Roman Sculpture

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Roman Sculpture
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• Is there such a thing as a Roman style of
  sculpture?
• Romans have reputation as imitators- copied many
  Greek sculptures, vast quantities of work are
  adaptations and variations of Greek models
• Roman demand for sculpture was high- attributed
  to ANTIQUARIANISM (the love of antiquities) and
  their desire for interior design- Greek and
  Egyptian copied were in vogue at the time
• The slides that follow focus on wholly Roman
  subjects- portraiture and narrative relief

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• Republican Sculpture
• Political and military heroes were honored by
  having their statues put on public display
• Found in Etruscan territory
• This gesture reoccurs in hundreds of Roman
  statues
• Artist was probably Etruscan, but worked in the
  Roman style
• Very, serious, factual in detail(tied shoelaces)

Aulus Metellus, early 1st c., Bronze
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• Unmistakable purely Roman style of portraits
• Detailed record of facial topography
• Designed not to bring out emotion like Hellenic
  sculpture, but to show a Roman personality-rugged,
  stern, iron-willed, authoritative
• Roman custom- at death, a waxen image was taken
  of the head of the family, this was then
  preserved in a special shrine in the house- none
  remain
• Towards the 1st century BC, as the Republican era
  waned, people felt the need to record these
  images in stone, to prove their ancient lineage

Portrait of a Roman, c.80 BC
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• Shows the tradition of Roman with these busts
• The wax images werent works of art- they were
  just copies of the face-when they were put into
  marble, the faces took on a spiritual quality
• The waxes were often copied in marble many
  times-uniqueness was not an important Roman goal

Roman Patrician with Bust of his Ancestors, 1st
c. BC
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• Imperial Sculpture--
• Portrait sculptures become more god-like
• The idea of the divine ruler (Egypt and Near
  East) has returned!!
• Has common Roman pose
• Idealized figure and face
• Realistic surface detail
• inspired glance
• Does have a definite likeness, when compared with
  other Augustus portraits
• Emperors likeness was reproduced so many times,
  that it became a national emblem

Augustus of Prima Porta, c.20BC
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Ara Pacis, c.13-9 BC

• Narrative relief was also popular- to commemorate
  emperors achievements
• This had not been done in Greece- no specific
  historic events were recorded
• Ara Pacis- Augustus preferred to be depicted as a
  defender of peace rather than as a military hero
• Monumental frieze depicts allegorical and
  legendary scenes

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Ara Pacis detail

• Has a Hellenistic, classicist style
• Procession of a concrete event- the founding of
  the altar in 13 BC
• People depicted are meant to be portraits
• Great concern for spatial depth

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Spoils from the Temple in Jerusalem, Arch of
Titus, 81 AD

• Arch erected in 81 AD to commemorate the
  victories of Emperor Titus
• Idea of movement is successfully portrayed-shows
  the procession moving away from the viewer

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• The purposes of Imperial art sometimes were
  incompatible with a realistic treatment of space
• Commemorated Trajans victories over the Dacians
  (ancient Romanians)
• Free standing columns were used as monuments
  since Hellenic times
• Continuous spiral band of relief documents the
  history of the war
• Column was originally topped with a statue that
  was destroyed in the Middle Ages
• Band of relief is 656 Ft long- can only follow
  the relief if the viewer keeps turning around and
  the detail disappears as the column gets taller
• Rarely shows actual combat-more attention to
  geography and politics
• Similar to Near East reliefs, although unclear if
  there is a link

Column of Trajan, Rome, 106-13 AD
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• Production of portraits was vast in Imperial Rome
• Vespasian did not really believe in the idea of
  the divine ruler
• There is a Republican flavor to the portrait
• Focus on skin and texture is very Greek

Vespasian, 75 AD
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Graceful and gentle, softness of skin and detail
of fashionable hair
Portrait of a Lady c. 90 AD
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• Portrait has emotional intensity-a combination of
  Greek pathos and Roman nobility
• Seen in strong brow, commanding gaze
• Conformed to the Roman tradition of being
  clean-shaven-after this, emperors wore beards to
  depict Hellenic tradition

Trajan, 100 AD
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• Statue reflects the reign of Marcus Aurelius who
  was very interested in classical Greek philosophy
• One of the few Roman sculptures to remain on
  public view through out the Middle Ages
• Equestrian statues had been a tradition since
  Julius Caesar
• Marcus Aureilius saw himself as a bringer of Peace

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, 161-180
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• 3rd century saw the empire in constant crisis
• Emperors were soldier emperors- from outlying
  provinces
• Emperors gained the throne through force
• This is reflected in the portraits- a different
  mood- more emotional, less documentary
• Plontius was a Greek philosopher who was very
  mystical
• There was a spread of Oriental Mystery cults that
  foreshadowed the middle ages rather than
  reflecting Classicist tradition

Portrait Head (Plontius) late 3rd C. BC
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• First Christian ruler of Rome
• Portraiture has become more symbolic than
  realistic- a visible symbol of the spiritual self
• Statue does not show us what Constantine looked
  like, but what he thought about himself and his
  office

Constantine the Great, early 4th C. AD
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• Decorated with sculpture taken from earlier
  Imperial monuments- probably because of the poor
  conditions of the sculpture studios at the time
• Also shows that Constantine saw himself as the
  restorer of Roman glory

Arch of Constantine, Rome, 312-15 AD
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Frieze, Arch of Constantine, early 4th c.

• Made specifically for the arch (not taken from
  elsewhere)
• Shows Constantine addressing the Senate- no sense
  of movement, no spatial depth, no foreshortening,
  shallow doll-like figures, no contrapposto
• Abstracted on purpose- symmetrical to show the
  importance of the emperor in the center the only
  figure to be shown full-frontal (although head
  has been knocked off)- looks forward to Christian
  art- does not revert back to archaic sculpture