Pompeii Reflections

I thought that Yo's blog post about Pompeii was excellent. I really liked how he discussed the four styles of art. He described them as first painted stucco, second architectural, third painted scenarios, and fourth large, representational scenes. What I found most interesting and helpful in understanding these four styles were the great pictures he found to represent each. The pictures really showed what he was describing and made it very easy to understand.

I also looked at Rose's blog post on Pompeii. I thought it was great that she focused on the art as well rather than the destruction of the city. It seems like when people talk about Pompeii they only think of the ruins that remain of the city, but it is interesting to hear about the city that existed for quite a while before it was destroyed.

Byzantine Reflections

I thought it was really interesting how Megan talked about the three phases of art during the Byzantine period. The first phase was the Roman, which makes sense since Constantinople and the beginnings of the Byzantine Empire were founded by a Roman emperor and Roman people. The second phase, as Megan described it was Islamic and the third was focused on this place being a spiritual center for its time. I found it very interesting how she picked up of the different phases and it helps to understand different things that happened during this time period based on their art.

I also found Melanie's blog very interesting. I really liked how she discussed the difference between Early Christian and Byzantine time periods. The two are very closely related and I thought she summed it up perfectly when she said Early Christian was more of a movement and Byzantine was a period of time. She also talked about how the Hagia Sophia was turned into a mosque after the Ottoman's conquered the Byzantine Empire. It goes to show that so much changes throughout time as different people from different religions inhabit different areas. It is similar to how once Christianity took hold in Rome the Pantheon was changed into a church, whereas here when Islam takes hold a Christian church is turned into a mosque.

Pompeii

Pompeii is an Ancient Roman City located near Naples in Southern Italy. In 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the city of Pompeii. Until 1748 the ancient city of Pompeii was buried under 15-20 feet of ash from the volcano. It was rediscovered in 1748 and excavations began in 1764.

This is a picture I took when I visited in May 2012 overlooking part of the town of Pompeii.

In ancient times, Pompeii was a city with a population around 20,000 people. The city had a complex water system, amphitheater, gymnasium, and port. The Temple of Apollo was the most important religious structure in the city before Pompeii was taken over as a Roman Republic.

Temple of Apollo with Mount Vesuvius barely visible behind.

After Pompeii was turned into a Roman Republic aqueducts were built which allowed water to flow into the city and allowing them to have that complex water system that I mentioned above. 

The ash that covered the city of Pompeii helped to preserve many structures and items of daily life throughout the years. Much of the city remains exactly how it was before 79 AD. The Forum, Baths, houses, and some large villas remain today.

Part of the Forum that still stands today.

Many aspects of their daily life also remain. Apart from homes themselves remaining there are also objects and engravings inside those homes that signify what type of business those people were involved in. Some indicate trading companies, since Pompeii had its own port, while others indicate wine makers and other tradespeople. Many frescoes and votives remain partially in tact and even fully intact. The thing that I found interesting, but very sad at the same time, was that some people were also preserved because of the ash and can be viewed in the pose in which they died during the volcanic eruption in 79 AD.

Many votives of different shapes and sizes have been discovered intact.

A mosaic that remains from a villa in Pompeii.

Here are two bodies displayed that have been preserved by the ash of Mount Vesuvius. Behind them are wall frescoes that have been well preserved. 

Early Christian Reflections

This week Jessica's blog talked a lot about the structure of the churches that were built during this time period. I thought this was great to talk about because the churches began to get larger for the large amounts of people who wanted to partake in Christianity once it became an accepted religion and the persecution of Christians stopped.

Kristina P's blog also talked about the church set up but she also discussed how the main goal of these churches and basilicas was the glorify god. She pointed out how all of the artwork represented some type of religious aspect, which we had not really seen before this time period. I think it is very interesting how things started to change and how society began to shift from worshiping multiple gods to now worshiping only one.

Byzantine

I found the Hagia Sophia to be an astounding structure. From the outside it displays a magnitude that seemed to be unrivaled at its time. The Hagia Sophia had and still has a prominent spot of the Byzantine/Istanbul architecture. It is a centrally designed church with a circular dome situated on a square base. This type of design differed from the common basilica form which was a cross shaped structure that also contained a dome. Not only is this church impressive on the outside but also on the inside. The interior is a mesmerizing display of colors, textures, artwork, mosaics, and frescoes. The structure is enormous and the high dome and high galleries surrounding make it seem even larger. 

I think it is extremely impressive that someone came up with a way to mesh so many different materials and artwork together to create a cohesive look to such a large space. I also find it interesting how back in this time period the more decoration and colors and art the better inside a structure, whereas today places seem to be plainer without as much going on inside of them as far as the design of the floors, walls, and ceiling go.

The Byzantine culture has had a large impact on design today. Big fashion houses have gained inspiration from this time period, and interior designers have also come up with creative ways to portray influences from this time period into modern designs. 

Dolce and Gabbana Fashion Show 

Here the patterned fabrics represent Byzantine influences, as well as certain other design elements.

The mosaic and wall material/texture bring in a Byzantine feeling while still portraying that this is a modern and luxurious environment.

Early Christian

As Christianity rose in popularity places that used to serve as a place for pagan worship were being turned into a Christian church. One such structure was the Pantheon. Originally it was built as a structure to all the gods but was later converted into a church for a congregation that served only one god. Churches were spectacularly decorated, with mosaics and frescoes covering almost every surface. Colors, materials, and textures varied to create a very dramatic experience within the church. Early Christian started this trend toward spectacular design that increased as more time periods passed.

Another aspect of Early Christianity that I found interesting was there use of catacombs. When I was in Italy I visited some of the catacombs and it was a very chilling experience, in my opinion. I found it very strange to be underground surrounded by rows and rows of tightly packed, almost claustrophobic, tombs. At the same time it was also interesting to consider how they went about building them and some of the engravings on the tombs were really impressive. They were so detailed and the care and time it must have taken to make those was hard to fathom.

Today, a lot of the motifs common back in the Early Christian time period are still popular within Christianity. The cross has come to be the overall symbol of Christianity throughout the world. The cross is represented in wall art, sculpture, and jewelry.

Other motifs that are still widely used are the dove and the "fish," which we actually learned in class was a sort of symbol in early times to determine who was a fellow Christian and who was not. One person would draw an arc in the sand upon meeting someone else and if that person drew a connecting arc then that signified that there were also Christian.

Ancient Rome Reflections

I really like how Ariana's blog really emphasized the invention of concrete during this time period. Concrete completely changed the way that structures were built and broadened the type of structures that could be built as well. She also discussed the Pantheon in her blog post and her modern day example of a dome structure in Berlin was amazing. It really showed how the shape is still used but the materials used to create the dome have changed dramatically. In ancient times they could not imagine creating a dome using metal and glass, whereas today that is something that is possible.

I also looked at Hannah's blog this week. I thought it was really interesting how she talked about how men and women were gladiators in Ancient Roman times. Since we discussed the Colosseum in depth in class I thought it was very cool that she decided to do some extra research on what took place inside that structure.