Art in Focus

Chapter 9: Roman Art

Additional Studio Projects

RELIEF OF A ROMAN STRUCTURE

Complete a mat board or foam-core board relief showing the exterior of a temple, aqueduct, colosseum, or arch based on a Roman example. Include the same architectural features as the structure that inspired it. Layer increasingly smaller shapes on top of larger shapes for a three-dimensional look. This also provides contrasts of value (light and shadow) that add visual interest to the relief.

INSPIRATION

Examine the Roman temples, aqueducts, colosseums, and arches illustrated in this chapter. Select one of these for detailed study. If seen directly from the front (or side), would it seem flat or three-dimensional? How many different kinds of shapes can you point out? Which shapes project outward into space? Do the shadows created by the different projections and recessions give the structure a more interesting appearance?

WHAT YOU WILL NEED
  • Pencil and sketch paper
  • Pieces or a sheet of foam-core board or white mat board
  • Large sheet of white mat board or poster board, 12 × 18 inches
  • Scissors or utility knife
  • Metal straight edge or ruler
  • White glue

WHAT YOU WILL DO
  1. Complete several line drawings of the Roman structure you chose. These drawings should show the different shapes you see in this structure. Do not try to draw these as three-dimensional forms, but as simple flat shapes such as triangles, circles, half-circles, squares, and rectangles.
  2. Choose your best drawing as a model. Take the foam-core board or white mat board and use scissors or a utility knife and a metal straight edge to cut out the various shapes identified.
  3. Carefully arrange the shapes on the sheet of mat board or poster board to create a relief of the structure. The shapes should fill the board. Stack increasingly smaller shapes on top of each other to give your relief a three-dimensional look. Glue the shapes down.

Safety Tip
              Place a sheet of heavy, protective cardboard on your work surface. Hold your mat board down with the metal ruler, keeping fingers away from the cutting line. Draw the knife blade over your pencil line with firm, downward pressure, but do not try to cut through the board with one stroke. By the third or fourth stroke, you should be able to cut through the board easily. Be sure to use a sharp blade; dull blades can slip.

EVALUATING YOUR WORK

Describe What features of your relief contributed the most to making it resemble a particular type of Roman architecture?

Analyze Did you use a variety of large and small shapes on your relief to create a three-dimensional appearance? Does your relief exhibit an interesting pattern of light and dark values? What do these value contrasts contribute to the overall effectiveness of your relief?

Interpret Do you think viewers can determine the purpose for which your structure might have been built?

Judge Evaluate your work in terms of its visual qualities. Do you think it demonstrates an overall unity? Which art elements and principles contributed the most in achieving that unity?
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