ROMAN ART

Roman art had a significant influence on Western culture, in part because of the longevity of the Roman Empire and the amount of territory that the Empire encompassed. Roman art is often criticized for being too dependent on the Greeks. While this is true in part, Roman art and artists made significant advances in different aspects of art and architecture. The rebirth of art in the Western world occurred in the Italy during the Renaissance. The artists of the Renaissance were greatly influenced by their Italian predecessors.

Influences

The art of the Roman Empire was heavily influenced by the Etruscans, Rome's predecessors on the Italian mainland, and by the Hellenic influences of the Greeks. The Romans not only directly imitated and copied Greek artistic ideas, Greek artists were brought to Rome and relied upon to design and repair monumental buildings. The Greek influence was very predominant in Roman painting and sculpture.

Painting

Roman painting served mostly a decorative function. It was influenced by the architecture of the time. Roman buildings tended to have a small number of doors and windows. This left large amounts of wall space. Painting techniques were developed to enhance the walls and to make the living space a more comfortable dwelling. Romans refined the technique of painting mosaics and murals and emphasized natural themes such as landscapes and narrative themes drawn from literature and mythology. The primary colors used in Roman painting were deep red, yellow, green, violet and black. The best preserved examples of Roman wall painting are Herculaneum and Pompeii.

Portrait Sculpture

Roman art also made important strides in sculpture, which can be divided into statues and relief sculptures. The Greek influence is strongly felt in Roman statues, and, in fact, many Roman statues and sculptures are copies or interpretations of Greek sculptures. However, many Roman sculptures are characterized by their realism. Greek statues tend to idealize the human form. Roman sculptors, on the other hand, presented realistic representations of their subjects with all their flaws.

Relief Sculpture

Relief sculptures were works of art carved on long pieces of stone or on the side of buildings. They were created both as decoration and as a tool to record and celebrate an important event. The size of the relief was dependent on the location and purpose for which it was intended. The relief sculpture was either a collection of figures used to represent a sequence of events, or it was intended to represent one significant event or occurrence. The wall was used as a space in which figures appear and disappear. The sculpture changed with the perspective of the viewer.

Rennaissance Art

Renaissance was the period of economic progress where cities were built. The term "Renaissance" came from the French language meaning "rebirth". The period stirred enthusiasm for humanism. The art produced during this period focused on human emotions, specifically heavy and extreme emotions of - anguish, fear, grief and sadness. Seriousness was also the common type of theme in Renaissance.

Painting

The Lamentation. (1305-06)

Giotto St. Francis in the Desert (c. 1485) Giovanni Bellini

Landscape painting bloomed during this period because painters returned back to nature as a subject in art. In their landscapes, linear and aerial perspective were explored. In addition, artists during this period engaged in manipulation of light and shadow to see a new and different visual effect that would later on grow in the interest of the viewing public.

Sculpture

An important characteristic of this period was the spirit of scientific inquiry and investigation. the artists were interested in man's body as well as in what lay beneath - the muscles and the veins.

The Renaissance artists tried

other mediums in art. In portraits, the human face became more expressive with the use of a modeling technique.

Architecture

Plan

The plans of Renaissance buildings have a square, symmetrical appearance in which proportions are usually based on a module.

Façade

Facades are symmetrical around their vertical axis. Church façades are generally surmounted by a pediment and organized by a system of pilasters, arches and entablatures. The columns and windows show a progression towards the center.

Columns and Pilasters

The Roman orders of columns are used:- Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. The orders can either be structural, supporting an arcade or architrave, or purely decorative.

Arches

Arches are semi-circular or (in the Mannerist style) segmental. Arches are often used in arcades, supported on piers or columns with capitals.

Vaults

Vaults do not have ribs. They are semi-circular or segmental and on a square plan, unlike the Gothic vault which is frequently rectangular.

Rococo

Rococo art and architecture are characterized by very ornate, fanciful themes and a light air which sets this work apart from earlier pieces produced in the Baroque period, which was both ornate and heavy. The term usually refers to late baroque style, and associated more with interior design.

Rococo rooms were designed as total works of art with elegant and ornate furniture, small sculptures, ornamental mirrors, and tapestry complementing architecture, reliefs, and wall paintings.

Rococo interior is charcterized with the use of:

1. Undulating lines
2. pastel colors
3. golden leaf

Baroque Art

The Baroque style of architecture prevailed in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries and was characterized by elaborate forms and ornamentations. In painting, this is characterized by intense movement, energy, and restlessness.

The compositions of Baroque painting employs diagonal and zigzag lines that best express the vitality and movement quality of the baroque art.

Baroque style in architecture is marked by heavy sculptural, extravagantly ornamented facade. The gian twisted columns, broken pediments, ad a variety of motifs such as scrolls, scallops (shells), urns, angels, floral design, and ribbons.

UNITY AND VARIETY

Going Home (c. 1946). Jacob Lawrence.

Jacob Lawrence abstracted his subject in his painting - people in a train. The painting expresses unity because Jacob repeated the visual themes of – people, seats, luggage, windows, and colors in the painting. Notice the varied repetition in the green seats and window shades. However he varied the themes by first giving the people different theatrical businesses. As a unifying element, the artist used the same red to the variety of shapes.

BALANCE

Balance is the achievement of equilibrium, the condition in which acting influences are held in check by opposing forces. We often crave balance in life and art.

SYMMETRICAL BALANCE

Symmetrical Balance is the near or exact matching of left and right sides of a three-dimensional or a two-dimensional composition.

Architects often employ symmetrical balance to give unity and formal grandeur to a building’s façade.

Design for the President’s House (1792). James Hoban.

Probably on of the most symmetrical paintings ever made is the PORTRAIT OF THE HUNG-CHIH EMPEROR, executed by an anonymous court artist in 15^th century China. The ruler sits stiffly facing us, hands concealed by his rich garments. Only a few asymmetrical dragons on the screen behind him an in the medallions on his cloak relieve the overall rigidity of the compostion.

Portrait of the Hung-Chih Emperor, 15th century

ASYMMETRICAL BALANCE

With asymmetrical balance, the two sides are not the same. Instead, various visual phenomena are balanced – according to their visual and referential weights – around a felt or implied center of gravity.

What are the visual properties or weights of colors and forms, and how do we go about balancing them? As with design itself, there are no rule, only principle.

PRINCIPLES OF FORMS AND COLORS

Here are some classic and modern examples of asymmetrical balance:

The Holy Family on the Steps (1648). Nicolas Poussin.

The Holy Family on the Steps is a combination of symmetry and asymmetry. The pyramidal arrangement of the forms allow our eyes to perceive symmetry. Poussin placed St. Joseph in dark shadows leaving only the foot in the light with the staff leaning toward the right. This adds some weight to this side of the painting. Further, at the upper-right corner is the post which sets up another thrust of weight. On the other hand, Poussin created a major interest at the left side by giving St. Elizabeth a bright yellow robe. The warmth of her robe adds to the visual weight in the left side. St. Elizabeth is diagonally related with the clouds at the upper right. Thus, the clouds counter the weight created by the bright yellow form.

The most important figure in the painting is placed in the central axis. This is the strongest position in 2D art. Here, Jesus Christ was the most important figure. Indeed it is appropriate to make him the center of gravity. Mary, on the other hand, was painted in traditional red and blue.

Our eyes are first led to the form at the rightmost portion of the painting. Edgar Degas seemed to avoid the central vertical axis by placing the center of gravity near the right side as set up by the pole running vertically. Right after, our eyes are drawn from right to left to the next jockey wearing a red cap. Then, we see the third form at the farthest point in linear perspective. Finally, our eyes are led to the blue green portion going up to the circular figure at the upper left corner. The whole process is what you call as visual cuing.

Speaking of balance, the painting is asymmetrically balanced because of the diagonal association between two forms: the sun at the upper left corner, and the head of the jockey at the lower right. The sun is the only geometric figure in the painting and it counters the weight of the jockey on the horse near the corner.

Death and Life (c. 1911-1915). Gustav Klimt.

Death and Life is in asymmetry as effected by the principle of form where a cluster of forms in the right near the center is countered by the single form near the edge on the left. Another effect of countering the visual heaviness of the cluster in the right is the visual pull by the symbol of death, ensnaring the woman who is facing the form directly.

VALUE RANGE












TONALITY

Is the picture predominantly light or dark?




CONTRAST

Are the contrast in value great or small?


Great contrast


Small contrast

SEPARATION

• Do the values merge one into the other, or are they separate?

• Are the boundary lines blurred or distinct?

CHARACTER OF DARK AREAS

• Is there a single flat surface or are they subtly varied?

EMOTIONAL CONNOTATION

• How does the value affect the mood of the painting?

CHIAROSCUR0

• Italian: “light and dark”

• manipulation of light and dark to create the illusion of volume on a two-dimensional surface

• a type of modeling where a more convincing and subtle representation of reality can be created by imitating a wider range of light intensities

VALUE (LUMINOUSITY)

Value dominates our visual experience. It is the strongest element of visual contrast and largely determines our perception of form as we explore a picture. It defines our perception of space through the luminance differences between the lighted and dark surfaces of three dimensional objects and long distance effects of aerial perspective.




Value also refers to:

-relative degrees of luminosity—that is, the presence or absence of light
-the working with shadows to imply light.