Roman Art as an Image of Values
Roman art is very expansive and wide-reaching spanning almost 1,000 years and three continents, from Europe into Africa and Asia. The first Roman art can be dated back to 509 B.C.E., with the legendary founding of the Roman Republic, and lasted until 330 C.E. Ancient Rome ruled the earth and was the most powerful nation for many generations. It was seen as the most powerful nation because of their military, engineering, and architecture. The development of concrete and the extensive European network of roads and bridges began in Ancient Rome. Ancient Rome was an established kingdom and had many works of art that helped the Roman Empire, examples of Roman Art include sculpture, painting, mosaic, and architecture. Roman Art answers the worldview questions is there a God, what is the cause of evil and suffering, and what is the nature of history.
The first worldview question is what is the nature of history. The first example of Roman art can be dated back to 509 B.C.E when the Roman Republic was founded. The Roman Art period lasted until 330 C.E.
Above is a picture of the Roman Empire. Roman Art shows the history of this painting and that the Roman Empire was successful.
After the founding of the Roman Republic in 500 BCE, as the Romans started coming into contact with the flourishing Greek cities of southern Italy and the eastern Mediterranean. They fell under the influence of Greek art a process known as Hellenization. Soon many Greek works of art were being taken to Rome for themselves and many Greek artists followed to pursue their careers in Roman Art. The arts were still not a priority for Roman leaders who were more concerned about survival and military affairs. It wasn't until about 200 BCE after it won the First Punic War against Hannibal and the Carthaginians, that Rome felt secure enough to develop its culture. Rome did not have much of its own tradition, so it imitated much of the Greek works. Rome was unique in the ancient world as it had a very limited artistic image. Their sculptures were created to honor their ancestors, gods and goddesses, philosophers, military generals, and leaders. Romans made their statues of people very realistic looking.
For the Romans, art was often used to illustrate Roman values, with the purpose for showing the Romans what was important. For example, the full-length statue of Aulus Metellus showed the politician wearing a toga, the characteristic clothing of a Roman citizen. His arm was extended as if he were making a speech. Aulus Metellus was an Etruscan senator in Republican Rome. This statue indicates the status and respect given to Etruscans as they were being absorbed into Rome. He wore a close-fitting toga over a short-sleeved tunic. Aulus Metellus stands in a relaxed position like most of the Roman Art. Aulus Metellus is a good person to follow in history. Roman Art shows the history of him as a good senator in Ancient Rome, a faithful person who was working in the best interest of the people.
The answer to the question, “what is the nature of history” is that the Romans were very powerful during the empire. Roman Art was a big reason that the Roman empire was dominant for a long time, as they used their art to persuade their leaders and traditions.
The next worldview question that Roman Art answers are “what is the cause of evil and suffering?” Roman Art shows the suffering in their paintings. Paintings would include portraits, scenes from mythology, gardens, landscapes, and townscapes to create great 360° panoramas which showed the viewer from the confines of a small room to the limitless world of the painter's imagination. Roman paintings have been around as long as Roman Art.
This is a painting of the fire of Rome that was caused by Nero. This painting was done around 50 AD when Nero was the emperor of Rome. When Nero was the Emperor of Rome and during his time as the Roman Empire there was much evil and suffering. An example of this suffering during the Roman Empire was this painting of the Fire of Rome. This shows suffering because Nero burned the whole city of Rome and he killed many people. Including his mother and wife. This is a painting of Caligula killing someone, which shows how Caligula was a bad emperor. He was known for destroying he was a living god, dressed as a god, and referring to himself as a god. The Roman art painting portrayed the evil and suffering that occurred at the hands of the evil emperor.
The third worldview question that can be answered from Roman Art is, “is there a God, and if so what is he like?” In Roman Art, the Romans painted about the Greek Gods. In the Roman Empire, they worshipped these Greek Gods. The Romans started worshipping Greek Gods because Rome was close to Greece. Many Romans had a shrine in their house to worship their personal household god, and they adopted much of Greek Mythology into their own. They took almost all of the Greek gods, gave them Roman names, and then called them their own. Roman mosaics were made up of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of tiny colored stones and gems called tesserae. Mosaics would show pictures of Roman history and everyday Roman life. These mosaic images provide an insight into what Roman life was like and how they lived.
This is a mosaic of Zeus. Which shows that Zeus is the leader of the Greek Gods. Zeus is a good leader of the Greek Gods. Zeus was worshipped by the Romans and in Roman Art, they also paint about him. The paintings that depicted the Gods were important to the Romans. They showed which gods the Romans worshipped.
This is a mosaic of Theseus and the Minotaur. This shows how Theseus was brave and was able to kill the Minotaur. There are many gods that the Romans have painted about, and these are just a few examples of the gods. It is important in Roman Art to see who God is because to see who they worship. They worship the Greek gods and their paintings show what they do. The painting of Roman Art helps answer the worldview question “is there a God and if so what is he like?” The painting shows that the god is the Greek Gods.
Ancient Rome was an established kingdom and had many works of art that helped the Roman Empire. Examples of Roman Art are sculpture, painting, mosaic, and architecture. Roman Art answers the worldview question, “is there a God?” “What is the cause of evil and suffering?” “What is the nature of history.” The Roman Empire was a great empire and Roman Art was depicted and how they were successful. The Roman Empire was the greatest empire in the world and Roman Art helped the Roman Empire become successful.
