Roman sculpture

Roman sculpture

Roman sculpture refers to the sculpture of Ancient Rome. Roman sculpture often involved copying of Ancient Greek sculpture. Much Roman sculpture survives, although some of it is damaged. There are many surviving sculptures of Roman emperors. While Roman sculpture copied from the Greeks, it emphasized the individual to a greater extent, and many busts of famous but also anonymous people have survived. Tombstones of rich citizens often exhibit portraits of the deceased carved in relief, and sarcophagi may also be richly decorated.

History

Classical Roman sculpture began with the sack of Syracuse in 212 BC during the Second Punic War with Carthage. A wealthy outpost of Greek civilization on the island of Sicily, Syracuse was thoroughly plundered and most of its magnificent Hellenistic sculpture was taken to Rome where it replaced the earlier styles of the Etruscan tradition. The Romans continued to admire the Hellenistic style, and eventually workshops throughout the Greek world (especially Asia Minor) provided the statuary without which no patrician villa was complete.

Greek artists settled in Rome after Greece was conquered in 146 BC, and many of these began making copies of Greek sculptures, which were popular in Rome.

Many sculptures were made of the Emperor Augustus which portrayed him as a young man, and at later stages of his life. Busts of following emperors were common and widely distributed.

During Emperor Trajan's time, art from the eastern provinces of the empire began to have more influence on Roman sculpture.

Another example of Roman sculpture on a monumental scale is the frieze of the Arch of Constantine.

Relief sculptures

Relief sculptures were shallow three dimensional carvings on flat surfaces, used for architectural works such as columns, arches and Temples. An example of this type of sculpture would be the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) from 13 - 9 B.C. The Ara Pacis was a monument to the Pax Romana (The Roman Peace), 200 years of peace and prosperity ushered in by Emperor Augustus.

A famous later example of relief sculpture is Trajan's Column, dating from 106 - 113 A.D. adorned with scenes of Trajan's battles from the wars in Dacia in a continuous spiral around the column. The frieze shows numerous incidents from the campaigns, with many details showing soldiers at work, such as building forts or manning ballistae. A plaster replica of the column is exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The Column of Marcus Aurelius is another example of the genre.

Free standing sculpture

The most important free standing sculptures were statues. Most Roman statues were destroyed during the many barbarian invasions of the empire, or by Christian rebuilding. The marble was burned for lime and the very valuable bronze melted down for re-use.

An outstanding example of a piece that survived is the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius (Marcus Aurelius on a horse), dating from 161 - 180 A.D. Legend has it that the emperor's imposing demeanor spared the piece from destruction. It is now protected in a museum environment, with a replica outside in Rome.

Common locations for statues were in the temples, the public baths or thermae, and the city forum (the social and commercial centre of the town).

See also

* Classical sculpture
* History of sculpture
* Naturalis Historia
* Pliny the elder
* Roman art

External links

* " [http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0860779.html Roman art: Sculpture] ". The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition. © 2006. Columbia University Press / Infoplease. Visited May 28, 2006.
* " [http://www.statue.com/roman-statues.html Roman Statues and Ancient Roman Sculpture] ". © 2006. Statue.com. Visited May 28, 2006.
* [http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/result.htm?sc=yes&st=Rome&ds=-800&de=500 Ancient Roman sculpture]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Roman art — includes the visual arts produced in Ancient Rome, and in the territories of the Roman empire. Major forms of Roman art are architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Metal work, coin die and gem engraving, ivory carvings, figurine glass …   Wikipedia

  • Sculpture — • In the widest sense of the term, sculpture is the art of representing in bodily form men, animals, and other objects in stone, bronze, ivory, clay and similar materials Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Sculpture     Sculpture …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Cupid and Psyche (Roman sculpture) — Cupid and Psyche, Roman marble sculpture after a Hellenistic original, h. 1.25m (Capitoline Museums) The marble Cupid and Psyche conserved in the Capitoline Museums,[1] Rome, is a 1st or 2nd century CE Roman copy of a late Hellenistic original …   Wikipedia

  • ROMAN (ART) — Le terme d’art roman aurait été employé pour la première fois, en 1818, par l’archéologue normand Charles Duhérissier de Gerville, dans une lettre à son ami Auguste Le Prévost. Jusque là, on avait qualifié indistinctement de «gothiques» toutes… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Roman Catacombs — • The subject is covered under the headings: I. Position; II. History; III. Inscriptions; IV. Paintings; V. Sarcophagi; VI. Small Objects Found in the Catacombs; and VII. Catacombs outside Rome Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Roman… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • ROMAN — QUAND un genre littéraire, depuis plus de deux mille ans, produit par milliers des œuvres de qualité, et ce dans la plupart des grandes littératures – c’est le cas de ce qu’on appelle aujourd’hui en français le roman – qui, sans ridicule,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Roman De Salvo — (born 1965) is a contemporary American conceptual artist whose sculpture and installations utilize everyday objects and materials in inventive and unexpected ways. De Salvo s work combines his interest in craft, technology, language, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Roman Bronze Works — in New York City, established in 1897 by Ricardo Bertelli, was the pre eminent bronze foundry in the United States during the age of Beaux Arts style sculpture and continued, to cast modernist sculptures. Its foundry, long a sub contractor to… …   Wikipedia

  • Sculpture — en ronde bosse. David de Michel Ange La sculpture est une activité artistique qui consiste à concevoir et réaliser des formes en volume, en relief, soit en ronde bosse, en haut relief, en bas relief, par modelage, par taille directe, par soudure… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sculpture funeraire — Sculpture funéraire NB : Dans son état actuel, cet article ne concerne que la sculpture funéraire du Moyen Âge européen. Les XIe et XIIe siècles connaissent un renouveau important de la sculpture funéraire : Une dalle va petit à petit… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”