The Power and The Brilliants---Romans!

What happened after Greece was annexed by the Roman?

Was art extinct after that?

The book ART OF THE WESTERN WORLD is still being used in this post. The author, Michael Wood, is a reliable Oxford historian. In this book, Wood talked about art with a lot of specific example.

By 146 B.C., southern Italy as well as Greece had become Roman colonies…

“The people who are depicted solemnly stepping along the shallow frieze of this altar wall were celebrants in the actual procession that consecrated the ground on which the altar would stand. This procession (which took place July 4, 13B.C.) included Caesar Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, and his family.” (Wood, 20)

In a celebration that took place on July 4, 13B.C. in Rome, the altar, The Ara Pacis, was made to encourage peace. People who are on this altar are real people who were in the celebration. Looking at this altar I remembered one of the principles of Greece art is measure and accuracy and this altar is exactly like the real scene. The roman art was influenced by the Greece art greatly. Especially in this altar, the Roman passed on the Greek art tradition, accuracy and measuring.

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“Whereas Greece introduced philosophy and drama, Rome gave us law and letter writing. The Greeks were master sculptors, and the Romans were great engineers. The abstract world of mathematics was a Greek fascination; the Romans contributed the more practical skill of cartography. The Greeks reflected on man’s place in the higher aesthetic and philosophical orders, but the Romans created and idea of an orderly empire in which every person had a prescribed role. If the Greeks studied man and his relation to the world, the Romans studied how to organize the world, and how to run it smoothly and efficiently.” (Wood, 21)

 Despite the similarities between Roman art and the Greek art, there are lots of differences on the content they are making. The Greek often studied mythology to understand their lives; the Roman focused on more practical matters. In Greek art, people expressed mostly philosophy because that is what they thought over and over every day. The Roman used art as a way of recording their history. For example:

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“The fame of the Colosseum lasted well into the Middle Ages. The Venerable Bede said, “While stands the Colosseum, Rome shall stand; When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall; And when Rome falls—the world.” (Wood, 18)

People deeply believed that Rome was the highest in the world. Instead of write down these brilliants, the Roman chose to do it in the visual Greek way. Power was a popular topic in Roman art. Romans considered Colosseum is a sign of Roman. They were so proud of the Colosseum that it will never fall like Rome. They also hoped people will still remember and honor them after their deaths.

…And so we did! Lots of artists like to find new ideas and inspirations in Roman art.

So what happened after the Romans?

Did the generations after this period still affected by the Greek art?  

See you in my next post!