Transcript File - Ancient Art

Roman Art, part 3
Early Roman Empire
Art under Augustus
Goals
•
•
•
Describe the life of Rome’s first emperor, Augustus, and examine his
official, public image and propaganda campaign.
See how Augustus linked himself to the Greek general Pericles
through the art and architecture of the Periclean Age of ancient
Greece.
Examine Augustus’s building program (altars, forums, temples
aqueducts, and his mausoleum) and their relationship to the Pax
Augustae (Augustan peace).
Augustus of
Primaporta, c.
20 BCE
The Making of Rome’s First Emperor
63 BCE
Gaius Octavius Thurinus is born to a minor aristocratic family.
49 BCE
Octavian’s natural father dies.
44 BCE
Upon the assassination of the triumvir Julius Caesar, who was
Octavian’s grandmother’s brother, it is announced that Octavian, now age of 19, is
Caesar’s adopted heir. He officially changes his name to Gaius Julius Caesar
Octavianus but is known as Caesar, and forms a second, short-lived, triumvirate.
Too young to have himself depicted in a traditional Republican fashion, has himself
depicted in his official portraits as a Greek kouros (youth/god).
31 BCE
A six-year Civil ends when Octavian, age 32, defeats Mark Antony
and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium, Greece, and assumes the title Princeps (first
citizen). He restores the Republic but controls the Senate.
27 BCE
Having conquered Greece, the Roman Senate confers upon the 35year-old Octavian the title “Augustus” (the dignified), which makes him
commander-in-chief of all Republican governmental and military bodies.
20 BCE
The best-known sculpture of Augustus is carved at this time.
Historians refer to it as Augustus of Primaporta because it was found in the small
town of Primaporta, just outside Rome, in the villa of his third wife, Livia.
16 BCE
Augustus secures the loyalty of Gallic Romans by building the
Pont-du-Gard, a bridge and aqueduct over the river Gard, near Nîmes, France.
12 BCE
The Senate grants Augustus the additional title Pontefex Maximus,
extending his control over the state religion. Augustus has Julius Caesar deified.
9 BCE
Augustus dedicates the Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan
Peace) in Rome, depicting himself as Pontefex Maximus.
2 BCE
Augustus dedicates the Forum of Augustus in Rome. The forum
provides needed improvements to the city’s public infrastructure and honors
Augustus’s ancestors, which he traces back from Caesar to Aeneas of Trojan War
fame, and thus a descendant of Venus.
14 CE
Augustus dies and is deified. His heirs, including Tiberius, Claudius
and Nero, become Emperors (the Julio-Claudians).
Augustus of
Primaporta, c.
20 BCE
Augustus of
Primaporta, c.
20 BCE
Augustus of
Primaporta, c.
20 BCE
Augustus of Primaporta, c. 20 BCE (age 42), in the
Vatican Museums
Augustus of
Primaporta, c.
20 BCE
Head of Polykleitos's Spear bearer
Augustus of Primaporta, c. 20 BCE (age 42)
Augustus of
Primaporta, c.
20 BCE
Praxiteles, detail of Apollo with
Dionysus, late Classical Greek art
Augustus of Primaporta, c. 20 BCE (age 42)
Augustus of
Primaporta, c.
20 BCE
Head of a Roman Patrician, 75-50 BCE
Augustus of Primaporta, c. 20 BCE (age 42), in the
Vatican Museums.
Augustus of
Primaporta, c.
20 BCE
Augustus of Primaporta, c. 20 BCE (age 42)
Augustus’s
cuirass depicts
the return of the
standard from
the barbarians
and a
personification of
abundance.
Cuirass
depicting the a
property
marker (Herm)
and showing
leather laces.
Augustus’s
aristocratic
background is
featured with
the depiction of
his distant
cousin Eros
(Cupid), the son
of Venus, who
was born of the
sea and carried
to land by
dolphins. The
Julii family
traced their
ancestors back
to Venus and
the kings of
Rome.
From the Vatican
exhibition I Colori di
Bianco, based on
analysis of residual
pigments
Augustus at 50
Augustus, age 20, as
Trimvir on an aureas
(gold) coin
Augustus, after death
Augustus from Primaporta, c. 20 BCE
and Augustus as Pontefex Maximus,
after 12 BCE
Remains of the Temple of Mars Ultor
in the Forum of Augustus, Rome, built
by Augustus, c. 2 BC
Reconstruction model of the Temple
of Mars Ultor in the Forum of
Augustus, Rome, built c. 2 BC
Reconstruction model of the Temple
of Mars Ultor in the Forum of
Augustus, Rome, built c. 2 BC
Maison Carree (square house), Nîmes, France, 1-10 CE
Model showing a section of the Forum of Augustus, Rome, built by Augustus, c. 2 BC
Model and Plan of the Forum of Augustus, Rome, built by
Augustus, c. 2 BC
Plan of the Forum of Augustus, Rome, built by Augustus, c. 2 BC
Model with architectural details of the frieze of the Forum of Augustus,
Rome, built by Augustus, c. 2 BC
Porch of the Maidens, Erectheum, Athens, c. 421-405 BCE
Model with architectural details of the frieze of the Forum of Augustus,
Rome, built by Augustus, c. 2 BC
Model with architectural details of the frieze of the Forum of Augustus,
Rome, built by Augustus, c. 2 BC
Italy
Maison Carree (square house), Nîmes, France, 1-10 CE
Italy
Rome by 44 BCE
Italy
Pont du Gard, near Nîmes, France, c. 16 CE
Pont du Gard, near Nîmes, France, c. 16 CE
Pont du Gard, near Nîmes, France, c. 16 CE
Fountain in Pompeii
Pont du Gard, near Nîmes, France, c. 16 CE
Pont du Gard, near Nîmes, France, c. 16 CE
Baths in Pompeii
Rome
Pont du Gard, near Nîmes, France, c. 16 CE
Pont du Gard, near Nîmes, France, c. 16 CE
……Aqueducts leading to the city of Rome
Aqueducts leading to the city of Rome marked in brown, roads in black, Tivoli
marked with a blue arrow
Porta Maggiore, Rome, built by the Julio-Claudian Emperor Claudius, c. 50
CE, at the juncture of two aquaducts, the city walls and the via Praenestina
and Via Labicana.
Porta Maggiore, Rome, built by the Julio-Claudian Emperor Claudius, c. 50
CE, at the juncture of two aquaducts, the city walls and the via Praenestina
and Via Labicana.
Porta Maggiore, Rome, built by the Julio-Claudian Emperor Claudius, c. 50
CE, at the juncture of two aquaducts, the city walls and the via Praenestina
and Via Labicana.
Porta Maggiore, Rome, built by the Julio-Claudian Emperor Claudius, c. 50
CE, at the juncture of two aquaducts, the city walls and the via Praenestina
and Via Labicana.
Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence, by
Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, begun 1444