Roman World
by Matthew Webb, University of Maryland
Roman Art
Welcome back! In this lesson, we're going to learn a lot about Roman Art, and you're going to have the chance to do some fun activities!
Coins
The Romans used coins as their money. Like our money today, their coins had pictures on them. Here is an example of a Roman coin, showing a person voting:
Romans liked to put pictures of people, gods, and animals on their coins.
Why do you think people choose certain images to be on their coins? Think about why we Americans choose Presidents for our coins, and think about why the Romans chose the things that they did. Write a few sentences in the box below.
Would you like to make your own coin that you can decorate however you like? Here's a cool activity from the book "Classical Kids" by Laurie Carlson:
Materials:
clay
serrated plastic knife
toothpick or paper clip
Here's What You Do:
Form the clay into a thick log. Use the knife to slice off pieces. Flatten the pieces with your palm and carve designs or words into the clay with the toothpick or paper clip. Bake according to clay package directions with an adult's help or air dry as directed on the package.
Sculptures
The Romans also liked to make sculptures, mostly of men or gods and goddesses. Here are some examples of Roman sculptures.
Bas Reliefs
What is a bas relief, you ask? Well, take a look at the pictures of bas reliefs below, and see if you can come up with a definition! When you're done writing your definition, scroll down further to look at Testudo's definition!
ow let's look at Testudo's definition! He thinks that a mosaic is a kind of Roman art that uses very small stones called tesserae to create pictures. These pictures can be simple or very complicated. The pictures often show themes of mythology, nature, patterns, or geometry.
Here's a fun activity for you to do! Let's make a mosaic!
Materials:
dried beans of many different colors
glue
paper
pencil
Here's What You Do:
Using your pencil, draw the outline of a picture on your paper. Then, draw over the outline with your glue. Stick different colored beans to the glue, and you have your very own version of a mosaic!
Take a look at this bean mosaic that one of my students drew:
Congratulations, you have finished the second lesson!
