Ancient Roman Art
Background:
Ancient Roman art can be split into three main periods:
- Republic (500 BCE) - overthrew the Etruscans
- Imperial (27 BCE) - begins with Augustus Caesar
- Late imperial - depicts war, fighting, and chaos
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The two main architectural features that allowed the Romans to be so powerful were arches and concrete. They allowed the Romans to create large, beautiful structures, and unlike the Greeks who had to harmonize architecture with the environment, they could change, altar, and destroy the environment to build.
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Rome was the first to create a true arch; they had more support and were much stronger, and they moved the thrust down. Voussoirs, wedge shaped stones, were used to construct the arches. In their structures, the Romans used barrel arches, a long row of connected arches, and groin vaults, two perpendicularly connected barrel arches.
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Concrete started in the first century BCE, and was made using powdered limestone, sand, water, and rubble. It was cheaper, stronger, and faster to make, and the Romans would make wood molds which they could pour concrete into to make different structures.
