BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE The Roman Empire possesses a distinct Greek Character.

Their Culture, Traditions, and Art are similarly distinguishable. The Romans traced their ancestry to the Trojan Prince Aenas, Trojans came from the ancient city of Troy in Greece. The City of Rome was founded in early Entruscan Times (753 B.C.E) and founded by, as romans believed, Romulus and Remus the twins nurtured by a she wolf. In which according to the Roman legend, when the twins were grown up men they founded the city of Rome on where they have been discovered by an Entruscan shepherd.

CHARACTERISTICS & EXAMPLES OF ROMAN ART

ROMAN PAINTINGS ARE STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY THE GREEKS Roman paintings depict what the lost paintings of the Greeks were. DRAWING IN PERSPECTIVE Or creating an illusion of depth , shade, shadow and reflected light. Romans were among the first to develop this fundamental art skill. SCULPTURES Still, much of the Romans official sculptures were still imitated from the Greek style. Examples of these are: 1. Augustus of Prima Porta 2. Double Portrait of a Roman husband and wife. Romans also applied sculpture to architecture in form of relief. An example of this is the Column of Trajan, a triumphal column erected in the city of Rome to celebrate Trajans victory. ROMAN ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING The Romans were best known for their architecture and engineering. Examples of these are: 1. Pont Du Gard 2. Roman Colosseum 3. Pantheon OTHER ART FORMS THAT THE ROMANS PIONEERED 1. RELIEF a sculptural technique; to create a sculpture that gives an impression that the sculpted image has been raised above the background plain. 2. FRESCOES paintings done rapidly in water colour on a wall or ceiling. 3. MOSAIC - a form of art made with small pieces of coloured material such as glass.

Last Judgment Michelangelos Last Judgment, the large fresco on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel, dates from 1536 -1541about 30 years after the famous ceiling frescoes were painted. This painting of judgment day, with its grotesque and twisted figures, represents one of the earliest examples of Mannerist art. Christ stands in the center of the fresco meting out justice, while the saved rise on the left and the damned descend on the right.

Doric Columns, Parthenon

The Doric order is the earliest and simplest of the Greek architectural orders.

Ionic Columns, Propylaea Ionic columns are taller and more slender than Doric columns, and are topped by capitals that resemble scrolls.

Corinthian Columns During the Classical period, the Corinthian order, the most elaborate of the three Greek architectural orders, was used mainly for interior columns.