Roman Art (History of Art & Architecture)

Roman art emerged from an intermingling of Italo-Etruscan and Greek-Hellenistic forms. It was the conservative art of warriors, in which the subject was far more important than the form. It is not surprising therefore that the different phases of Roman art are named after political epochs, individual rulers and dynasties. The buildings themselves were not based on the Greek laws of proportion; they no longer respected the landscape but dominated it, and Roman architecture would be the source for much that was done in later centuries. In this comprehensive survey, covering the period 5000 BC-AD 305, the author examines the influences, innovations, aims and achievements of Roman artists in all media, and draws on a wide range of examples, from Rome itself as well as the empire - Pompeii, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the aqueduct in Tarragona, Hadrian's villa at Tivoli and Trajan's column.