1. Roman Sculpture
Professor Will Adams
Valencia College
Fall 2011

2. 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 copies were
in vogue at the time
•The slides that follow focus on wholly Roman subjects-
portraiture and narrative relief

3. 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

4. •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

5. •Shows the tradition of Roman with these busts
•The wax images weren’t 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

6. 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” gaze
•Does have a definite likeness, when
compared with other Augustus portraits
•Emperor’s likeness was reproduced so
many times, that it became a national
emblem
Augustus of Prima Porta, c.20BC

7. Ara Pacis, c.13-9 BC
Narrative relief was also popular- to commemorate emperor’s 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

8. Ara Pacis detail
•Has a Hellenistic, Classical 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

9. 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

10. •The purposes of Imperial art sometimes were
incompatible with a realistic treatment of space
•Commemorated Trajan’s 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

11. •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
Portrait Bust of Emperor Vespasian, 75 AD, Marble

12. Graceful and gentle, softness of
skin and detail of fashionable hair
Portrait of a Lady c. 90 AD

13. •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 (Greek)
tradition
Portrait Bust of Emperor Trajan, 100 AD

14. •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 throughout the
Middle Ages
•Equestrian statues had been
a tradition since Julius
Caesar’s reign
•Marcus Aureilius saw
himself as a bringer of Peace
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, 161-180 CE, Bronze

15. •The 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 century BC, Marble

16. •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 century AD, Marble

17. •Decorated with sculpture
taken from earlier Imperial
monuments (“spoila”) -
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

18. 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