roman art mosaic
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Roman Art:
Mosaic and Wall Paintings
Leaving Certificate Classical Studies
Mr John Smith Coolmine Community School
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They painted on their walls to brighten up andenliven rooms that were often dark and windowless
Wall frescos also disguised the poor terrocattaplaster that the original wall of the room was madeoff
Those who had the financial means were alsoinclined to beautify their villas or Domus withbrightly coloured paintings.
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Firstly a few coats of mortar was applied to the wall,this was a mixture of sand an lime
Next a layer or two of sand and marble was appliedto the wall to make it smoother
Then the artist painted background scenes and lateron added people to the painting, when the wall was
still wet
Finally a smooth gloss of wax was applied to thewall to give it a shine and preserve it (as well as
enhance the painting on the wall)
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Style one comprised of painted blocks on a wall to look like marble. Betweenthese blocks the artist painted horizontal and vertical cornice bands to give thepainting a sense of perspective,(no examples in Wheeler)
Style two is characterised by its focus on realism. The buildings are given 3-D,the perspective makes it look as if the painting recedes or goes back endlessly.The garden scene of Livia is a good example. There is very efficient use made ofthe wall space.
In Style three the scene is less realistic more impressionistic, (loose brushstrokes etc.) There is less emphasis on perspective. Painted architectural featuressuch as columns tended to be thin and windy rather than sturdy and realistic.
See offering to a seated Dionysius P.195 this scene is highly impressionistic.Peoples faces are barely recognisable either in this style
In style four there a return of real perspective or 3D - the architecture is alsorealistic. There is also more elaborate us of colour i.e. it is rich. We haveexamples also of fantasy in this style, e.g. the theatre scene at Herculaneum
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A typical wall painting from the Roman Villas we havestudied are divided into three parts - tripartite
At the bottom - a dado rail was painted, this markedthe beginning of the painting
The middle section of the painting was the mostimportant and contained the main theme or scene
At the top a cornice architrave was painted or adecorative painted pediment
In this way The Romans defined the spaces andsections of the wall painting
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Landscape garden of Livia P. 185 Pastoral countryside, (Shepherd before a shrine P.198)
Harbour seascape, (Harbour at Stabiae P.199) Still life (House of Julia Felix P.202) Fantasy (Theatre scene at Herculaneum P.203) Mythological/religious Offering to a seated Dionysius or
Trojan Horse P.195
Architectural P.184 Historical (Riots outside the amphitheatre at Pompeii P.119)
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See Illustration 96, P.119 This is a wall painting from a villa at
Herculaneum
It depicts the riots in and around theamphitheatre at Pompeii in AD 59
Note the painted awning coveringthe amphitheatre
The perspective, or three-dimensionis all wrong
The artist more concerned withrecording the history of the eventrather than engross in artistic finesse
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Illustrations 163, 164, 165 Domestic landscapes with huts
and people
There was the pleasant fashion ofpainting walls with pictures ofcountry houses and porticos,landscape gardens, groves, hills, fishponds, canals, rivers, coasts, withsketches of people going for a strollor sailing and approaching countryhouses on asses, or on carriages, andfishing or fowling or hunting orgathering the vintage P. 185
Illustrations 163-165 These late Republic - early
Empire landscape paintings
are a likened to the type oflandscape paintings we seeduring the RomanticMovement, (late 18th early19th century AD)
This conscious cult ofnature Is in harmony withthe spirit of the Augustanperiod, (27BC-14 AD)
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P. 185 Illustration 166 A master piece of Roman
Landscape painting
Gentle and sombre woodland liebeyond a low garden paling
Note how the space in thepainting is divided: to give thepainting a sense of endlessdistance
Colours graduate between blueand green with birds among theleaves
The colours are Penetrating
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Wall painting from the house ofDioscuri at Pompeii before AD 79
Achilles has a gross and vigorousvisage, (face)
Perhaps Achilles is a portrayal ofsome ham actor from the stage
Achilles head was repainted The head could be that of the
patron himself
Note the mythological backgroundto the painting see my notes
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Bold use of colour and economy of detail give it great force
The Trojans pull the horsetowards the town
Their whole weight is beingconcentrated in rhythm intothe effort
The light focused on them is thefunctional centre of thepainting. The dimmer static,(standing) figures of the Trojanarmy in the background contrastsharply to figures pulling thehorse
On the right the legs of the horse is sturdily splayed forward as if to emphasise the strain
The spectators are linked by a loneemphatic figure who is runningtowards the horse, this figure helps tocoordinate the scene andconcentrate our eyes on it.
Cassandra on the left is lightlysketched, she is moving inwardtowards the centre from the centrefrom the battlement walls
The crowded scene is little morethan a sketch- the episode isvividly displayed and the leaningfigures on the foreground arestrikingly impressive
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Good solid landscapes which stand on their own merit
Illustration 182-figures sit and stroll in aromantic landscape with trees and buildingsin the background
This scene is consciously romantic It brings first century Pompeii close to 18th
century England
These paintings are described as sacro-idyllic
Scenes are pastoral and peaceful and reflectthe interest that the Romans had inlandscape painting
Illustration 182 is Black and white
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This is a wall painting of apastoral scene in the Romantic
style of later centuries
Painted before AD 79 The landscape is rugged in the
background
In the fore ground is a countryshrine a shepherd grazes his
goats
This bucolic scene is peacefuland harmonious
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Wall painting of houses at noonfrom Pompeii 79 AD
The cluster of houses are bathed instrong light with black shadow
Black and white figures aresketched vigorously here andthere in the foreground
It is a modest masterpiece ofimpressionism which might hold
its place in a modern setting The strong contrast of light and
shade are a masterpiece ofImpressionism
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A wall painting of a harbour scene atStabiae
The busy life of the harbour is shownwith striking force and with greateconomy of line
Vivid but artistically less striking of atownscape of a port from Naples
We are shown quays, wharves andshipping, adjacent ware houses, markethalls and monuments..
Many of the columns carry statues, The artist and patron all display a
lively interest in the daily scene
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Still life from HerculaneumKingfisher, vase, trident and seafish
Still life wall painting from thehouse of Julia Felix (AD 79)
Thrushes, eggs and domesticutensils
Still life with fruit bowel andamphora
Note excellent use of lines,shadows, colour and light.
Also realism (everyday life) afeature of the 4th Pompeian style
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Fantastically elaborate architectural detail isprobably derived from a theatre
fantastic baroque of the 4th style These painting were unbelievably elaborate and
were designed to lighten and enlarge rooms of
the sophisticated townhouse
A porch is sustained by gilded columns andcarry peagsi, dolphin, hippocampus and adrama mask
Beyond recede interior views loaded withornament and with a sufficient scene ofperspective both in line and colour to suggestendless distance
This painting drew its inspiration from thetheatre
Resembles the Scaenae frons of a theatre stage
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Found in the house of Faun Depicts the battle of Issus,
Alexander against Darius 3rd 333BC
The mosaic is derived from apainting from Philoxenos or by
Aristeides
Pliny says Aristeides was one of thefirst painters to paint the soul and
give expression to the affections of
man and his emotions
This battle scene is Tumultuous, i.e.emphasising the chaos and din ofbattle: the drama is rendered vividly.
There is an attempt to distinguishthe personalities involved
The little tesserae sensitively showsus how the picture moves or changes
-the light and shade mixes with the
dun colours and as a result there isa convincing reproduction of the lost
original, (painting)
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These mosaics are to be found atHadrians great palace at TivoliAD 130
A lion attacks a bull, the action islively
Below is a more peaceful pastoralscene with goat and a goatherd
Both mosaics are set in aconvincing rugged landscape
The depiction of these countryscenes is graceful and realistic
They are evidence of the Romansinterest in landscape art.
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Landscape Nilotic mosaics Niloticmeans from the area around the riverNile.
Hippopotamus, crocodile and ducks allshow us the influence of the cityAlexandria , (in Egypt) on Roman art
Lower mosaic from a Roman Villa atZliten around 200 AD: horses andcattle are depicted trashing corn
Small birds in a nest Such mosaics panels would have been
made in a skilled workshop and set inlocally made floors
Scenes depict country life and activitytheme is rural and bucolic
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Firstly the wall or floor was cleaned and made smooth Secondly the artist drew the scene on the floor or wall
i.e. made out a sketch of the scene
Thirdly the artist carefully placed the small one inchmarble tessarae onto the sketch. The small square pieceswere glued on to the coloured sketch
The mosaic was left to set and dry Finally the mosaic (when dry) was once more cleaned,and swept. A gloss or varnish may also have been
applied to give it a shine and protect the mosaic.