The Roman Empire 218 BCE The Roman Empire
The Roman Empire 218 BCE
The Roman Empire 350 CE
trabeated construction • limited span due to stones poor tensile strength • requires a considerable amount of vertical structure
The Aqueducts at Nimes, France
1: 3000
arch is the basic module for Roman arcuated construction
arch works by exploiting the stone’s compressive strength
…an arch thrown down a straight axis groin vault: a perpendicular intersection of 2 barrel vaults
a dome is an arch spun on a central vertical axis
Pantheon Rome, Hadrian, 100 -125 CE
Pantheon, Rome, Hadrian, 100 -125 CE—“Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, Consul for the third time, built this” third iteration—originally built as a temple to all the Gods
Pantheon, Rome, Hadrian, 100 -125 CE
Pantheon, Rome, Hadrian, 100 -125 CE height to the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43. 3 meters (142 ft)
do you remember what these are called?
coffered ceiling coffers were poured in molds, probably on the temporary scaffolding oculus admits only light
marble comes from Egypt, Numidia, Asia minor, & Gaul—shows span of Roman Empire
350 CE
Appian Way • cobbled roadway • constructed more than 2200 years ago • primary route from Rome to Greece—transport of goods
Pantheon, Rome, Hadrian, 100 -125 CE
Pantheon, aedicule, Rome, Hadrian, 100 -125 CE
Pilaster Column
IBM Tower Philip Johnson 1987
Pilaster Column
Baths of Caracalla Rome, Hadrian, 100125 CE
could hold an estimated 1, 600 bathers
A-Calidarium B-Nymphaeum C-Great Hall D-Frigidarium (Swimming Pool) E-Courts G-Palaestra H-Lecture Halls I-Vestibules L-Dressing Rooms N-Steam Baths Q-Lounges S-Gymnasia T-Study Rooms V-Nymphaea
Sequence of Spaces Calidarium (Hot) Tepidarium (Warm) Gymnasium Frigidarium (Cold) Massage Natatio (Pool) Dressing Rooms
section cut of Baths of Caracalla • more a leisure centre than just a series of baths • second to have a public library within the complex
Interior of Baths of Caracalla
Basilica Ulpia Rome, Trajan, 100 -125 CE reconstruction drawing of the Forum of Trajan shows: (1) (2) (3) (4) the triumphal arch at the entrance statue of the emperor on horseback hemicycles Basilica Ulpia (a law court) (5) two libraries (6) Trajan's Column (7) his temple
Basilica Ulpia large roofed hall erected for transacting business and disposing of legal matters— largest and most lavish in Rome and would have been regarded as a model of its type
"The Basilica Ulpia may not have been a building of any profound architectural originality. But there are few monuments of antiquity that enjoyed a greater and more enduring prestige, or that did more to shape the subsequent course of architectural history. " Ward-Perkins, Roman Imperial Architecture
• usually contained interior colonnades that divided space • giving aisles or arcaded spaces at one or both sides • with an apse at one end (or less often at each end) where the magistrates sat, often on a slightly raised dais
Interior central aisle tended to be wide and was higher than the flanking aisles, so light could penetrate through the clerestory windows
Domus Aurea Nero’s Golden House, Tivoli, 64 -80 CE The main dining room was a rotunda, which revolved slowly, day and night, like the vault of heaven itself. There were baths with a lavish supply of both sea-water and sulphur water.
Nero’s Golden House, Domus Aurea, Tivoli, 64 -80 CE When the palace was completed on this sumptuous scale, Nero’s approval as he dedicated it was confined to the remark ‘At last I can begin to live like a human being’ (Suetonius, Nero 31)
Jack Arch Nero’s Golden House, Domus Aurea, Tivoli, Severus and Celer, 64 -80 CE
Nero’s Golden House, Domus Aurea, Tivoli, Severus and Celer, 64 -80 CE
Hadrian’s Villa Tivoli, 118 -133 CE • complex of over 30 buildings • included palaces, several thermae, theatre, temples, libraries, state rooms and quarters for courtiers, praetorians and slaves
Maritime Villa Canopus & Serapeum Site Plan of Hadrian’s Villa retreat from Rome for Roman Emperor Hadrian in the early 2 nd century
canopus (pool) Serapeum (grotto)
Hadrian’s Villa, Canopus, Tivoli, 118 -133 CE
evidence of the expanse of the Roman Empire Egyptian Alligator Greek Caryatid
covered corridor or passageway– extensive network of underground tunnels cryptoporticus
Mosaic: Landscape with lion, boars, deer c. 124
Mosaic: Nile scene c. 124
Island Villa
Hadrian’s Villa, Island Villa, Tivoli, 118 -133 CE probably used by emperor as a retreat from the busy life at the court
Hadrian’s Villa, Island Villa, Tivoli, 118 -133 CE
curved barrel vault
79 CE Vesuvius erupts! evidence of previous destruction
Pompeian Forum and surrounding area
Pompeii discovered in 1738
Pompeian Store Fronts often mask the residential environment
symbols = type of store goat = dairy grapes = wine
House (Domus) Pompeii, before 79 AD
House (Domus) Plan, Pompeii, before 79 AD
vestibulum or fauces (throat)
polylithic construction
entry mosaic in the House of the Vetii
atrium • large airy room • lighted by an opening in the roof • the formal room where guests were received and clients assembled to wait for their customary morning visits to their patron • also a room for family occasions
colored panels, graceful patterns, mythological motifs
cupids playing hide and seek
tablinum • open on two sides • family records were stored • elite families would display the imagines— busts of famous ancestors • master of the house, the paterfamilias, would greet his many clients on their morning visits
lattice style wooden door folding doors
chest of family finances
tabernae or shops
Cubiculum • on the upper story • in the interior of the house • often functioned as bedrooms Lekthos w/ fulcra, Cubiculum, 100300 CE • small rooms off the atrium used for private meetings, libraries, etc.
Etruscan Sarcophagus, 650 -80 BCE
culina braziers
House (Domus) Plan w/ Peristyle Garden, Pompeii, before 79 CE
House of the Vetii
view into the Peristyle Garden
House (Domus) - Peristyle Garden, Pompeii, before 79 AD
Lararium altar for the Household gods (lares) aedicule
House of the Faun
frescoes, Pompeii, before 79 CE
illusions of depth painting of a fresco from Pompeii
fanciful architecture & attenuated columns painting of a fresco from Pompeii
illusions of nature
fish pond
triadic color scheme: red, yellow, blue
frieze body dado
Roman Domestic Furniture 100 -300 AD
cathedra, 100 -300 CE
monopdia Stone Tables, 100 -300 CE trestle leg
lamps, 100 -300 CE
curule, 100 -300 CE
floor patterns: denote wealth border tesserae: individual mosaic tiles
geometry illusion patterns, House of the Faun
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