Augustus from prima porto roman statue. A bronze statue of the Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus was discovered in Germany Augustus from Prima Porta crossword clue 8 letters

Statue of Augustus from Prima Porta. (Ancient Roman sculptural portrait)

Unknown Roman sculptor

Height 202 cm.

Last Thursday I century BC e.

Rome, Vatican Museums, Chiaramonti Museum, New Wing.

· More than two meters high statue of Augustus, found in 1863 in the villa of Livia, wife of Emperor Augustus. The villa was discovered near Rome on the Via Flaminia in the Prima Porta area.

· The statue is a copy of a bronze original, commissioned by the Roman Senate in 20 BC. e. It is believed that the statue, unlike most surviving images of Augustus, has a portrait likeness. It is very likely that, according to ancient tradition, it was polychrome.

· The appearance of Augustus is idealized in accordance with the canons of classical beauty.

· The head identifies the figure as Augustus, who is depicted in an adlocutio pose: his right arm is raised and the armor he wears suggests that he is addressing the soldiers. Of particular interest are the relief decorations on the shell:

The central scene refers to an event that took place in 20 BC. BC: the Parthian king (Phraates IV) returns the Roman military badges lost by Crassus in 53 BC. e., legate of Augustus (Tiberius). The whole cosmos bears witness to the success of the Augustan policy of pacification: above Caelus lifts his outstretched mantle, Sol on the quadriga and, in front of him, the personification of dawn and dew, below Tellus, the Roman goddess of the Earth; on the sides are Apollo, holding a lyre, on a winged griffin, and Diana, holding a torch, on a stag. On either side of the central scene are two seated female figures, personifications of the provinces (Germany and Dalmatia). The only decoration on the back of the shell is a schematic image of a trophy. The supporting leg is supported by a figure of cupid riding on a dolphin (an allusion to Venus, the progenitor of the Julius family, to which Augustus belonged). The emperor's bare feet correspond to the heroic interpretation of the subject (the position of the feet was borrowed from Doryphoros).

· The sculptor made the support necessary for many marble statues in the form of Cupid sitting on a dolphin. Cupid and the dolphin are symbols of the goddess Venus; the Julian family, to which Augustus belonged, originated from her. (Octavian Augustus is Caesar’s great-nephew, adopted by him in his will). The introduction of these images into the composition emphasized his divine origin.

· Currently, the statue is kept in the Vatican Chiaramonti Museum.

23. Altar of Ahenobarbus. Characteristics of the work.

Reliefs of the altar of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus.

Sacrifice before the census.

Sea deities from the wedding train of Neptune and Amphitrite.

Wedding train of Neptune and Amphitrite

115-100 BC.

Louvre. Paris

State Antique Collection, Munich

· For a long time it was assumed that the altar built in Rome in front of the Temple of Neptune, built by the censor Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (victor of Domitius Calvin in the battle of Brundisium in 42 BC), dates back to 35-32 BC. BC. In the temple, as Pliny the Elder reports, there was a sculptural group depicting sea creatures, newts and nereids, the work of the famous Greek sculptor Scopas. In front of the temple, according to Roman tradition, an altar was built, to which belonged the presented reliefs discovered in the ruins of the Palazzo di Santa Croce (Palace of the Holy Cross) built here later ). Three reliefs of the altar ended up in the Munich Glyptotek, the fourth - in the Louvre. The German scientist Adolf Furtwängler attributed the Munich and Parisian reliefs to the decor of the altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus.

· On three sides of the altar there are scenes with images of sea deities, while the fourth is decorated with a relief with a scene of sacrifice before the census, thematically and stylistically completely out of context of the previous ones. Recently, based on an analysis of the style of the images, it has been assumed that the monument dates back to an earlier time, combining two different stylistic trends.

· Sacrifice before the census

The relief, in a somewhat dry and prosaically precise manner, depicts a scene of sacrifice before the census. The census was the recording of the property of Roman citizens, the results of which determined their participation in the army and the right to vote in the national assembly. The censor writes on wax-covered tablets; citizens are sent to him to give evidence; before the censor begins, they make a sacrifice to the gods.

In the central part of the relief there is an altar, to the left of which, in a majestic pose reminiscent of statues of the god of war Mars, stands the commander in whom Domitius Ahenobarbus was previously seen; Next to him are priests and their assistants playing musical instruments. The military leader's gaze is turned towards the process of sacrificial animals - suovetaurilia, usually brought as an atoning sacrifice before the start or after the end of a military campaign. The order of sacrificing animals prescribed by the ritual: first a pig, then a sheep, finally a bull, is completely changed here: the bull is depicted first; This was probably done to preserve the compositional integrity of the relief. (cf. the image of sacrificial animals on the relief presented in the hall from the Forum of Trajan). The sacrificial ceremony at both ends of the relief is closed by groups of warriors.

· Wedding train of Neptune and Amphitrite

The central group of the relief depicts the god of the sea Poseidon and his wife Amphitrite, sitting in a chariot drawn by a triton, a mythical creature, the protom (front part) of which is depicted in the form of the head and torso of a young man, cheerfully blowing a horn, mounted on the body of a sea serpent. It is assumed that the master of the reliefs depicting sea deities and the wedding train of Poseidon and Amphitrite, if not a Greek, was at least quite familiar with the Hellenistic reliefs of Greece and Asia Minor and, perhaps, studied in one of the Greek workshops.

24. Colosseum. General characteristics.

· The Colosseum (from the Latin colosseus - huge, colossal) or the Flavian Amphitheater (Latin Amphitheatrum Flavium) - an amphitheater, an architectural monument of Ancient Rome, the most famous and one of the most grandiose buildings of the ancient world that have survived to our time (at the same time it was also a circus, both theater and stadium).

· Construction of the largest amphitheater in the entire ancient world took eight years, as a collective construction of the emperors of the Flavian dynasty

· Located in Rome, in the hollow between the Esquiline, Palatine and Caelian hills.

· Elliptical in plan (dimensions in the main axes are about 1 56 X 188 m) and grandiose in height (48.5 m), it could accommodate up to 50 thousand spectators. In plan, the structure is divided by transverse and circular passages. A system of main distribution galleries was built between the three outer rows of pillars. A system of stairs connected the galleries with exits evenly spaced in the funnel of the amphitheater and external entrances to the building, arranged along the entire perimeter.

· The structural basis consists of 80 radially directed walls and pillars supporting the ceiling vaults. The outer wall is made of travertine squares); in the upper part it consists of two layers: an inner one of concrete and an outer one of travertine. Marble and knock were widely used for facing and other decorative works.

· With a greater understanding of the properties and performance of the material, the architects combined various types of stone and concrete compositions. In elements that experience the greatest stress (in columns, longitudinal arches, etc.), the most durable material is used - travertine; radial tuff walls are lined with brick and partially relieved by brick arches; In order to lighten the weight, the inclined concrete vault uses light pumice as a filler. Brick arches of various designs penetrate the thickness of the concrete both in the vaults and in the radial walls. The “frame” structure of the Colosseum was functionally expedient, provided lighting for internal galleries, passages and stairs, and was economical in terms of materials.

· The Colosseum also gives the first known in history an example of a bold decision I tent structures in the form of periodically arranged coverage. On the wall of the fourth tier, brackets were preserved that served as supports for the rods, to which a giant silk awning was attached using ropes, protecting spectators from the scorching rays of the sun.

· The appearance of the Colosseum is monumental due to its enormous size and the unity of the plastic design of the wall in the form multi-tiered order arcade. If you look at the Colosseum from the outside, you can see that it consists of four floors. The first three floors on the facade are continuous rows of arched windows with a rounded top. On the second and third floors, between the arched windows, there were sculptures of Roman soldiers. Thus, this amphitheater had 240 arches. It should be noted that in the 80 arches of the first floor there were no sculptures at all, since spectators passed through these arches into the Colosseum.

· In addition, columns with capitals were installed between the windows along the facade on all three floors). On the first floor the columns are made in the Doric style, on the second - in the Ionic style, and on the third - in the Corinthian style.

25. Trojan's Column. General characteristics.

· Trajan's Column - a column in Trajan's Forum in Rome, created by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus in 113 AD. e. in honor of Trajan's victories over the Dacians.

· Made of 20 blocks of Carara marble, has a height of 38 m (including the pedestal) and a diameter of 4 m. The column is hollow inside: it contains a spiral staircase with 185 steps leading to the platform on the capital. The monument weighs about 40 tons. The column's trunk is spiraled 23 times by a 190 m long ribbon with reliefs depicting episodes of the war between Rome and Dacia. Initially it was crowned with an eagle, later with a statue of Trajan. In 1588, instead of it, Sixtus V installed a statue of the Apostle Peter, which remains on the column to this day.

· At the base of the column there is a door leading to the hall where the golden urns with the ashes of Trajan and his wife Pompeii Plotina were placed.

· The relief tells the story of Trajan’s two wars with the Dacians (101-102 and 105-106). Sections dedicated to wars are divided by the image of a winged Victory figure writing the name of the winner on a shield surrounded by trophies. The actions of the Roman army are mainly depicted: movement, construction of fortifications, river crossings, battles. In total there are about 2,500 human figures on the column. Trajan appears on it 59 times. In addition to Victory, the relief also contains other allegorical figures: the Danube in the image of a majestic old man, Night - a woman with her face covered with a veil, etc.

· Individual figures are depicted very realistically, so the relief of the column serves as a valuable source for studying weapons, armor, and costumes - both Romans and Dacians of that time. The sculptors deliberately sacrificed perspective to achieve greater information content. Details of the landscape and fortress walls are given out of scale. Near and distant human figures have the same clarity and size and are located one above the other.

26.Paneon. general characteristics

· Pantheon (ancient Greek πάνθειον - a temple or place dedicated to all gods, from ancient Greek πάντες - everything and θεός - god) - “temple of all gods” in Rome,

a monument of centric-domed architecture from the heyday of ancient Roman architecture, built in 126 AD. e. under Emperor Hadrian on the site of the previous Pantheon, built two centuries earlier by Marcus Vipsanias Agrippa.

· The Latin inscription on the pediment reads: “M. AGRIPPA L F COS TERTIUM FECIT", which translated sounds like: "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, elected consul for the third time, erected this." It represents a great engineering achievement of antiquity. Located in Piazza della Rotonda.

· The brick and concrete rotunda of the Pantheon is covered with a hemispherical dome (diameter over 43 m). The dome consists of circles that are easy to read thanks to the coffered ceiling. The dome with the walls forms a single shell containing inside the entire space corresponding to the internal volume of the cylinder and half of the sphere. It is believed that in ancient times the surface of the dome was decorated with rosettes or stars, but there is no documentary evidence of this. The main volume of the temple is adjacent to niches separated from the central hall by Corinthian columns. A circular attic separates the colonnade from the inner surface of the dome, on which there are five rows of square caissons. Through a round hole in the vault with a diameter of 9 meters, daylight penetrates into the temple.

· The inside of the Pantheon is decorated with ocher-brown polychrome marbles with a rare introduction of white marble. The interior decoration of the Pantheon has been well preserved - largely due to the fact that throughout its existence the building was not closed and continued to serve as a temple.

· Some famous people of Italy are buried in the Pantheon, in particular Raphael and kings Victor Emmanuel II and Umberto I.

· One of the features of the Pantheon is the hole in the roof. At noon, the strongest light column penetrates through it (orientation to the south). The light is very noticeable, it “does not spread”, but remains in the form of a giant light beam and becomes almost tangible.

27. Characteristics of the equestrian monument of Marcus Aurelius

Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.

Bronze. 160-170s

Rome, Capitoline Museums.

· Bronze ancient Roman statue, which is located in Rome in the Palazzo Nuovo Capitoline Museums.

· It was originally installed on the slope of the Capitol opposite the Roman Forum. In the 12th century it was moved to Piazza Lateran. In 1538 Michelangelo placed it on the Capitol.

· The statue is very simple in design and composition. The monumental nature of the work and the gesture of the speaker with which the emperor addresses the army indicate that this is a triumphal monument erected on the occasion of victory*. At the same time, Marcus Aurelius is depicted as a philosopher-thinker. He is wearing a tunic, a short cloak, and sandals on his bare feet.

· The face of Marcus Aurelius is undoubtedly individual, with slightly protruding cheekbones and bulging eyes, somewhat idealized. Thick curly hair and a rather long beard are given by deeply incised, large curls. The head is slightly tilted forward, the lips are tightly compressed. The eyes, as in other portraits, are half-closed with the upper eyelids.

· Under the horse's raised hoof there used to be a sculpture of a bound barbarian.

· Twice the natural size.

28. Arch of Titus. Characteristics of the monument.

Country - Italy

City - Rome

Date of construction: 81

· The Triumphal Arch of Titus (Italian: Arco di Tito) is a single-span arch located on the ancient Sacred Way (Via Sacra) southeast of the Roman Forum. Built by Domitian shortly after the death of Titus in 81 AD. e. in memory of the capture of Jerusalem in 70 AD. e.

· Served as a model for many triumphal arches of the New Age.

· There was also another, three-span Arch of Titus, erected by the Senate in 81 AD. e. at the eastern end of the Circus Maximus racecourse.

· The height of the monument is 15.4 m, width 13.5 m, span depth 4.75 m, span width - 5.33 m. Built from Pentelic marble mined in Attica.

· The semi-columns with which the arch is decorated are the first known example of a composite order. Four winged Victorias are carved in the corners near the arch span. Inside the span there are two bas-reliefs: a procession with trophies captured in Jerusalem (the menorah especially stands out), and Emperor Titus driving the quadriga. A statue of Titus on a quadriga was also at the top of the arch, but has not survived to this day. On the soffit there is a bas-relief depicting the apotheosis (acquisition of the divine essence) of the emperor.

· The hero for the construction of the arch was Emperor Titus. During the Jewish War of 66-70, he managed to capture Jerusalem. True, construction was completed after the death of the emperor in 81 under Domitian. Being on a hill, its white appearance goes well with the color of the sky. The views through the arch are also interestingly chosen - on one side you can see the Colosseum, on the other side you can see the Roman Forum.

· In the Middle Ages, part of the triumphal arch of Emperor Titus in Rome was destroyed. The restoration of the monument was carried out on the initiative of Pope Pius VII in 1821. The new part of the arch was built not from marble, but from travertine. The restoration also added another inscription to the arch, confirming the work was carried out by Pius VII.

29. Hadrian's Column. Characteristics of the work.

30.Arch of Constantine. Characteristics of the work.

Country: Italy

City: Rome

Construction: 312-315

· The Triumphal Arch of Constantine (Latin: Arcus Constantini, Italian: Arco di Costantino) is a three-span arch located in Rome between the Colosseum and the Palatine on the ancient Via Triumphalis.

· Built in 315 and dedicated Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312.

· It is the latest of the surviving Roman triumphal arches, using decorative elements taken from more ancient monuments (spolia).

· This is the only arch in Rome built in honor of victory not over an external enemy, but in a civil war.

· The arch has a height of 21 m, a width of 25.7 m and a depth of 7.4 m. The central span is 11.5 m high and 6.5 wide, the side spans are 7.4 m and 3.4 m each.

· The main part of the monument is made of marble blocks, the attic is brick, lined with marble.

Decor

Three explanations have been proposed for why elements removed from other structures were used to decorate the arch:

1. Art of the Roman Empire of the 4th century AD. e. was in a state of decline, the skills necessary to create a triumphal arch that would look worthy on a par with the old ones were lost. This version was the most popular some time ago, but now there is a recognition of the uniqueness of the art of late Antiquity and its high value, and therefore this point of view is losing ground.

2. The creators of the monument were given a narrow time frame: the start of work dates back to no earlier than the end of 312, and completion by the summer of 315.

3. The use of decorative elements from the times of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius had a symbolic meaning: thus Constantine was introduced into the circle of “good emperors”.

Attic (decorative wall erected above the cornice crowning the structure)

· On the attic there are 8 bas-reliefs located in pairs, taken from an unknown monument from the era of Marcus Aurelius (161-180), probably a triumphal monument in honor of the war with the Sarmatians (169-175).

· On the northern side, from left to right, are depicted: the emperor’s return to Rome from a military campaign, the emperor leaves the city and is greeted by the personified Via Flaminia, the emperor distributes money to the people, the emperor interrogates a captured German.

· On the southern side (also from left to right): the German leader and other captives appear before the emperor, the emperor addresses the troops, the emperor sacrifices a pig, a sheep and a bull to the gods. On the bas-relief with the distribution of money to the people, traces of a distant figure of Marcus Aurelius’ son Commodus remained.

· At the top of each column there are figures of the Dacians (a group of Thracian tribes. The central area of ​​Dacian settlement was located north of the lower Danube (in the territory of modern Romania and Moldavia), probably taken from the Forum of Trajan. The bas-reliefs come from there, or from the barracks of the imperial horse guards from the side walls of the attic there are arches and from the central span, depicting the celebration of the victory over the Dacians.

Main part

· 8 Corinthian columns (4 on each side) made of Numidian yellow marble.

· The bases of the columns are decorated with reliefs depicting Victoria (front side), Roman soldiers and captive barbarians (side sides), Victoria is also depicted in the vaults of the main span. All these reliefs date back to the time of Constantine.

· Above the side arches there are pairs of 2-meter diameter medallions from the Hadrian era.

Along the northern on the side from left to right they depict: hunting a boar, making a sacrifice to Apollo, hunting a lion, making a sacrifice to Hercules,

along the south(also from left to right): going hunting, making a sacrifice to Sylvanas, hunting a bear, making a sacrifice to Diana. The heads of Hadrian are replaced in the hunting scenes on the northern side by Constantine, in the sacrificial scenes: by Licinius and Constantius Chlorus; on the south side it's the other way around.

On the sides of the arch, on similar medallions already from the time of Constantine, the deities of the Sun (on the eastern side) and the Moon (on the western side) are depicted on chariots.

· Under Constantine, a relief frieze was also created ( decorative composition in the form of a horizontal stripe or ribbon crowning or framing one or another part of an architectural structure), illustrating Constantine's campaign against Maxentius. The narrative begins on the eastern side with the departure from Milan, and continues on the southern side with scenes from the military campaign. On the western side is the entry of Constantine into Rome, on the northern side - speeches to the people and distribution of money.

“History of Art in Western Europe in the Middle Ages”

1. Features of the development of early Christian art.

The main types of temples of early Christian art.

Temple decoration system.

Early Christian art- a period of art in history, from the emergence of Christianity and the recognition of Christianity as the state religion by Constantine I the Great in the Roman Empire (in 313) to the formation of Byzantine art in the VI-VII centuries.

In 323 AD e. Constantine the Great made a fateful decision, the consequences of which are felt to this day - he ordered the capital of the empire to be moved to the Greek city of Byzantium, then known as Constantinople (now Istanbul).

The emperor took this step recognizing the growing strategic and economic importance of the eastern provinces. The transfer of the capital was also due to the fact that from now on Christianity was to become the foundation and cornerstone of the empire.

Constantine could hardly have foreseen that such a change in the seat of the emperor would lead to a split in the entire state. However, less than a hundred years had passed before the division of the empire became a fait accompli, although the emperors who ruled in Constantinople were in no hurry to give up their claims to the western provinces. The latter, ruled by the emperors of the Western Roman Empire, were soon overrun by invading Germanic tribes. By the end of the 6th century. the last remnants of Roman power disappeared on its territory. The Eastern Empire, which later became known as the Byzantine Empire, withstood the blows of the barbarians, and under Emperor Justinian (527-565) it again became powerful and stable.

The division of the empire soon led to a religious split. In the time of Constantine, the bishop of Rome, or, as he was called, the pope, was the generally recognized head of all Christians; the influence of his department was a consequence of the authority of its founder, St. Apostle Peter. However, the differences between Eastern and Western Christianity gradually accumulated and deepened, and when differences in doctrine arose, the gap between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, led by the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople, became inevitable. The disagreements were truly deep.

The Catholic Church by that time was independent of any state power; in accordance with its ideology of the universal church, it turned into a supranational institution. The Orthodox Church was based on the union of secular and spiritual authorities, represented by the emperor and the patriarch, with the former appointing the latter. Here we can see the continuation of the tradition of sacred royal power that took place in Ancient Egypt and the Middle East, but in a Christian adaptation. The Byzantine emperors, unlike their pagan predecessors, could not claim the status of gods, but they assumed the role of head of both church and state.

The term "early Christian art" strictly speaking does not refer to a specific style, but to any work of art in the field of Christian culture created before the division of the churches, or approximately the first five centuries of our era.

The term "Byzantine art", on the other hand, denotes not only the art of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, but also a specific style. Since this style grew out of certain tendencies, the emergence of which can be attributed to the reign of Constantine and even earlier, it is obvious that there are no clear differences between early Christian and Byzantine art. Thus, the reign of Justinian is called the first “golden age” of Byzantine art. However, monuments created with treasury funds, especially those located in Italy, can be considered, depending on the point of view, as early Christian or Byzantine.

It will not be long before the political-religious differences between East and West will also give rise to artistic differences. In Western Europe, the Celtic and Germanic peoples will act as the heirs of late antique civilization, of which early Christian art is a part, and transform it into medieval art. On the contrary, the East will not experience such a turning point. In Byzantium, late antiquity would live a long life, only Greek and oriental elements would come to the fore due to the diminishing importance of the Roman heritage itself. Therefore, Byzantine civilization will never become medieval in the full sense.

Until the reign of Constantine the Great, little can be said with certainty about Christian art. The only sufficiently complete source of relevant information is the paintings of the Roman catacombs, where the burials of early Christians are located. But this, apparently, is only one of the varieties of Christian art that existed at that time. At that time Rome was not yet the main center of Christianity. There were older and larger Christian communities in the larger cities of North Africa and the Middle East, such as Alexandria and Antioch. Perhaps Christian art there developed in line with other artistic traditions, but little has survived from it. If the lack of materials on the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire prevents us from tracing the trends in the development of Christian art in the early days of its existence, then the surviving catacomb painting tells us quite fully about the spiritual life of the communities that created it.

August from Prima Porta- a more than two-meter statue of Augustus, found in 1863 in the villa of Livia, wife of Emperor Augustus. The villa was discovered near Rome on the Via Flaminia in the Prima Porta area. In ancient times the villa was called Ad Gallinas Albas. The statue is a copy of a bronze original commissioned by the Roman Senate in 20 BC. e. It is believed that the statue, unlike most surviving images of Augustus, has a portrait likeness. It is very likely that, according to ancient tradition, it was polychrome. Currently, the statue is kept in the Vatican Chiaramonti Museum. Octavian Augustus is depicted at the moment of delivering a speech to ten thousand of his supporters at the Forum, calling on them to start a war with his political opponent Antony, a lawbreaker and offender of the rightful heir of Caesar. This speech subsequently turned out to be unsuccessful; his listeners refused to fight the loyal Caesarian Antony, especially since at that time Octavian was too young and did not have sufficient authority to declare war.

see also

Write a review of the article "August from Prima Porta"

Literature

In Russian

• Britova N. N., Loseva N. M., Sidorova N. A.. - M.: Art, 1975. - P. 30-31.

German

• Heinz Kähler: Die Augustusstatue von Primaporta. Cologne 1959.
• Erika Simon: Der Augustus von Prima Porta. Bremen, Dorn 1959. (Opus nobile 13)
• Paul Zanker: Augustus und die Macht der Bilder. München, C. H. Beck 1987, ISBN 3-406-32067-8
• Kaiser Augustus und die verlorene Republik, Ausstellung Berlin 1988. Mainz, Zabern 1988. S. 386 f. No. 215.
• Erika Simon: Altes und Neues zur Statue des Augustus von Primaporta, in: G. Binder (Hrsg.), Saeculum Augustum, Bd. 3, Darmstadt, WBG 1991, pp. 204-233.
• Dietrich Boschung: Die Bildnisse des Augustus, Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1993 (Das römische Herrscherbild, Abt. 1, Bd. 2) ISBN 3-7861-1695-4
• Vinzenz Brinkmann und Raimund Wünsche (Hgg.): Bunte Götter. Die Farbigkeit antiker Skulptur. Eine Ausstellung der Staatlichen Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek München in Zusammenarbeit mit der Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Kopenhagen und den Vatikanischen Museen, Rom, Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, München 2004 ISBN 3-933200-08-3

In French

• A. Grenier, Le génie romain dans la religion, la pensée et l’art: L’évolution de l’humanité, Albin Michel, 1969.
• C. Picard, La sculpture antique de Phidias à l’ère byzantine, Manuel de l'histoire de l'art, H. Laurens Editeur, Paris, 1926.
• Robert Turcan Rome et ses dieux, Hachette editions, Collection Vie quotidienne, 1998.

Links

• (German)

Excerpt characterizing Augustus of Prima Porta

- The way it is! – Stella returned the smile. – I try to remember a lot of what she says. Even things that I don’t quite understand yet... But I’ll understand someday, right? And then, perhaps, there will be no one to teach... So that will help.
Here, we suddenly saw a very incomprehensible, but very attractive picture - on a shining, fluffy-transparent blue earth, like on a cloud, there was a cluster of entities that constantly replaced each other and took someone somewhere, and then returned again.
- And what's that? What are they doing there? – I asked, puzzled.
– Oh, they’re just helping the “newcomers” come, so they won’t be scared. This is where new entities come in. – Stella said calmly.
– Have you already seen all this? Can we have a look?
- Well, of course! – and we came closer...
And I saw an action absolutely breathtaking in its beauty... In complete emptiness, as if out of nothing, a transparent luminous ball suddenly appeared and, like a flower, immediately opened up, releasing a new entity, which looked around completely confused, still not seeing anything. understanding... And then, the waiting entities hugged the “newcomer” with a clot of warm sparkling energy, as if calming him down, and immediately took him somewhere.
“Do they come after death?..” I asked very quietly for some reason.
Stella nodded and answered sadly:
– When I arrived, we went to different “floors”, my family and I. It was very lonely and sad... But now everything is fine. I visited them here many times - they are happy now.
“They are right here, on this “floor”?.. – I couldn’t believe it.
Stella nodded her head sadly again, and I decided I wouldn’t ask anymore, so as not to disturb her bright, kind soul.
We walked along an unusual road that appeared and disappeared as we stepped on it. The road shimmered softly and seemed to lead, showing the way, as if knowing where we needed to go... There was a pleasant feeling of freedom and lightness, as if the whole world around had suddenly become completely weightless.
– Why does this road tell us where to go? – I couldn’t stand it.
– She doesn’t point, she helps. - The little girl answered. – Everything here consists of thoughts, have you forgotten? Even trees, the sea, roads, flowers - everyone hears what we are thinking about. This is a truly pure world... probably what people are used to calling Paradise... You cannot deceive here.
– Where is Hell then?.. Does it exist too?
– Oh, I’ll definitely show you! This is the bottom “floor” and there IS SUCH!!!... – Stella shrugged her shoulders, apparently remembering something not very pleasant.
We still walked further, and then I noticed that the surroundings began to change a little. Transparency began to disappear somewhere, giving way to a much more “dense” landscape, similar to the earth’s.
- What's going on, where are we? – I was wary.

Despite the fact that the times of the Roman Empire have long since sunk into oblivion, the personality of its first emperor, Octavian Augustus, is increasingly attracting the attention of modern scientists and history buffs. The Empire he created, which included the entire Mediterranean basin, as well as modern Italy, Spain, France, part of Yugoslavia and Germany, represents a kind of universal heritage of the European peoples.

Octavian Augustus died in the city of Nola, near Naples, on August 19, 14 AD. In Rome, this event is celebrated with some anticipation by the large exhibition “August”, launched in the halls of the prestigious exhibition complex “Quirinal Stables”, located next to the Palace of the President of the Italian Republic.

By the way, the previous exhibition in honor of the 2000th anniversary of the emperor’s birth was held in Rome back in 1937, and became an occasion to draw parallels between Augustus and Benito Mussolini, who shortly before conquered Ethiopia and proclaimed Italy an empire. The organizers of the current exhibition did not set such far-reaching plans (besides, the parallels between the past and the present would hardly benefit modern Italy). Their task was to present the era of the great Augustus through unique evidence - sculptural images of the emperor and members of his family, fragments of monuments of that time, luxurious home decoration made of glass and silver, coins and jewelry, even a fragment of an equestrian statue of Augustus arrived from the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, which was found in the Aegean Sea. Images of the emperor, where he is associated with the gods, can be seen on many cameos provided by the museums of Vienna, London and New York (about 200 works).

Emperor Augustus (Gaius Octavius ​​Furinus) was born in Rome in 63 BC. His father was a wealthy businessman who was the first of his family to become a senator.

Mother Atia belonged to the Julius family and was the niece of Julius Caesar. This relationship played a decisive role in the life of the future emperor, since after the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC. Octavian, according to his will, was recognized as his adopted son and heir.

“The young man owes everything to his name,” Mark Antony, his rival in the struggle for power, spoke disparagingly of him. However, subsequent events showed how wrong he was. Octavian was gifted with extraordinary charisma and strong political instincts. Having already become consul, he managed in the general consciousness to associate his figure with the good of Rome.

Proclaiming himself the heir of Caesar, he severely punished his murderers. In addition, from his own funds he paid 300 sesterces, which were promised by Caesar in his will to the Romans and veterans of the army, and subsequently, already as emperor, Octavian repeatedly provided assistance with money or grain to both Roman citizens and soldiers.

In the first years of his reign, he was part of a triumvirate along with Mark Antony and Lepidus, who were responsible for the various provinces of the peoples subject to Rome. The main power struggle was between the ambitious Octavian and Mark Antony, who was more successful on the battlefield, but ultimately lost to Octavian thanks to the latter's cunning. The reason for open hostilities was the will of Mark Antony, which Octavian took possession of: in it he left the lands he supervised to his beloved Cleopatra and their children, as well as to Caesarion, the son of Caesar and Cleopatra.

The defeat of Mark Antony's fleet by troops under the command of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Octavian's friend and son-in-law, at the Battle of Cape Actium in 31 BC. and the subsequent suicide of Mark Antony and Cleopatra paved the way for Octavian to complete and absolute power. The exhibition presents fragments of the monument erected in honor of this great victory, which are now kept in museums in Spain and Hungary.

However, Octavian did not take advantage of the power he received as a usurper, despite the fact that the Senate began to grant him more and more rights and privileges, and in 27 BC. awarded him the title "August" - "sacred". Octavian decisively rejected the title of "dictator" which Julius Caesar had borne and which the Senate was prepared to grant him. He preferred to be “first among equals,” although over the years he began to control the main government bodies, entrusting their management to people loyal to him.

Possessing many human shortcomings, Augustus nevertheless devoted his life to the prosperity of the Roman Empire, managing to become a wise and fair ruler. He argued that organizing an empire was much more difficult than conquering it, but he accomplished both tasks brilliantly.

During his more than forty years of reign, the emperor carried out reforms of enormous importance, which remained in force for the next three centuries. Not wanting to destroy the old republican governing bodies, he created a new class of politicians and aristocracy from people loyal to him. Under him, a new system of provinces and numerous municipalities appeared, which contributed to the Romanization of the countries of the Mediterranean basin.

A reform of the land and naval forces was carried out, new ports were built in different parts of the vast empire, designed to protect its borders. The peace that came after a decade of internecine war contributed to the revival of trade, the prosperity of science and the arts, and the conquest of new territories, especially rich Egypt, significantly replenished the empire's coffers. Although Italy remained the most privileged province, where new roads were built and cities were decorated with new buildings, Augustus visited many other provinces and helped them in difficult times.

Personally responsible for the distribution of resources from the state coffers, he divided them fairly among all parts of the country, so that the conquered peoples saw in the government of Rome not a punishment, but a benefit.

Thanks to the laws adopted by the emperor in favor of marriage and the birth of children, the population of the Roman Empire increased during his reign. He was friends with Maecenas, the patron of artists and poets, and it was at this time, not without the help of Virgil and Horace, that the myth of Great Rome began to be created.

Augustus transformed Rome, the capital of a vast empire, into a monumental city. This allowed him to say at the end of his life that he took Rome from bricks, and left it in marble.

Some of the magnificent monuments he built still adorn the Italian capital, such as the Mausoleum of Augustus, the Theater of Marcellus or the "Ara Pacis" ("Altar of Peace"), erected after the triumphant return of Augustus in 13 BC. from pacified Spain and Gaul. One of his original magnificent bas-reliefs arrived at the exhibition from the Louvre in Paris.

Emperor Augustus, who died shortly before his 77th birthday (a very respectable age for those times!), left behind him a prosperous Empire numbering about 55 million people.

He bequeathed 40 million sesterces to the Roman people, not forgetting the conquered peoples, and also generously rewarding the soldiers who served him.

The emperor was loved by his people. When his house on the Palatine Hill was destroyed by fire, people of all social classes offered him their financial assistance, of which, we note, Augustus took only the smallest, almost symbolic part. Not every ruler can be worthy of this, just as historians cannot say about everyone in the words of Suetonius: “This was the ruler who was most concerned about the welfare of the people.”

Octavian Augustus as Jupiter

Octavian Augustus, first Roman emperor

In the Prima Porta area. In ancient times the villa was called Ad Gallinas Albas. The statue is a copy of a bronze original commissioned by the Roman Senate in 20 BC. e. It is believed that the statue, unlike most surviving images of Augustus, has a portrait likeness. It is very likely that, according to ancient tradition, it was polychrome. Currently, the statue is kept in the Vatican Museum Chiaramonti. Octavian Augustus is depicted at the moment of delivering a speech to ten thousand of his supporters at the Forum, calling on them to start a war with his political opponent Antony, a lawbreaker and offender of the rightful heir of Caesar. This speech subsequently turned out to be unsuccessful; his listeners refused to fight the loyal Caesarian Antony, especially since at that time Octavian was too young and did not have sufficient authority to declare war.

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 3

✪ Augustus from Prima Porta 1st century AD

✪ Octavian Augustus - founder of the Roman Empire (narrated by historian Natalia Basovskaya)

✪ The Prima Porta Augustus

Subtitles

Many have a portrait of their husband. This is true, and something similar was found in the villa of Livia, the wife of Emperor Augustus. At her villa in Prima Porta. Nowadays, many people keep photographs of their husbands at home, and not in the form of a full-length marble statue! Yes, unusual. But it was this that Libya kept. In addition (although this statue was found in her home), such sculptures had a political meaning: they were imbued with Roman political ideology, and at the same time remained examples of Roman art. The statue was probably a copy of the bronze original, which was displayed publicly. It is possible that there were many such copies. But only this one has survived. It was important for the emperor to spread his images throughout the empire, which is why there were so many copies of the emperor's images. This was long before the advent of photography, and many people might never see the emperor in their entire lives. Therefore, he disseminated his images and, in a sense, the attributes of power, through sculpture and painting. These images bore some portrait resemblance to Augustus, but were, of course, idealized: he looks younger, more handsome, more athletic, but at the same time his features are recognizable in all sculptures. August is a complex person. Claiming that he intends to restore the Senate, he is only acting as part of a strategy to consolidate his power in order to become the first true emperor of Rome. He does this at a fairly young age, and the previous rulers of the ancient Republic were older, experienced people. There was an age limit for the rulers of the Republic. Augustus, who ushered in a new era for the Empire, wants to appear in a completely different way - a god-like appearance, radiating youth and superiority. And now we see the new ruler of the Empire, who through this statue communicates his views to society and his subjects. The features that he wanted to reflect in the sculpture should be reminiscent of his godlikeness and correspond to the art of Ancient Greece, the Golden Age of Pericles, in Athens, in the fifth century BC. e. The body proportions correspond to the “Canon”. The “Canon of Polykleitos” is the name given to the statue “Doriphoros” by the ancient Greek sculptor Polykleitos. It is the canon of the image of the male body. Therefore, the Greek ideal is taken as a basis. It's as if he's saying, "I'm going to create a Golden Age like Greece did in the fifth century B.C.E." e." “I want to resemble Greek sculpture from that period.” He then shows us that he has everything he needs to do this: we see Cupid at his ankle, holding onto the edge of his robe. Cupid is the son of the goddess Venus. Augustus traced his ancestry to Aeneas, founder of Rome and son of Venus. Cupid's presence reminds us that Augustus is a descendant of the goddess. He says his origins are partly divine. He reveals that he is not only a descendant of Venus, but says that he is the son of the god Julius Caesar, a man later deified by Augustus. Everything points to his divine status. This is also proven by the images on the breastplate, where we see the god of the sky and the goddess of the earth. All higher powers came together to support the rule of Augustus. The breastplate was probably a cuirass made of thick leather, on which scenes from the life of Augustus were embossed - a kind of summary. The most important scene depicts the Romans reclaiming the banners captured by the Parthians. Augustus defeated Rome's old enemy: in the previous battle, the Parthians captured the Roman banners. The fact that the Parthians are shown returning the banners emphasizes their defeat and their awareness of the power of Rome. This is a man of divine origin, a brilliant commander, depicted, according to ancient Greek tradition, in the splendor of greatness. This is very powerful visual propaganda.

see also

Literature

In Russian

• Britova N. N., Loseva N. M., Sidorova N. A. Roman sculptural portrait. - M.: Art, 1975. - P. 30-31.

German

• Heinz Kähler: Die Augustusstatue von Primaporta. Cologne 1959.
• Erika Simon: Der Augustus von Prima Porta. Bremen, Dorn 1959. (Opus nobile 13)
• Paul Zanker: Augustus und die Macht der Bilder. München, C. H. Beck 1987, ISBN 3-406-32067-8
• Kaiser Augustus und die verlorene Republik, Ausstellung Berlin 1988. Mainz, Zabern 1988. S. 386 f. No. 215.
• Erika Simon: Altes und Neues zur Statue des Augustus von Primaporta, in: G. Binder (Hrsg.), Saeculum Augustum, Bd. 3, Darmstadt, WBG 1991, pp. 204-233.
• Dietrich Boschung: Die Bildnisse des Augustus, Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 1993 (Das römische Herrscherbild, Abt. 1, Bd. 2) ISBN 3-7861-1695-4
• Vinzenz Brinkmann und Raimund Wünsche (Hgg.): Bunte Götter . Die Farbigkeit antiker Skulptur. Eine Ausstellung der Staatlichen Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek München in Zusammenarbeit mit der Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Kopenhagen und den Vatikanischen Museen, Rom, Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, München 2004 ISBN 3-933200-08-3

In French

• A. Grenier, Le génie romain dans la religion, la pensée et l’art: L’évolution de l’humanité, Albin Michel, 1969.
• C. Picard, La sculpture antique de Phidias à l’ère byzantine, Manuel de l'histoire de l'art, H. Laurens Editeur, Paris, 1926.
• Robert Turcan Rome et ses dieux, Hachette editions, Collection Vie quotidienne, 1998.

So, according to the book of Doctor of Art History, Professor Gleb Ivanovich Sokolov “The Art of Ancient Rome”, quotes from which we turn to not for the first time, “ Augustus' shell decorated with reliefs with scenes chosen not by chance, but reminiscent of the commander’s military victories over Gaul, Spain and Parthia.

We continue our conversation about the sculpture of Ancient Rome and today we will cover the topic again. We have already talked about the meaning and role of this plastic form in the interior of a modern country house with a palace style. At the end of the last conversation, we began to describe one of the statues of Augustus from Prima Porta and promised to tell today about the relief decorating the ruler’s armor. This description will help homeowners navigate the issue of arranging premises in a palace (antique, classic) style.

The Roman legionnaire, and perhaps the god Mars or, in the form of him, Augustus himself, is depicted on the armor at the moment of returning to him the military insignia of the Roman legion, which was once captured by the Parthians - a silver eagle attached to the shaft. A Roman warrior stands in a helmet, boots, with a cloak thrown over his shoulder. The Parthian, in a submissive pose, but proud and dissatisfied, offers the Roman a shaft with a silver eagle on top. At the warrior’s feet sits a wolf - the sacred animal of Mars, obedient to its owner, but wary and ready, if necessary, to rush at the Parthian. Small areas of soil are depicted under the feet of the Roman warrior and the Parthian: the sculptor wanted to assure the viewer that his heroes do not float in the air, but stand firmly on the ground.”

We will talk in more detail about this composition solution next time.

Alexey Kaverau

The article uses photographs from the sites: teachhistory.at, belorys-kh.livejournal, belorys-kh.livejournal, ancient-ru.livejournal, realgad.livejournal