Lesson 9
Roman Art.
Assignment 1. Read the following words and word combinations, using transcriptions:
| lararium | [l ər æriəm] | Studius | [studiʌs] |
| Augustus | [ ɔ:g ʌstəs] | Campania | [kʌmpəniʌ] |
| Prima Porta | [primʌ p ɔrtʌ] | Vesuvius | [visu:vjəs] |
| Augustan | [ ɔ:g ʌstən] | Pompeii | [p ɔmpəi:] |
| Julio-Claudian | [ʤu:lj ɔ kl ɔ:d jən] | Herculaneum | [h ə:k ju:lənium] |
| Marcus Aurelius | [ma:kəs aurəlius] | Boscoreale | [b ɔskʌr əʌl] |
| Caracalla | [karakəla] | Boscotrecase | [b ɔskʌtrikeis] |
| Pliny | [plini] | Fannius Synistor | [feniʌs sinistə] |
Assignment 2. Active vocabulary: Learn the following words and word combinations:
| Fervour | , | durable | , |
| permeate | , | fresco | , |
| entire | adorn | ||
| shrine | grove | , | |
| commission | erupt | ||
| generic | sheets of lead | ||
| overall | , | capillary | |
| sitter | attacking | , | |
| typif | sheen | , | |
| disseminate | reliminary | ||
| likeness | incision | ||
| benevolence | , | bold | |
| spur | recession | ||
| embodiment | ambiguit | . | |
| sever | , | masonry | |
| beard | pillar | , | |
| stipple | cast | ||
| insane | , | elaborate | |
| plaster | realms |
Assignment 3. Read the text, be ready to answer questions:
Imperial art was promoted at even,' social and economic level and exported to the most distant bounds of the empire. This mood of ideological fervour permeated the art of the entire imperial era. Private portrait sculpture was most closely associated with funerary contexts. This funerary context for portrait sculpture was rooted in the longstanding tradition of the display of wax portrait masks, called imagines. These masks, portraits of noted ancestors who had held public office or been awarded special honors, were proudly housed in the household lararium, or family shrine, along with busts made of bronze, marble, or terracotta. Public officials commissioned portrait busts that reflected every wrinkle and imperfection of the skin, and heroic, full-length statues often composed of generic bodies onto which realistic, portrait heads were attached. The overall effect of this style gave Republican ideals physical form and presented an image that the sitter wanted to express. This is typified in the impressive marble statue of Augustus from Prima Porta, dating from after 17bc. which although based on a classical model has been modified in order to capture the actual features of the emperor. Augustus' official portrait type was disseminated throughout the empire and combined the heroicizing idealization of Hellenistic art with Republican ideas of individual likeness to produce a whole new scheme for portraiture that was at once innovative and yet fundamentally based in familiar aspects of traditional Roman art. Augustan and Julio-Claudian portrait types emphasized the youth, beauty, and benevolence of the new dynastic family. Augustus set a stylistic precedent that had lasting impact on Roman portrait sculpture up to the reign of Constantine the Great. Continued development in Roman portrait styles was spurred by the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose portraits feature new levels of psychological expression that reflect changes not only in the emperors' physical state but their mental condition as well. These physical embodiments of personality and emotional expression later reach their fullest realization in the portraits of the sever emperor Caracalla. He is shown with a short, military beard and hairstyle that were stippled across the surface of the marble. He is also shown with an intense, almost insane facial expression, which evokes his strong military background and, according to some scholars, reflects his aggressive nature.
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The history of Roman painting is essentially a history of wall paintings on plaster. Works that have survived are in the durable medium of fresco that was used to adorn the interiors of private homes in Roman cities and in the countryside. According to Pliny, it was Studius,who first instituted that most delightful technique of painting walls with representations of villas, porticos and landscape gardens, woods, groves, hills, pools, channels, rivers, and coastlines. The majority of Roman frescoes were found in Campania. It is here that Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 A.D., burying much of the countryside, the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Frescoes from the villas at Boscoreale and Boscotrecase provide an unparalleled record of the life of wealthy Romans during this period describes the elaborate methods employed by wall painters, including the insertion of sheets of lead in the wall to prevent the capillary action of moisture from attacking the fresco, the preparation of as many as seven layers of plaster on the wall, and the use of marble powder in the top layers to produce a mirror like sheen on the surface. Preliminary drawings or light incisions on the prepared surface guided the artists in decorating the walls a fresco (on fresh plaster) with bold primary colors. Softer, pastel colors were often added a secco (on dry plaster) in a subsequent phase. Fresco artists imitated architectural forms purely by pictorial means. They used flat plaster on which projection and recession were suggested entirely by shading and perspective. Throughout the Villa P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale there are visual ambiguities to tease the eye, painted masonry, pillars, and columns that cast shadows into the viewer's space. Objects of daily life are depicted in such a way as to seem real, with metal and glass vases on shelves, and tables appearing to project out from the wall. At Boscoreale, the walls dissolve into elaborate displays of illusionist architecture and realms of fantasy.
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Answer the questions:
1. What was private portrait sculpture associated with?
2. What was the longstanding tradition in Rome?
3. Where were these masks housed?
4. Who these masks were devoted to?
5. What kind of portrait busts did public officials commission?
6. What effect did this style give?
7. What is the most famous impressive marble statue of the emperor?
8. What did Augustus' official portrait type produce?
9. What did Augustan and Julio-Claudian portrait types emphasize?
10. Who spurred the development in Roman portrait styles?
11. What new feature did appear in Marcus Aurelius portrait sculpture?
12. Where did these physical embodiments of personality and emotional expression reach their fullest realization?
13. How did he look like?
14. What was used to adorn the interiors of private homes in Roman cities and in the countryside?
15. What is another name of wall paintings on plaster?
16. What were mostly represented on frescoes?
17. Where were the majority of Roman frescoes found?
18. What methods did the wall painters employ?
Assignment 4. Match new words with their meanings given in Russian and think of your own sentences with these words.
| a) fervour | 1) |
| b) plaster | 2) |
| c) embodiment | 3) |
| d) typif | 4) , |
| e) sitter | 5) |
| f) benevolence | 6) |
| g) commission | 7) |
| h) adorn | 8) , |
Give definitions of the following words and word combinations:
Permeate, shrine, sitter, fresco, grove, reliminary, elaborate, insane, ambiguit.
ASSIGNMENT 5. Watch the video and answer the question 
1. When did the Roman Art begin?
2. What was the beginning of Roman Art?
3. What was Roman Art most influenced by?
4. What the Romans are known for?
5. Who was the most works devoted to?
6. What did many Romans believe in? Why?
7. What was the most impressive way of paintings?
8. What parts of a body were shown on a portray?
9. What events were included in paintings?
ASSIGNMENT 6. Discuss in groups:
1. Under Augustus, arts of Hellenic tradition were adapted to proclaim the permanence and universality of Roman power. Artists and craftsmen from Alexandria, Athens, and Asia Minor flocked to the imperial court to create models that celebrated the best of all possible worlds. How do you think what were the most important ideas of Roman portraiture?
2. Beginning with Augustus, the emperors of the imperial period made full use of the medium's potential as a tool for communicating specific ideologies to the Roman populace. Try to explain your point of view, why the emperors did it?
3. Do you agree or disagree that Roman art was only the reflection of Greek art? Try to reveal the peculiarities of Roman Art.
ASSIGNMENT 7. Pop-quiz question! Continue the following phrase:
1. Private portrait sculpture was most closely associated with _______.
2. This funerary context for portrait sculpture was rooted in _______.
3. These masks, portraits of noted ancestors were proudly_____.
4. Full-length statues often composed of generic bodies onto which _______.
5. Augustan and Julio-Claudian portrait types emphasized_______.
6. Continued development in Roman portrait styles was spurred by______.
7. These physical embodiments of personality and emotional expression later reach their fullest realization in______________.
8. The history of Roman painting is essentially a history of_______.
9. Works that have survived are in the durable medium of fresco that was used to___________.
10. that most delightful technique of painting walls with representations of______.
11. The majority of Roman frescoes were found in_____________.
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12. Objects of daily life are depicted in such a way as___________.
HOME ASSIGHNMENT:Option 1.In the Republic, the most highly valued traits included a devotion to public service and military prowess, and so Republican citizens sought to project these ideals through their representation in portraiture. What is your thoughts concerning this issue. Write an essay on this theme.
Option 2.The enduring image of Rome represents one of mankind's greatest collective achievements. During the reign of Augustus (31bc-ad14), imperial art - whether in the context of public celebration or in the form of portraits of the sovereign - imperial art was promoted at even,' social and economic level and exported to the most distant bounds of the empire. This mood of ideological fervor permeated the art of the entire imperial era. What is your thoughts concerning this issue. Write an essay on this theme.
