CLASS NOTES: Ara Pacis Augustae (Roman Architecture)

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Notes on video lecture:

Ara Pacis Augustae

Roman Architecture

Diana Kleiner, Yale University

Notes taken by Edward Tanguay on February 22, 2014 (go to class or lectures)

Choose from these words to fill the blanks below:

sacrifice, griffins, Gestae, Pacis, mythological, Gaul, children, Greek, Virgins, Twelve, victims, precinct, fantasy, Janus, Luna

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Augustus tells us about this structure in his work "Res " [rez JEST-ee]

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after successfully restoring law and order to Spain and , the senate decided to consecrate the Ara Augustae [AH-rah PAHK-is ah-oo-GOOS-tigh] on the Campus Martius in honor of my return, at which officials, priests, and Vestal should offer an annual sacrifice"

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made entirely of solid marble

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consecrated on July 4, 13 BC

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completed in 9 BC

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many scenes on each wall

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U-shaped alter, , like the Pergamon Alter in Berlin

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the was made inside which is open to the sky

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two doors but only one staircase

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double doors: Alter of the Gods, 5th century BC, market place in Athens

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like shrine of , it had two doors

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when the doors were closed, it signaled that peace reigned throughout the empire, Augustus wrote that this happened three times throughout his reign

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the architecture of the Ara Pacis

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winged lion , very popular in Augustan times

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spiraling acanthus plant

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figurative frieze which represents the vestal virgins, as sacrifices here were in part taking part in honer of them

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inside wall well preserved

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with slats, loots like a wooden wall

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skulls of bulls

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animal would be brought in for slaughter

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wall is well preserved

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what is being depicted is a copy of the former, temporary wooden alter

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we also see this style in paintings of the time

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a frieze with Austustus, the senators, magistrates, and others in a procession, all supported by ancanthus plants, a kind of thinking popular in 3rd style Roman painting (20–10 BC)

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frieze on south side

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hast portrait of Augustus himself

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little boy in toga

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little boy in foreign costume

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possible "pledges of empire", or hostage guests, of rulers from other parts of the empire who were brought to Rome to live with the emperor in his palace and be trained in Roman ways with the objective of sending them back to their native lands as rulers

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Augustus' ways of creating a hegemonic empire

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also scenes, e.g. Romulus and Remus being suckled by the she-wolf

Vocabulary:

spolia, n. The re-use of earlier building material or decorative sculpture on new monuments. Although spolia usually refers to ancient and medieval examples, the practice is common and there is probably no period of art history in which evidence for spoliation could not be found. Spolia generally occurs as either ideological or pragmatic. Ideological examples include re-use of art and architectural elements from former empires or dynasties as triumphant, i.e. to display the spoils or booty of the conquered, whereas pragmatic examples involve the utility of re-used materials: if there is a good supply of old marble columns available, for example, there is no need to produce new ones. ⇒ "The book offers a range of views on spolia and appropriation in art and architecture from fourth-century Rome to the late twentieth century."

acanthus, n. [ah-CANTH-is] one of the commonest plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration, in Ancient Greek and Roman architecture acanthus ornamentation appears extensively in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders, and applied to friezes, dentils, and other decorated areas ⇒ "Acanthus leaves are among the most common plants to be used as ornamental elements in architecture and interior design."

dentil, n. in classical architecture a dentil (Latin for "tooth") is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmold, or molding under the projecting part of a cornice. ⇒ "It has a a cornice built up with dentils (like the closely spaced ends of joists) and a corona molding to support the projecting roof."

pilaster, n. [PIL-is-ter] an architectural element in classical architecture used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function ⇒ "There are pilasters flanking the doorway."

swag, n. an ornamental drapery or curtain draped in a curve between two points ⇒ "Also depicted in carrara marble, you have these large, garlanded swags that you see hanging from pilasters"

libation, n. a drink poured out as an offering to a deity ⇒ "libation dishes"

bucranium (pl. bucrania), n. the skull of an ox as an ornament often sculptured, frequently with adornment of wreaths or other decoration, on the frieze of the entablature in the Roman Ionic and Corinthian orders of architecture ⇒ "On the second side we see the victim, a running goat, and on the third side the symbol of sacrifice, the bucranium."

entablature, n. the upper section of a classical building, resting on the columns and constituting the cornice, frieze, and architrave ⇒ "Each style has distinctive capitals and entablatures."

architrave, n. lowermost part of an entablature in classical architecture that rests directly on top of a column ⇒ "They represent the original wooden end-beams, which rest on the plain architrave that occupies the lower half of the entablature."

axonometric, adj. axonometric means "to measure along axes", e.g. axonometric projection shows an image of an object as viewed from a skew direction in order to reveal more than one side in the same picture ⇒ "The axonometric view shows you that the inner precinct had a series of square panels."

hegemonic, adj. leading, controlling, ruling, predominant ⇒ "Keeping other rulers' children hostage in his palace with him and training them in the ways of the Roman empire and then sending them back as adults to their provinces in order for them to rule according to Roman customs, was Augustus' way of maintaining a hegemonic empire."

Flashcards:

pronounce Ara Pacis Agustae

[AHR-ah PAHK-is ah-GOO-stigh]

Ideas and Concepts:

Etymology of the day, via tonight's Roman Architecture class: "In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions:of gates, doors, passages, endings and time. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. It is after Janus that the Romans named the month of January."