptor is not well known, however it is presumed to have been constructed by the sculptor Pythokritos (Pollitt, 1986, p. 114) during the early second century BC.…
The male youth, known as the Kouros, was depicted in the nude during the Archaic Period of Greek art. The Kouros was made between 590 and 580 BCE, out of marble. They used this beige marble as a durable material for their sculptures. The Kouros is depicted as young man in a stiff, upright position with his arms hanging at either side. His body form and facial features make him look very boyish and youthful. This is specifically shown in his small waist and shorter size as a whole. It can be interpreted by the Greeks portrayal of the human figure that they were greatly influenced by the Egyptians. They were also influenced by the Egyptians burial practices, which is why this sculpture was used as a grave marker of a young aristocrat. The main…
There are so many ways in which history has been documented over time all serving as a permanent record of a culture and its people for future generations to have access to and learn from. The study of the visual arts and architecture in a given time period showcase the basic ideas about a group of human beings giving insight into their beliefs and cultural message. These insights are presented with a specific point of view intended by its creator, influenced by its historical experiences. And so, it is the responsibility of the observer to examine pieces of art and architectural structures taking into account the context in which they were produced. By doing so, we can more accurately understand the ideas that are trying to be conveyed. Political,…
McManus, Barbara F.. "Roman Social Class and Public Display." VROMA :: Home. N.p., 1 Jan.…
‘Romans of the Decadance’, 1847, is Coutures’s most well renowned painting – famed for its subject of shocking debauchery, its stark contrast of light and darks, and middle ground stance between Romantic and Classical technique. Couture was primarily but not wholy commited to the practices of Classical and Ancient masters; he employed a mixture of both conformation and challenge to the expecatations and adhereances of the Academics by commenting on contemporary society through the medium of history painting. In his written manifesto advertising the opening of his new studio in 1855(?), Couture pledges alleigance to “the great art of ancienct Greece, the Renaissances masters and the admirable Flemish school” (Boime 1, p66). Through this statement,…
