Roman Republican art

After the populated circle of passionate art collectors had formed, the Greek originals were no longer sufficient to meet the demand. A mass copy trade was started. Statues and paintings inspired by classical pieces were imported from the Neo-Attic workshops in Athens.

Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus

Thiasos

Naturally, after the huge influx of foreign art in Rome, coming from different schools and referring to very different periods, a certain amount of time was needed to assimilate and begin to understand these artistic legacies. As Romans attempted to interpret this foreign art, they developed distinctly eclectic characteristics. Early Roman originals saw the presence of contrasting styles within the same work, influenced by several different cultures simultaneously. This is apparent in the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus and Ara Pacis.

Fresco with historical scene from the Esquiline Necropolis, one of the first examples of Roman fresco painting

At the end of the fourth century, a painter Fabius Pictor was active in the decoration of the Temple of Salus in 304 BC. Painting at that time had a mainly practical, ornamental and, above all, celebratory purpose. It has been hypothesized that Fabius' decoration was of a narrative and historical nature, and that Republican painting with scenes from the Samnite Wars in the Esquiline Necropolis could be derived from these works.

From the third century BC, there is documentation of "triumphal" paintings, that is, paintings brought to the triumph parades with the narratives of events of the victorious military campaign or the appearance of the conquered cities. Triumphal painting was influential on Roman historical reliefs.

Remains of the Tabularium (in the background, under the Palazzo Senatorio)

During the reign of Sulla, the traditional wooden structures with Etruscan terracotta cladding or stuccoed tuff gave way to buildings built of travertine or other limestone. This was influenced by Hellenistic architecture, but adapted to a simpler, more modest form. The architectural elements had been raised from strictly pragmatic, allowing a decorative use that gave great freedom to architects.

At the time of the Macedonian wars, the first marble buildings were constructed in Rome. Lucius Licinius Crassus, relative of the more famous Marcus Licinius Crassus, was the first to use marble in the decoration of his private home on the Palatine Hill in 100 BC.

After the fire of 83 BC, the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus was rebuilt with stone, with marble columns from Athens and with a new chryselephantine simulacrum of Jupiter. The construction of the Tabularium dates back to 78 BC. This building had semi-columns leaning against the pillars from which the arches started. This scheme was also used in the Sanctuary of Hercules Victor in Tivoli.

After Caesar rose to power, there was the creation of his great Forum of Caesar and the Temple of Venus Genetrix.

Roman Republican portraiture is characterized by verism influenced by Hellenistic portraiture, and survives mainly as marble and bronze sculpture. Roman portrait busts are thought to derive in part from death masks or funerary commemorations, as elite Romans displayed ancestral images (imagines) in the atrium of their home (domus).

Portraiture in Republican Rome was a way of establishing societal legitimacy and achieving status through one's family and background. Exploits wrought by one's ancestors earned them and their families public approbation, and more; a pompous state funeral paid for by the state. Wax masks would be cast from the family member while they were still living, which made for hyper-realistic visual representations of the individual literally lifted from their face. These masks would be kept in the houses of male descendants in memory of the ancestors once they had passed. These masks served as a sort of family track record, and could get the descendants positions and perks,[6] similar to a child of two alumni attending their alma mater.

Republican Rome embraced imperfection in portraiture because, though there were different levels of power each class of society had, everybody had little insecurities, this type of untouched physical representation fostered a sense of community by implying that while there were existing inequalities, that did not change the fact that they were Romans.

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  The Orator, c. 100 BC, an Etrusco-Roman bronze statue depicting Aule Metele (Latin: Aulus Metellus), an Etruscan man wearing a Roman toga while engaged in rhetoric; the statue features an inscription in the Etruscan alphabet
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  Isis priest, bronze bust, mid 1st century BC
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  The Grave relief of Publius Aiedius and Aiedia, 30 BC, Pergamon Museum (Berlin)
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  The Patrician Torlonia bust depicting Cato the Elder, 1st century BC
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  The Osimo head, 1st century BC
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  Veristic portrait bust of an old man, head covered (capite velato), either a priest or paterfamilias (marble, mid-1st century BC)
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  Head of an old Roman, c. 60 BC. The realistic rendering of old age (baldness, face and neck wrinkles) corresponds to the esthetic ideal of the end Republic.
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  A funerary relief with members of the gens Vibia, late 1st century BC.
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  A Roman marble bust of Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt, c. 50-30 BC (around the time of her visit to Rome with Julius Caesar)[7][8][9]
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  The Tusculum portrait of Julius Caesar, 50–40 BC

Scene from the Odyssey (Attack of the Laestrygonians)

This period is defined by a Roman painting style called Pompeian, named such due to the studies of the conspicuous finds of Pompeii.

Along with the sculptures, numerous Greek paintings had arrived in Italy. Many painters had moved to Rome from Greece, Syria, and Alexandria. Pliny the Elder denounced the decadence of painting.

It was typical for a stately home to have every corner of the wall painted, with extraordinary quantity of pictorial decorations. These works, however, were not the result of the Roman inventiveness, but were a last remnant of purely Greek artistry.

Among the most interesting examples of the time there are the frescoes with scenes of the Odyssey from the Via Graziosa house, dating from 50 to 40 BC. These were most likely copies made (with some errors, as in the Greek names of the characters) of an Alexandrian original dating from around 150 BC.

The Nile mosaic of Palestrina

The first evidence of mosaic tiles in Rome dates back to the end of the third century BC. Mosaic art was used practically as a means to waterproof the clay floors and make it more resistant to trampling. Eventually, cultural exchanges with Greece and Egypt changed the aesthetics and compositions developed. Greek workers brought classic mosaic motifs, including doves and scenes from the Nile.

The wall mosaic was born at the end of the Republic, towards the first century BC. In Pompeii and Herculaneum, mosaics were used to waterproof exedras, as they were often decorated with fountains.

One of the most notable examples of mosaic from this period is the Nile mosaic of Palestrina. It is an accurate depiction of the course of the Nile, with scenes of hunting, fishing, rituals and banquets.