Much of the Roman style of art and its techniques were adapted from Grecian works. Portable art, such as paintings, is thought to have depicted subjects similar to what had been painted on Roman villa walls. Topics of the designs ranged from portraits to color representations of popular myths. Art techniques of the Roman civilization also can be seen in its architecture.
Frescos
Frescos were done for Roman homes and gave added dimension to interior walls. The plaster pieces covered subjects such as gardens, woods, rivers and pools. Ideas even came from copybooks that traveling artists carried of their originals as well as copies from other artists. Some artists would put lead into the wall to keep moisture from attacking the fresco. Another preparation added up to seven layers of plaster. Marble plaster was used to create shiny surfaces on the frescos.
Mosaics
Romans came up with cements and mortars to use as a waterproof base that held together mosaics. These works could be seen on walls, floors and pavement. Small pieces of tile, glass or stone were used to assemble a specific pattern. Some featured elaborate color schemes while others relied on just back and white motifs.
Cameo Glass
Both Roman wall plaques and jewelry used cameo glass, which was highly sought after for its advantages over stone. One of those advantages was the lack of difficult veins that accompany stone materials. To create the cameo, the artist carved glass by layers until the background color came through. A white opaque layer with a translucent dark blue background was considered the best colors available.
Imitations
Creating faux architecture was a common Roman art technique during the first century. For example, shading made a table appear to be coming out of a wall. Paintings showed faux windows with a desired landscape. Surface ornamentation changed the idea of simulating architecture. This style, done by Romans between 20 B.C. and A.D. 20, was achieved through the use of a single-color background as well as small landscapes or figures in the middle of a wall. Large elaborate paintings or panoramic views common with the Fourth style combined with the surface ornamentation technique. The First style of Roman Art, from 200 B.C. to 60 B.C., saw artists working on creating marble imitations. This was accomplished with plaster and featured a wide variety of colors. Marble designs mimicked architecture from the third and fourth centuries. To create the simulations, walls were seen as three horizontal areas. Each one had stucco dentils, or closely spaced blocks at the top.
