The Pantheon, built between 118 125 A.D. is one of the most recognizable Roman landmarks.
Roman art was in many ways a synthesis of Greek influence and the art of the cultures of the Italian peninsula, such as Etruscan. Greek art gave the Romans the classical foundation that is so recognizable in Roman art. However, in areas such as architecture and portraiture, Etruscan influence is clearly visible.
Republican Portraiture
Portraiture of the Republican period has a look of realism without idealism that is easy to appreciate today. Sculpted busts of family members or patriarchs have exaggerated features and human expressions that later became smoothed out during the Imperial period.
Imperial Portraiture
Imperial portraiture has the classic look and smooth lines we normally associate with Roman art. While sometimes described as bit sterile, these portrait busts were often the official portraits of the emperors, measured with calipers and recreated throughout the vast empire. In later portraits, the stress afflicting the empire is reflected in the portraits.
Painting
Roman painting is divided into four main styles. The painting that survived is primarily fresco, paintings made directly on walls. The First Style was largely concerned, based on the artifacts that survived, on decorative motifs such as the copying of marble patterns. The Second Style is radically different. Fake windows are painted onto the walls to open up the space. The Third and Fourth Styles extend these innovations, adding outdoor scenes and mythological subjects.
Imperial Architecture
Romans were great engineers and used arches and vaults in construction of both public works such as aqueducts (many of which are still standing today) and buildings. The Pantheon, a signal example of Roman architecture, exploits these engineering developments, creating a huge, circular interior space lit by a hole in the roof, the oculus. The roof was constructed with tufa, a lightweight volcanic rock. The tufa roof gets thinner as it approaches the oculus in the center so the roof can be supported by the walls alone, leaving the majestic interior open.
