How
to analyse the works
For each set
work make notes covering the following areas:
NAME: (be
sure to include why it has that particular name. Some works have 2 e.g. The
Colosseum is also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. You will also need to
know who the people are e.g. Trajan was an emperor. If it is a temple or theatre,
know why it is called the Pantheon or the Temple of Bacchus. What evidence
is there to support the name?)
DATE: (be
careful with works that take a long period to complete and may have begun
under one emperor and finished under another)
PURPOSE: (sometimes
you get asked the obvious, while other times it may not be so obvious e.g.
What is the Ara Pacis Augustae?)
REASON: Why
was it built? A lot of the works serve a number of factors e.g. functional
as in the Colosseum or Pont du Gard, and they may also be propaganda. This
last point is very important as most of the set works have a propaganda element.
Remember even the Colosseum has a propaganda element to it.
MATERIALS: What
materials were used in the construction? Were they mined locally or imported
which suggests that a lot of money was spent on the construction.
FUNCTION: Again
this is similar to purpose. Temples were for worship; theatres were for entertainment,
the Pont du Gard helped carry water over a river to the nearby town etc.
FEATURES:
This is a huge area and can be broken down into different aspects:
ARCHITECTURAL- here
you will need to know technical terms such as the different types of columns,
what is the space above a temple called? etc
DECORATIVE- again
this refers to aspects that help to decorate a work e.g. niches in the Pantheon
hold statues, the relief sculpture on Trajan’s column, the panels on the Ara
Pacis, the veristic element of the Patrician carrying busts etc. Be sure to
know the story or what it is trying to depict e.g. Trajan’s column depicts
his campaign against the Dacians. How does the architect/artist present the
story and what methods do they use to achieve it?
STYLISTIC- especially
features that help to create harmony or symmetry e.g. The Pont du Gard and
the use of arches, the depth of the arch equals the height of the smaller
side arches in the Arch of Constantine etc.
UNUSUAL-
the oculus in the Pantheon, the adyton in the Temple of Bacchus. Why are they
there and what is their purpose?
PROBLEMS:
What problems do the architects/artists encounter e.g. how to depict Trajan
in his column, the weight problem in the roof of the Pantheon, and how do
they overcome this?
COMPARISON: The
temples can be compared to Greek temples. The theatres can be compared to
Greek theatres. What are the features of a Greek temple/theatre? What are
the features of a Roman temple/theatre? How have the Roman examples developed
and changed from the original Greek versions? What are the points of difference/comparison
between the portraits (Patrician carrying busts/Commodus as Hercules/Philip
the Arabian)?
Finally, remember the works can be linked in
different ways.
K
TIME
PERIOD- e.g. during
the Augustan period
K
FUNCTION- e.g. religious, recreational, functional
K
THEME- e.g. use of the arch, political propaganda,
historical relief