The Roman House

Powerpoint slide presentation

1. The Roman House

2. Like cities today, Roman cities were crowded , and r eal estate was at a premium

3. The less well off lived in multistory apartment buildings called insulae

4. Wealthier Patricians lived in private homes - domus in Latin

5. Image source: http://www.ask.com/wiki/Pompeii Most of our knowledge about the Roman house comes from Pompeii, a city of approximately 20,000 inhabitants buried under lava when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD

6. The Roman Domus The Roman Domus Model of a typical Roman domus Image source: http://home.att.net/~b.b.major/homehist.html E ntrance Vendor A typical Roman house was entered from the street, and adjacent rooms with street-level entrances were rented out as shops. 

7. The Roman Domus The Roman Domus Model of a typical Roman domus Image source: http://home.att.net/~b.b.major/homehist.html The first room was the atrium, with an opening to the sky

8. Atrium of the house of Vetti , Pompeii. 2 nd c . BCE The atrium had a cistern for collecting rain water called an impluvium

9. The Roman Domus The Tablinum was where the ancestor effigies were displayed, and where the paterfamilias would receive clients

10. The Roman Domus Larger homes had peristyle gardens - an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of city streets

11. Peristyle Garden, House of the Vetti , Pompeii The gardens were planted with flowers, as well as vegetables and herbs for cooking

12. And they were decorated with fountains, and sculptures

13. So wealthy Romans probably lived a very comfortable lifestyle

14. The walls of Roman houses were decorated with frescos – paintings that were made directly on wet plaster

15. Styles of wall painting changed over time (much like interior design today follows fashionable trends), and art historians have established a chronology of four main styles of Roman wall paintings “First Style” “Second Style” “Third Style” “Fourth Style”

16. “First Style” decorations consisted of painted illusions of marble veneers and engaged columns

17. Its like “faux finishing” - Inexpensive paint is used to imitate costly materials such as marble or granite

18. The Romans had seen this kind of decoration in Hellenistic palaces, and they wanted their own homes to look as fancy

19. It was cheaper to have a painted illusion, rather than the real thing!

20. The Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, c . 50 BCE In the so-called “Second Style,” the space of the room is expanded through painted illusion

21. The Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, c . 50 BCE This was an inexpensive way of increasing the size of the room in the crowded conditions of urban living

22. The Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, c . 50 BCE This room, from the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, is an example of “Second Style” wall painting

23. Life-size figures occupy the perimeter of the room along a ledge

24. Figures appear to interact with one another across corners

25. The subject matter appears to be an initiation rite into the cult of Dionysos , a popular “ Mystery Cult .”

26. “Mystery Cults” were religious cults that were restricted to individuals who had undergone initiation rituals, and became increasingly popular throughout the Roman Empire

27. In the later empire, Christianity (which requires the “initiation” rituals of Baptism and Communion) became one of the most popular Mystery Cults

28. In this scene the young initiate appears frightened or surprised.  Her drapery billows as she lunges forward

29. Her pose recalls one of the figures from the Parthenon, indicating that the artist was familiar with Phidias’ work

30. The artist created a convincing illusion of volume by modeling the forms with gradations of dark to light to create the illusion of roundness

31. This technique of modeling with light and shade (often called  chiaroscuro ) was a major breakthrough in painting, and was probably learned from the Greeks

32. The illusion of depth is also enhanced by the way the figure’s arm seems to project out into our space

33. This technique is called  foreshortening

34. There is a particularly beautiful example of Second Style Wall painting at the Metropolitan Museum

35. An entire room from a Roman house has been reconstructed in the museum

36. The room is quite small (as were most urban houses), with only one window — typical of dwellings in crowded cities.  But the walls have been painted away to make it appear larger

37. The walls have been painted away to make the room appear larger, and to suggest an idyllic world

38. Here, the wall has been painted with a view into a lavish garden courtyard

39. This view is a cityscape. The columns look real but they’re not -- they are painted illusions

40. Another view looks out onto a peristyle courtyard with a small tholos (round) temple in the center

41. The artist used a technique called linear perspective to create the illusion of depth

42. The parallel lines of the architecture converge on a single vanishing point, creating the illusion of depth

43. This fresco from another room in the villa portrays a woman playing a kythara (a type of musical instrument) Seated woman playing a kithara: From Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale , ca. 40–30 BCE Metropolitan Museum

44. The seated figure is massive and round (achieved through the use of chiaroscuro and foreshortening), while her voluminous drapery recalls the “wet drapery” effects of Greek statuary

45. The floors of Roman houses were decorated with mosaics

46. Roman mosaic floor ( Sala degli Animali , Hall of Animals) Vatican Museum They are made with small pieces of colored stone

47. Antioch Mosaic, 2 nd c . CE Metropolitan Museum As we will see, mosaic will become an important medium in Early Christian and Byzantine art

48. Gardenscape , from the Villa of Livia , Prima Porta , Italy, c . 30-20 BCE An especially beautiful fresco was found in the Villa of Livia , wife of Augustus

49. Gardenscape , from the Villa of Livia , Prima Porta , Italy, c . 30-20 BCE It is typical of Second Style wall painting, because the paintings create the illusion of space

50. The walls of the room are painted with the illusion of a lush garden beyond a wooden fence and parapet

51. The garden is lush with plants and fruits from different climates and seasons, and birds flutter through the trees

52. It is likely that this magical garden of abundance was symbolic of the prosperity that Livia’s husband, the Emperor Augustus, had brought to Rome

53. To achieve an illusion of depth the painter made use of another technique called “ atmospheric perspective .”

54. By painting some parts “blurry,” they appear to be far away

55. Objects that are closer are painted more crisply, making them seem like they are closer

56. So Roman wall painters mastered several techniques for rendering the illusion of three dimensional reality

57. Modeling with light and shade: where gradations are used to render the illusion of three dimensional volume Linear perspective: where converging lines are used to create the illusion of recession into depth Atmospheric perspective: where objects that are far away are painted blurry to make them appear distant, and objects that are close are rendered more crisply

58. Thanks for listening!

59. Later styles of Roman wall paintings often include painted vignettes that resemble paintings hanging on a wall They reveal the Roman taste for Greek-inspired styles and themes Ixion Room, House of Vettii , Pompeii, c . 70-79 BCE

60. This one portrays the story of Ixion, who was the father of the Centaurs He is portrayed like a Greek statue – idealized, nude, and standing in the contraposto pose Punishment of Ixion , Ixion Room, House of Vettii , Pompeii, c . 70-79 BCE Image source: http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=1322

61. In this fresco the artist has rendered an illusion of a Greek-inspired statue decorating the garden Peristyle fresco from the House of the Venus Mariana, Pompeii