7 Painting Palaces and Villas in the First Century A.D.

By Diana E E Kleiner | Roman Architecture Lecture 7 of 24

Lecture Description

Professor Kleiner discusses the development of Third Style Roman wall painting in late first century B.C. villas belonging to the imperial family and other elite patrons. Third Style painting, as Professor Kleiner demonstrates, is characterized by departure from the perspectival vistas and panoramas of the Second Style toward an attenuation of architectural elements and a respect for the inherent flatness of the wall. The Third Style remains popular until the middle of the first century A.D., when it is replaced by the Fourth Style of Roman painting; both styles coexist in the Domus Aurea, the luxurious pleasure palace of the emperor Nero in downtown Rome. Professor Kleiner characterizes the Fourth Style of Roman wall painting as a compendium of previous styles, with imitation marble veneer, framed mythological panels, and the introduction of fragments of architecture situated in an illogical space.

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the great buildings and engineering marvels of Rome and its empire, with an emphasis on urban planning and individual monuments and their decoration, including mural painting. While architectural developments in Rome, Pompeii, and Central Italy are highlighted, the course also provides a survey of sites and structures in what are now North Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, and North Africa. The lectures are illustrated with over 1,500 images, many from Professor Kleiner’s personal collection.

Course Index

1. Introduction to Roman Architecture
2. The Founding of Rome and the Beginnings of Urbanism in Italy
3. Technology and Revolution in Roman Architecture
4. Civic, Commercial and Religious Buildings of Pompeii
5. Houses and Villas of Pompeii
6. Habitats at Herculaneum and Early Roman Interior Decoration
7. Painting Palaces and Villas in the First Century A.D.
8. Exploring Special Subjects on Pompeian Walls
9. Augustus Assembles Rome
10. Roman Tombs
11. Nero and His Architectural Legacy
12. The Colosseum and Contemporary Architecture in Rome
13. Imperial Palace on the Palatine Hill
14. Civic Architecture in Rome under Trajan
15. Hadrian’s Pantheon and Tivoli Retreat
16. Roman Life in Ostia, the Port of Rome
17. The Baths of Caracalla
18. Roman North Africa: Timgad and Leptis Magna
19. Baroque Phenomenon in Roman Architecture
20. The Rebirth of Athens
21. Architecture of the Western Roman Empire
22. The Tetrarchic Renaissance
23. Rome of Constantine and a New Rome
24. Discovering the Roman Provinces and Designing a Roman City

• Filmed: Spring 2009
• License:
• Source: Yale Open Courses