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Published: Tuesday, 19 November 2024

Sometimes we forget how multicultural art is. Popular movements typically associated with a culture can have strong influences from the art of other cultures. Whether its Japanese prints with French Impressionism, African art’s influence on Modern art with Picasso and Matisse, or even Russian art on the avant-garde, it would be a mistake to assume these movements are singular to their own culture. Despite being a cultural juggernaut, Roman art is no exception to external influences.

When In Rome... (no, actually. When?)

As discussed last week, art was important to the Romans because they used it for political, social, religious and civic purposes, including forming a shared historical understanding and national narrative. The exact nature of those influences changed over time, and so there are differences in artist traditions and styles across the years. Because the Roman Empire lasted so long, we can divide it by period: Early (27 BC- AD 193), High (AD 193 - 284), and Late (AD 284 - 476).

From there, some scholars sub-divide artistic styles of Roman art by imperial dynasty i.e. the reigns of different Emperors. That’s a less robust method though, because being Emperor was famously bad for your life expectancy: Augustus reigned over 40 years, but multiple Emperors lasted less than a year. Gordian I and II lasted only 21 days! Art styles do change, but perhaps not that fast. Because of these limitations, I prefer the Early, High and Late Empire categories.

It is striking to see how heavy the Greek and Egyptian influences were on Roman art at the end of the Republic and into the Early Empire. It is also noticeable how only traces of those remain into the High and Late periods. As the Empire grew, Romans encountered many new cultures; incorporating those influences diluted their traditional Greek and Egyptian roots. By the High and Late periods, there were only brief resurgences if a particular Emperor had an aesthetic inclination towards one of these styles.

‘Egypt is a wonderful place for contrasts: splendid things gleam in the dust’- Flaubert

What did Egyptian art in Rome look like? The mosaic above gives an idea: discovered in a villa near Rome, dated to the early Empire, the geometry and floral designs are standard Roman techniques, but the work is dominated by two figures wearing Egyptian outfits (highlighted).

From architectural monuments like pyramids to mosaics, bronze statuettes, and imported artefacts, the Romans were obsessed with Egypt. When the Roman Empire began, Egyptian culture was already thousands of years old, full of fascinating stories, characters, ideas and ancient Gods like Iris and Osiris. Egypt dominated the economy of the Mediterranean, with the annual flooding of the Nile River supporting fertile agriculture that became the ‘breadbasket’ for the city of Rome, with grain supplies to feed the growing population. Egyptian royalty were seen as descendants of Alexander The Great. Egypt played a pivotal role in the recent history of the Civil Wars, with the stories of Caesar, Pompey, Mark Antony and Octavian Augustus all revolving around the Nile delta.

This exotic nature and historical heft meant that Egypt carried a different novelty than the art and artefacts from other areas. Octavian’s victory over Egypt sparked Egyptomania, followed by local artisans adopting and incorporating Egyptian designs. Isis and Osiris were central figures in the dominant Egyptian religion, and told stories of life, death, resurrection and fertility. As such, Egyptian influence can be prominently seen in Roman funerary art, art depicting deities, and decorations in public spaces.

Above is the Pyramid of Cestius, built in the Early period as a tomb for Gaius Cestius, a prominent magistrate and religious benefactor. Covered in white Carrara marble, it is clearly an homage to the famous Nubian pyramids of Egypt. It stands at the fork of two ancient roads, via Ostiensis and via Marmorata, at a cemetery that was outside the ancient city of Rome.

The Pyramid of Cestius was not the only pyramid in Rome, there was another- the Meta Romuli. It was situated in the area of what is now the Vatican. It was demolished in AD 1499 to make way for a new road to connect the Vatican to the bridge crossing the Tiber. It appears in the bronze door by Filarete for St. Peter's Basilica, and in the fresco The Vision of the Cross to Constantine by Giulio Romano and other assistants of Raphael. In both works you can also see the Pyramid of Cestius. [Editor's Note: I'm continuously surprised how much of the history of art we know from looking at old paintings of even older artworks!]

Early Roman Emperors sought to align themselves with Egyptian history, issuing propaganda of themselves in the style of Egyptian kings and gods: below on the left is Caracalla, an Emperor of Rome, portrayed as a Pharaoh King of ancient Egypt to build his prestige and heritage.

On the right is a marble bust of Antinous, lover of Emperor Hadrian. The facial structure and marble style is typically Roman, but his stance and regalia, a nemes, is traditionally Egyptian and reserved for pharaohs; another example of how Roman artists reached for Egyptian influences for credibility.

A main source of Egyptian art in Rome was the Iseum and Serapeum Campense, a temple dedicated to Egyptian deities Isis and Serapis. It was the most important Egyptian temple in Rome for centuries. It included original works from Egypt as well as adopted Egyptian-Roman art. The obelisks of Piazza Navona, Piazza della Rotonda, Piazza della Minerva, Piazza dei Cinquecento, and the Capitoline Egyptian lions all came from the Iseum and Serapeum Campense via Egypt.

The temple was built in the 1st century AD on the Campus Martius, outside Rome. It appears to have been quite flammable: it was completely destroyed by a fire in AD 80. It was immediately ordered rebuilt by the Emperor Domitian, but another fire in the 5th century AD (most likely from the second Sack of Rome by the Visigoths) left the structure dilapidated. The last remains were probably destroyed in the following centuries, although the two entrance arches may have survived until the Middle Ages.

The first temple fire was likely around the pinnacle of Egyptian influence on Roman art. Egypt remained a particularly prized province in the Roman Empire; a sign of its importance is that it tended to be governed directly by the Emperor rather than via a Governor. However, the relative cultural power declined over time as the Empire grew, and by the High and Late stages, fewer artefacts show explicit Egyptian features and references. Those that do are likely to be reflecting on earlier Roman works, rather than directly from Egyptian sources.

'Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artis intulit agresti Latio'

The Roman poet Horace put it bluntly, 'Captive Greece captured her savage conqueror and brought the arts to rustic Latium.' i.e. since the Trojan War, the Greeks have always enjoyed a good sneak attack: despite Greece's military subjugation by Rome, Greek culture and arts profoundly shaped and enriched Roman society, including its artistic practices.

When we talked about the Laocoön we discussed how desperately Romans in general (and Julius Caesar in particular) tried to link their founding stories back to ancient Greece. Laocoön and His Sons, one of the iconic sculptures of the Early period of the Roman Empire, is believed to be a Roman copy adopted from a Greek bronze original.

This is not unusual: essentially every single sculpture in the Early era is a direct copy of something Greek. Roman patrons of the arts would commission carefully measured copies of Greek statues, or Greek prototype variants tailored to their tastes in the Greek style. Compare this substantial (279 lbs!) bronze baby Eros (left) with the marble equivalent (right) made later in Rome. The cherubs are stunningly similar, despite being made nearly three hundred years apart, with the Roman artwork being heavily influenced by the Greek predecessor.

Greek influences found their way most notably through architecture not just sculpture. The Roman rotunda is derived from a Greek tholos. The classic Roman forum is born from an agora. Even the amphitheater, that classic Roman open-air venue used for public spectacles, replicated in a thousand towns across the Empire, right up to the most famous Colosseum hosting tens of thousands of spectators for the games... is a development of the basic design of a Greek theatre.

Greek statues are often characterised with lending beauty, importance, or heroic qualities to the individual. These attributes of balanced compositions, contemplative subject matter that was accented with idealised beauty was adopted quickly by the Romans. A prime example being the heroic nude or statues of gods and goddesses. They are rendered lean and proportionate to establish balanced beauty, as shown below:

Art of the early Empire is characterised with heavy Greek influences and Roman Republican realism. Combining these traits adapted into a new style: a Roman form of idealism with strong ties to realism. It was Caracalla during the Severan dynasty (successors of the Antonines) who began to shift from the classical Greek ideal male form in sculpture to a more brute/gladiatorial physique, like the Farnese Hercules and mosaics of the male form that decorated his baths (see below). Like we saw with the Egyptians, we can see how the Greek influence declined as the Empire shifted into the High and Late period, with Roman art developing its characteristic style.

Greeks, and Egyptians, and Romans, Oh My!

To bring this expedition to a close, we go back to the beginning. The mosaic below was part of a sanctuary-grotto in Palestrina, just outside Rome. It's considered one of the earliest large mosaics from the classical world and provides a glimpse into the Roman fascination with ancient Egyptian exoticism. The mosaic is an example of the ‘Nilotic landscape’ genre that has a long iconographic history in Egypt and the Aegean. It is thought to depict rituals related to Isis and Osiris, and the Nile’s passage to the Mediterranean.

So, we have a mosaic depicting the Nile in Egypt, found in a villa near Rome.... aaaaaaand, it's actually Greek though... Greek is seen throughout the mosaic and identifies the depicted animals including, but not limited to: rhinoceros, lions, giraffes, crocodiles, crabs, camels, monkeys, and birds. Architectural structures in the Egyptian and Greek style divide the mosaic into an upper and lower register. The lower register depicts people horse riding, feasting, and partaking in ceremonies. The upper register is a wilder natural landscape with African tribesmen hunting and is scattered with flora and fauna.

Conclusion

The Nile Mosaic encompasses everything we have discussed today about the Greek and Egyptian influences in Roman art. History is written by the victors, and for nearly a millennium, history was written by the Romans. While Roman art and history will always hold a dear place in my heart, we now know enough about them to recognise that this carefully formulated narrative is not even half the story. The answer lies in evidence provided by archaeological and artistic discoveries that happen every day. For me, this drives more curiosity and eagerness to uncover what other secrets and obscurities lie behind the Imperial Purple Curtain.

If we are to be authentic students, connoisseurs or admirers of art history and the classical world, it is imperative for us to critically analyse and question what we see at face value. We don't know everything, and frankly never will when it comes to the regimented and intricate ecosystem that was the Roman Empire. To an extent, we have to do some unlearning of what we think we know of this era from an artistic perspective in order to deepen our understanding and discover the multicultural influences that were there all along.

Thanks for reading, and happy treasure hunting for these artworks in Gladiator II!

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