Newest Assignments and Dates (If assignment is online it shall be stated below)

  • 03-17-2008 - 03-21-2008 -Spring Break (FREEDOM)
  • 03-21-2008 -Art History Outline and images
  • Still during spring break: Read Lord of the Flies for techniques/devices, 3 allusions due.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Art History -Chap 6 - Images page 3

6.30 Market Gate, from Miletos (Turkey), c. 120 CE
-added during the rein of Hadrian
-3 arched openings
-lower level is composite order, w/ capitals formed by superimposing Ionic volutes on corinthian capitals
-second level has shorter corinthian columns and entablatures have repeated design, but has two center pairings supported by a broken pediment
-symbolics architecture: architecture as propaganda for the power and glory of Rome
-intention of the patrons of structures like the gate at Miletos was to impress the populace

6.31/6.32/6.33 Colosseum, Rome 72-80 CE
-word derived from a gigantic statue of Nero called the Colossus standing next to it
-280 by 175 and 159 high
-for athletic events, spectacles, animal hunts, gladiator and animal fights, performances of animals and acrobats, and mocked sea battles
-capacity: 55,000
-two types of vault: groin vaults and barrel-vaults
-three levels of arcades: bottom in the plain Tuscan order, second is the Ionic and third in the Corinthian to show tradition

6.34 Pantheon, Rome
-literally meaing "all the gods"
-completed under the patronage of Hadrian
-between 125-128 CE
-to commemorate the defeat of Anthony and Cleopatra
-significant for its giant rotunda (20 feet thick), 75 feet high,dome, coffers
-seven niches originally held statues

6.37 Arch of Titus, Rome c. 81 CE. concrete and white marble, height 50'
-show triumphal arch which is the most admirable roman structure
-during the time that Domitian assumed the throne in 81 CE
-a freestanding gateway whose passage is covered by a barrel vault
-originally the giant arch served as a giant base for statue of a 4-horse chariot and driver
-inscription declares that the senate and the Roman ppl erected the monument to honor Titus

6.39 Romans Crossing the Danub and Building a Fort,
-detail of the lowest part of the column of Trajan, 113-16 CE, or after 117. marble, height of the spiral band appox. 36''
-shows Trajan's army crossing the Danube River on a pontoon bridge as the campaign gets under way
-shows Hadrians lvoe of greek art

6.42 Young Flavian Woman c. 90, marble, height 25''
-exemplifies teh idealized portrait type
-shows strong nose and jaw, heavy brows, deep-set eyes, and a long neck contrast w/ the smoothly rendered flesh and soft, full lips
-hair piled high to show latest fashion
-very lifelike

6.42 Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius
-(after restoration) c. 176 CE, bronze, originally glided, height of statue 11'6''
-a glided bronze equestrian statue of the emperor came early but mistakenly to be revered as a statue of Constantine (first christian emperor in the Middle ages)
-resembles a "philosopher"
-shows persuasiveness and he reaches out toward the ppl

6.56 Canopus, Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli c. 135 CE
-canopus is a long reflecting pool
-after the site near Alexandria
-copies of famous greek statues and sometimes even the originals filled the spaces between the columns
-Hadrian had the caryatids of the Erechtheion replicated for his palace pleasure

6.68 Caracalla
-early 3rd century ce. marble, height 14 1/2''
-shows intensity from the contrasts of light and dark w/ careful chiseling and drillwork
-eyes drilled and engraved to catch the light, glittering effect
-shows changing of character of the imperial rule
-Caracalla revealed himself as a no-nonsense ruler of iron-fisted determination

Art History -Chap 6 - Images page 2

Ara Pacis:

C. 13-9 BC

Marble, 34'5", view of west side

Originally located on the Tiber River

Aligned with a giant sundial

Celebrated Augustus as a warrior and a peacemaker

Rectangular with an enclosed alter, entrance is through a flight of stairs on the west wall

Flowers suspended in swags from bucrania surround alter

(bucrania (ox skulls) symbolize sacrificial offerings)

Augustus of Primaporta

Early 1st Century

Marble, 6'8"

Combination of Greek idealism and Roman individuality

Discovered in a villa belonging to Augustus's wife

Demonstrates creative assimilation of earlier sculptural traditions into a new context

Idealization of a specific ruler and his prowess

Cupid, the son of Venus rides a dolphin next to his leg

Reference to the claim that the emperor's family were descendants of Venus

Bare feet represent elevation to divine status

Aulus Metellus

Pergia: Late 2nd or early 1st BC

Bronze, 5'1"

Originally known as The Orator

Pose is expressive of authority and persuasiveness

Maison Caree

Nimes: C. 20 BC

Early imperial temple

Large and richly decorated

Dedicated to the grandsons of Augustus

Uses opulant Corinthian order

Temple dedicated to Portunus

Rome: 2nd Century BC

Located on the Tibur River and dedicated to

Rectangular cella and a porch at one end reached by a single flight of stairs

Ionic columns, colonnade across entrance, engaged around building

Port du Gard

Nimes: 1st century BC

900 foot span rising 180 feet above the Gard River

Originally an aqueduct

Conveys the balance, proportion, and rhythmic harmony of a great work of art

Musician and Dancers

Tomb and the Lionesses, Tarquinia C.480-470 BC

Mural in a tomb

Painted frieze

Woman portrayed as active participants

Etruscan had ability to suggest that their subjects inhabit a bright world beyond the tomb walls

Column of Trajan, Rome

113-116 or after 117 CE

Marble, 125'

Height may have recorded the depth of the excavation required to build the Forum of Trajan

Topped with gilded bronze statue

Involved more than 2,500 individual figures linked by landscape, architecture


Sunday, November 4, 2007

Art History -Chap 6 - Images page 1

6-1 She-wolf
c. 500 BCE. Bronze, glaze-paste eyes, height 33 ½”. The wolf is the most famous symbol of Rome because a wolf raised Romulus and Remus after their uncle left the to die, Romulus went on to become the Founder of Rome in 753 BCE. It was made by the Etruscans in about 500 BCE, the Romans later added the statues of the babies in the late 15th century or early 16th century. It was placed on Capitoline Hill.


6-2 Porta Augusta Perugia
Italy, 2nd century BCE, the city gate of Perugia, a tunnel like passageway between two large towers. It uses the round arch, makes a semi-circular barrel vault over the passageway. It has a square frame where a semi-entablature sets off the arch. The “frieze” is made up of roundels and pilasters, column like uprights, resembling the triglyphs and metopes.

6-3 Reconstruction of an Etruscan temple
Based on descriptions by Vitruvius, he described Etruscan and Roman temples. They were built on a podium with a flight of stairs leading up to the porch. Columns and the entablature support the roof over the porch. Half of the temple space was made up of the porch and the other half was the interior space, usually split into 3 rooms that held cult statues. The statues were on the roof instead of the pediment. The columns are in the Tuscan order.

6-5 Apollo
From Veii. C.500 BCE, painted terra-cotta, height 5’10”. Making large terra-cotta statues was very difficult. Originally had 3 other statues that depicted the labor of Hercules where he fights gor the rights of a deer sacred to Diana. Here Apollo is chasing Hercules across the ridge pole of the temple roof. The statue is similar to the Kouri with the detail of the body and the archaic smile, but Apollo is clothed and shows movement and more energy.

6-7 Burial Chamber, Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri
3rd century BCE. Resembled a house. It has a flat ceiling supported by a square stone post, with plastered and painted wall and fully furnished, couches were made from stone and other fake stucco furnishing, like on the posts they carved pots, weapons and other realistic looking objects, in one of them in low relief was a dog, this was to provide earthly comfort for the dead.

6-8 Sarcophagus
From Cerveteri. C.520 BCE. Terra-cotta length 6’7”. Husband and wife reclining on a couch. Shown as lively and joyous people with current style hair and clothes, smiling, with almond-shaped eyes, instead of depressing view of the dead.

6-75 The Tetrarchs
c. 300 CE. Porphyry height of figures 51”. Constantinople. Shows the transition toward abstraction and symbolic representation. Has 4 figures, 2 with beards (thought to be the senior Augustine) and the others clean shaven (thought to be Caesar). The two sets are nearly identical, they are dressed in military attire with swords. It portrays the current state affairs and also plays as propaganda. Porphyry is a very hard purple stone Egypt, for imperial use, maybe difficulty adds to the abstract style

6-79 Arch of Constantine, Rome
312-15 CE (dedicated July 25, 315), monument to Constantine’s victory over Maxentius in 312 CE. The inscription on the top was taken from a monument celebrating Marcus Aurelius victory over the Germans, other pieces were taken from other monuments as well. It is located next to the Colosseum, has triple arches with barrel-vaulted passageways flanked with columns supporting a large attic story.

6-82 Constantine the Great
From the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, only a few marble fragments survive. It was 30 feet tall on a wooden frame, with bronze drapery. Shows the abstract qualities shown in the Tetrarchs meant to represent the imperial power and shown with no imperfection.