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Roman art

The art of Ancient Rome, and the territories of its Republic and later Empire, includes architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Luxury objects in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass are sometimes considered to be minor forms of Roman art,[1] although they were not considered as such at the time. Sculpture was perhaps considered as the highest form of art by Romans, but figure painting was also highly regarded. A very large body of sculpture has survived from about the 1st century BC onward, though very little from before, but very little painting remains, and probably nothing that a contemporary would have considered to be of the highest quality.

Ancient Roman pottery was not a luxury product, but a vast production of "fine wares" in terra sigillata were decorated with reliefs that reflected the latest taste, and provided a large group in society with stylish objects at what was evidently an affordable price. Roman coins were an important means of propaganda, and have survived in enormous numbers.

Etruscan sarcophagus, 3rd century BC

Etruscan sarcophagus, 3rd century BC

The "Capitoline Brutus", dated to the 4th to 3rd centuries BC

The "Capitoline Brutus", dated to the 4th to 3rd centuries BC

A Roman naval bireme depicted in a relief from the Temple of Fortuna Primigenia in Praeneste (Palastrina),[47] which was built c. 120 BC;[48] exhibited in the Pius-Clementine Museum (Museo Pio-Clementino) in the Vatican Museums.

A Roman naval bireme depicted in a relief from the Temple of Fortuna Primigenia in Praeneste (Palastrina),[47] which was built c. 120 BC;[48] exhibited in the Pius-Clementine Museum (Museo Pio-Clementino) in the Vatican Museums.

The Orator, c. 100 BC, an Etrusco-Roman bronze statue depicting Aule Metele (Latin: Aulus Metellus), an Etruscan man wearing a Roman toga while engaged in rhetoric; the statue features an inscription in the Etruscan alphabet

The Orator, c. 100 BC, an Etrusco-Roman bronze statue depicting Aule Metele (Latin: Aulus Metellus), an Etruscan man wearing a Roman toga while engaged in rhetoric; the statue features an inscription in the Etruscan alphabet

The Grave relief of Publius Aiedius and Aiedia, 30 BC, Pergamon Museum (Berlin)

The Grave relief of Publius Aiedius and Aiedia, 30 BC, Pergamon Museum (Berlin)

Augustus of Prima Porta, statue of the emperor Augustus, 1st century AD, Vatican Museums

Augustus of Prima Porta, statue of the emperor Augustus, 1st century AD, Vatican Museums

Tomb relief of the Decii, 98–117 AD

Tomb relief of the Decii, 98–117 AD

Bust of Emperor Claudius, c. 50 CE, (reworked from a bust of emperor Caligula), Vatican Museums

Bust of Emperor Claudius, c. 50 CE, (reworked from a bust of emperor Caligula), Vatican Museums

Commodus dressed as Hercules, c. 191 CE, in the late imperial "baroque" style; Capitoline Museum, Rome.

Commodus dressed as Hercules, c. 191 CE, in the late imperial "baroque" style; Capitoline Museum, Rome.

The Four Tetrarchs, c. 305, showing the new anti-classical style, in porphyry, now San Marco, Venice

The Four Tetrarchs, c. 305, showing the new anti-classical style, in porphyry, now San Marco, Venice

The cameo gem known as the "Great Cameo of France", c. 23 AD, with an allegory of Augustus and his family

The cameo gem known as the "Great Cameo of France", c. 23 AD, with an allegory of Augustus and his family

Statue of the goddess Nike from Philippi.

Statue of the goddess Nike from Philippi.

Portrait Bust of a Man, Ancient Rome, 60 BC

Portrait Bust of a Man, Ancient Rome, 60 BC

Roman portraiture is characterized by its "warts and all" realism.

Roman portraiture is characterized by its "warts and all" realism.

Veristic portrait bust of an old man, head covered (capite velato), either a priest or paterfamilias (marble, mid-1st century BC)

Veristic portrait bust of an old man, head covered (capite velato), either a priest or paterfamilias (marble, mid-1st century BC)

Andreae, Bernard. The Art of Rome. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1977.

Beard, Mary, and John Henderson. Classical Art: From Greece to Rome. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Bianchi Bandinelli, Ranuccio. Rome, the Center of Power: 500 B.C. to A.D. 200. New York: G. Braziller, 1970.

Borg, Barbara. A Companion to Roman Art. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, 2015.

Brilliant, Richard. Roman Art From the Republic to Constantine. Newton Abbot, Devon: Phaidon Press, 1974.

D’Ambra, Eve. Art and Identity in the Roman World. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998.

--. Roman Art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Kleiner, Fred S. A History of Roman Art. Belmont, CA: , 2007.

Thomson/Wadsworth

Ramage, Nancy H. Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson, 2015.

Stewart, Peter. Roman Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Syndicus, Eduard. Early Christian Art. 1st ed. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1962.

Tuck, Steven L. A History of Roman Art. Malden: Wiley Blackwell, 2015.

Zanker, Paul. Roman Art. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2010.

Roman Art - World History Encyclopedia

Ancient Rome Art History Resources

Dissolution and Becoming in Roman Wall-Painting