Roman Art, part 3 Early Roman Empire Art under Augustus

Roman Art, part 3

Early Roman EmpireArt 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).

The Making of Rome’s First Emperor63 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 35-year-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 (age 42), in the Vatican Museums


Head of Polykleitos's Spear bearer

Augustus of Primaporta, c. 20 BCE (age 42)


Praxiteles, detail of Apollo with Dionysus, late Classical Greek art



Augustus of Primaporta, c. 20 BCE (age 42), in the Vatican Museums.

Head of a Roman Patrician, 75-50 BCE




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, age 20, as Trimvir on an aureas (gold) coin

Augustus, after death

Augustus at 50

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

Maison Carree (square house), Nîmes, France, 1-10 CE

Reconstruction model of the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus, Rome, built c. 2 BC

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



Maison Carree (square house), Nîmes, France, 1-10 CE

Italy

Rome by 44 BCE

Italy

Pont du Gard, near Nîmes, France, c. 16 CE

Italy




Fountain in Pompeii

Pont du Gard, near Nîmes, France, c. 16 CEBaths in Pompeii


Rome


……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.



Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence, by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo, begun 1444


Documents

Roman Art, part 3 Early Roman Empire Art under Augustus