In Which we Briefly talk about the decline of Roman Art

Good morning to you, reader of this post, my friend, happy Monday of July! How are you? I am bringing you today, inspired by a conversation I had with my friend Johannes at AESTHETICAL SYMPHONIES and some videos by the great youtube channel MAIORIANUS, a bit on a gruesome tale, the one of the decline of the crafts in the Roman Empire. Before we begin, a wonderful edit done by Johannes, with a most accurate quote. It fits the theme of this post.

Now, to the topic

The decline in the quality and craftsmanship of Roman Art is a cautionary tale, indeed. It first came to my mind when I thought of the nicely done frescoes found in the city of Pompeii, in comparison to what was painted (if at all) in, let’s say, the 4th century AD. Even when you think of mosaics, that were used very much by the Eastern Romans, the quality of the art done, even in the highest of their forms, could not quite match the ones that their forefathers did in the last years of the roman republic. I also think of the iconoclast movement in what was to be called the Byzantine Empire. That stormed the churches and in many cases destroyed what they seemed as “idolatry symbols”. This was a very heated debate, if Christians should engage in art at all. It was heavily talked about amongst clerics for many years, and like the iconoclasm show us, beyond dialogal words. The fact that this iconoclasm would appear again and again, though, is for another post, as for today, I wanted to briefly comment on the decline of quality of the roman pieces of work. Am I crazy for thinking that? It is not to fully dismiss the first christian artists, but they weren’t nearly as skillful as many of their pagan counterparts. Their frame of mind did not help, and that would contribute for their works to be considerably less expressive and impressive. Some, like me, would call this decline apocalyptic, because only in the Renaissance would we see the arts flourish again like they did during the first centuries of the empire. One might say we would never see the… I don’t know how to describe it… the freshness of the pagan artists, just their depiction of human and natural scenes, their craft, again. The music of antiquity was almost all lost, what would come next, as glorious as it would become eventually, was not the same. So, can we argue this for the paintings and the architecture, as well? I think so, but am I crazy to consider this even a thing? I have good reason to believe I am not crazy in this sense (or any sense, but anyway), specially because I am not the only one who talked about this. 

Freco at Pompeii depicting a glass Bowl with some fruits. Glass was a material the romans had, that for many centuries was lost in Medieval Europe.

How did the craft and the quality of the arts declined? Their notion of space, with the plays with shade and three dimensional surroundings would vanish, the frescoes and mosaics would lose their illusions and their vitality. Sculptures would be carved in ways one would say are more brute and with less attention to the little details of the face and body. Detailed Nudity would vanish for the most part (if not at all) in those as well. Architecture would become more and more robust, thicker walls, less delicate pieces of ornament, when they were placed at all. One could look at the Romanic buildings of the proper medieval times, as an example of how the old classical orders were lost. Romanic, according to my friend Johannes and I trust his information, would come to being in the germanic region specially under Charlemagne, and now I add my part: as a way to emulate, imitate even, the old glory of Rome, to bring it back, many centuries before the renaissance. It would not come to be, the buildings of the romanic fashion were sturdy and thick beyond measure, not at all what the romans were doing in their glory days. The arc, for example, would be largely stopped being used, or not as effectively as before. This is not to say the romanic works were not charming, even beautiful… they did have their merits, but cannot be compared to the technique and technology of the old Romans, not satisfactorily at least. Not all was lost in Europe when the romans perished, there. But, many things would take centuries to emerge once again, no matter how wise, scholarly and benevolent were the barbaric kings (and in many cases they were not). 

Mosaic of the year 500, Eastern Roman Empire. Not all pieces were as naive as this one, but this mosaic is a safe example of the decline of the naturalism, at least, in Roman Art.

Why and how long ago did things start going wrong, for the romans as a whole? Crisis of the 3rd century AD would be the catastrophe that would bring the empire to its knees, and with that, its art, its economy, the few citizen’s freedoms that existed before. The old empire of the good emperors perished, and a succession of military juntas, if you can call it that, would take its place. Diocletian, we can say, was huge in the destruction of Rome as SPQR, as his policies did much damage to the already demolished roman economy. And with economic ruin, all the rest would perish. In the end, Rome endured, but the quality of what once was Rome was to never recover. What was left of the helenic culture was killed by angry Christian mobs, and later by angry Muslim hordes. The Assassination of the neoplatonic philosopher Hypatia comes to mind, though the library of Alexandria (and Alexandria as a whole) would be ruined some centuries later, with Islam. If many interpretations of the bible by the Christians were harsh, what was to follow with Islam, would make them look like tolerant cosmopolitans. 

An early sample of Romanic Art. Here I make a pause to say I love the Medieval time, as I love the Clasical Era, and so on. I am not trying to put one period in the front of the other, or make a defense on this and that. I am just stating a fact, that though medieval art is not bad, it is a decline in comparison with what was done before in Europe, even amongst the old celtic tribes. If I were to talk also about Medieval times, this post would turn to a small book, and definitely a way bigger post than I wanted at the beginning.

On the topic of the collapse of the roman empire, the end of the classical era, and the new medieval times, much can be written, because much is to be written about it. For now, though, and with my limited abilities, that is a nice way to finish this post. Once again, I thank in specific not only Johannes at the Aesthetical Symphonies, but also the Majorian Channel on Youtube, for the inspiration for this gathering of thoughts! Hope you like this small sample, and I wish you the best, my friend! And I see you once again next time, for more thoughts, ideas, and so on…