In your last lesson, you learned about Etruscan art. We'll start off with one more example of Etruscan art, the "Capitoline Wolf," because it illustrates the legend of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, who were said to be the sons of Mars, god of war, and a king's daughter. The twins' uncle threw them into the Tiber River where, according to legend, a she-wolf found the abandoned infants and nursed them. They grew up to be powerful men and decided to found a city of their own. But they argued, and Romulus killed Remus. The city they founded, Rome, eventually became the most important city in Italy and then in the world.

OBJECTIVES

• Explain the history of the Republic of Rome.

• Identify the eclectic style of Roman temples.

• Describe Roman portrait sculptures.

• Discuss the role of Pompeii and Vesuvius in Roman art history.

VOCABULARY

The Republic lasted another 359 years after the ransacking by the Gauls. In those years, the Romans conquered new territories and maintained control over large areas of the Mediterranean World. As it grew it prospered and adapted the art of other cultures to its own.

After they established themselves on the mainland of Italy, the Roman drive to conquer other people brought them into close contact with the Greeks. The Romans admired the Greeks for many things, especially their art. Although much of the original Greek art has been lost, we have the Romans to thank for making copies that are still around today.

Let's look at some examples of the art that the Romans created.

The Early Roman temples were built in an eclectic style. They borrowed the Etruscan floor plan with a high podium that was reached by a wide flight of steps. The material used for the temples was stone overlaid with stucco to look like Greek Marble. The Ionic columns have flutes and a matching Ionic frieze. By combining Greek and Etruscan elements, the Romans achieved their own style.

Look at the example above of an early Roman temple. Notice the wide steps and the freestanding columns on the porch. Around the cella, you can see engaged columns, or attached half-columns. The Romans also borrowed aspects of rulers portraiture from the Estrucans and Greeks.

Read the article about portrait art .

This tradition of honoring important Romans was also reflected in the practice of commemorating statesmen and other notables by erecting statues of them in public places such as the Roman forum.

POMPEII

In the year 79, the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted. Its ash rained down on the city of Pompeii, a city with a population of about 20,000. The ash buried alive most of the inhabitants.

Pompeii was eventually forgotten about until 1748 when explorers began to excavate the site. At first, explorers were looking for valuable art objects. Many artifacts were removed and sent to Naples where they are today housed in the Museo Nazionale. But other wall paintings were damaged or destroyed. Excavation continued through 1860, and scholars came in to classify and study the work, much of it well preserved by the volcano ash and lava.

Mosaics were rare, but murals were fairly common. Four Pompeian styles of mural painting have been identified.

• The First Style (popular between about 120 and 80 BC) — based on Greek interior decoration, sometimes called the Incrustation Style. Painted plaster relief is used to imitate the appearance of the lavish marble-riveted walls of the very wealthy.

• The Second Style (80 to 15 BC) — used perspective to create the illusion of vast spaces beyond the surface of the wall. Colonnades, gardens, theatrical stages, and round temples were popular motifs.

• The Third Style (20-10 BC) — was more ornate and less reliant on illusion.

• The Fourth Style (60-63 BC) — was a synthesis of the second and third styles.

Some murals were life-sized, as in this example: The Wonders of Pompeii 

The Republic's main ruling body was the Senate rather than a king or monarch, and Roman men could vote for some of their leaders. The Senate was large so that no one would have too much power. For four centuries, this system worked fairly well. However, by the early part of the first century BC, Roman politics were in a shambles. Leaders were corrupt. Powerful senators led different coalitions. Armed thugs terrorized the city. And rival generals marched into Rome. A civil war erupted. In 49 BC, Julius Caesar defeated his main rival and had himself declared dictator.

Several battles ensued, but eventually he was legally elected consul. Caesar's short reign is the stuff of legends and of Shakespearean plays. He had many enemies, however, and even his friends turned out to be enemies.

The turmoil of this time period ended the republic, and within twenty years, the Roman republic was replaced by a system of all-powerful emperors.

LET'S REVIEW!

In this lesson, you have covered:

• The Roman adoption of many Etruscan and Greek styles of art

• The eclectic style of Roman art and the creation of the Roman style

• Roman preservation of Greek art

• Specific examples of the early empire and the Roman Republic recovered within the ruins of Pompeii

Complete the quiz before moving on.