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Caracalla,
House of the Vestal Virgins in Rome.
Museo
Nazionale Romano, Rome |
Septimius Severus
Helvius Pertinax, successor to Commodus, was killed by the
Praetorian Guard after a reign of three months; he was, in turn,
succeeded by Septimius Severus (ad193-211). Of African origin,
Septimius added foreign gods to the Olympian divinities, even
identifying himself with the Egyptian Serapis. Most portraits of him
show the curly hair of the deity flowing down over his forehead. In
Leptis Magna, where Septimius was born, a four-sided arch decorated
with reliefs launched the dynastic programme that was to substitute
continuity for adoption. The monument owes its coherence to the work
of sculptors from Aphrodisias. The surface is covered with ornate
decoration in the same techniques as the narrative panels, namely
with deeply drilled holes and grooves. Two sections show the
procession staged for the ten-year celebration of the reign, while
the others show the agreement between the father and the sons (Caracalla
and Geta) designated to assume power, and the religious devotion of
the family in a sacrificial scene.
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Probus.
Capitoline Museum, Rome
(formerly Albani Collection) |
SOLDIER AND FARMER
Having successfully commanded armies all over the empire in his
youth, Probus — born at Sirmio in Pannonia (Balkans) -was proclaimed
emperor in ad276. An important aspect of his policy was to increase
agricultural production, and he made use of legionaries for
reclamation work and civil duties. When announcing his plan to
assimilate barbarians into the empire. Probus declared, "Soon there
will be no need for soldiers". A colossal head in the Capitoline
Museum shows the upright posture and direct gaze of a man "worthy of
the name he bears" (Storia Augusta). The symmetrical wrinkles
on his forehead, the sunken eyes, sharp nose, and pursed mouth with
furrows on either sicie are sculpted simply, as if on a wooden mask:
neat, separate incisions are used for the short haircut. The realism
of the asymmetric eyebrows stands out in the solemn squareness of
the face. Lines take precedence over modelling, while contours
compress volume. The calm, steadfast expression suggests that the
imperial crisis has abated - a short-lived dream - and that all
anxieties are now dispelled. The emperor conformed to the ancient
model of farmer and settler and planted vines with his own hands
when he returned with his army to his homeland. The bust perpetuates
the story of the soldier from the frontier, who rose to be emperor.
His policy, based on the need for justice and peace, became a
programme of universal government.
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GORDIAN
During the reign of Gordian III (ad238-244), the city offices of
works created sarcophagi of high quality and originality. The
relaxed articulation of space progressed after a brief interval
during Caracalla's rule. New techniques heralded a break with
academic tradition. The anatomy of heroic figures surpassed that of
Greek models; expressionism took on visionary proportions; and
drapes and inanimate objects increased in number and significance.
The stylization of the obsessively carved detail gave the whole work
a metaphysical coherence: the manes of the horses tamed by Castor
and Pollux on one sarcophagus from the Appian Way might have
inspired the steeds of the 20th-century Italian painter
Giorgio de Chirico. In April ad248, Philip the Arabian (ad244-249)
celebrated the first millennium of Rome.
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Sarcophagus with column decoration depicting a married
coupie,
with Castor and Pollux at the sides taming horses.
Via Appia.
Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome
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THE LUDOVISI BATTLE
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(Front and details of the Ludovisi Sarcophagus, showing
a battle between the barbarians and the Romans under the command of
Erennius Etruscus,
son of the Emperor Declus, outside Porta San Lorenzo,
Rome. Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome)
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Carved from an exceptionally large single block, the Ludovisi
Sarcophagus measures 2.75 metres (9 feet) wide, 1.55 metres (5 feet)
high and 1.4 metres (4,5 feet) deep. The monument honours Erennius
Etruscus, who died with his father Decius at the battle of Abritto
(modern-day Razgrad in Bulgaria) against the Goths (ad251).
The
image of the general is known from coins and portraits, one of
which, in the Capitoline Museum, has the mark of an initiate of the
Mithras cult. Judging by the female bust on the lid. his mother
Etruscilla was also laid in the sarcophagus. The dense carving of
the relief and the extension to all four sides of the tomb of the
battle scene, which teems so thickly with figures as to negate the
background, are without precedent. The manner in which the frieze
develops upwards, as seen on the panels of the arch constructed by
Septimius Severus, reveals an affinity with triumphal paintings. The
same method was also used by the Baroque painter Pietro da Cortona
in his painting of Constantine at the Milvian Bridge (Palazzo dei
Conservatori). The figures are arranged along a diagonal line
running from the lower left-hand corner, thus separating the two
military formations. Rooted in the Stoic acceptance of the passions
that disturb the world's equilibrium, universal Greek art and public
Roman art are combined in a stirring vision of individual destiny.
The clash of opposing armies reflects the duels of classical
tradition, but here it is disfigured by cruelty, as testified by the
wounded. The single combatants and the soldiers in their formations
are portrayed with unsparing realism and yet assume symbolic value:
the two large foot-soldiers in the left foreground declare the
solidity of the Roman front which has broken the enemy onslaught. In
the triangle on the right-hand side, the horde of defeated
barbarians have been trampled by the victors into a small space,
their distorted limbs locked together in agony. Their drapery seems
to shudder in unison with the writhing bodies and their faces
resemble theatrical masks of terror and suffering. Above, the line
of horses from the left flank advances on the exposed flank to
capture the survivors. The battle is over and prisoners are being
taken. A legionary drags a bound old man by the beard, while two
more at the sides raise trophies, and yet another delivers the coup
de grace to a fallen foe. Amid the frenzy of slaughter and barbarian
despair, the light moves rhythmically, giving shape to forms and
distances, coordinating events, sending a vibrant wave across the
heap of corpses, and announcing the turbulent advance of the
horsemen. Roman sculpture and relief was generally coloured and this
scene would have been even more stunning when the trumpets, weapons,
and armour glittered among the purple and blue cloaks. The young
hero stands bareheaded and alone in the centre; with an imperial
gesture and distant gaze, lie contemplates his destiny as the
eternal conqueror. Transcending everything is the pervading idea of
victory as the reason for this dark slaughter.
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 Gallienus,
from the House of the Vestal Virgins, Rome.
Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome |
Gallienus
Portraits of the Emperor Gallienus (ad260-268) show-great mastery.
In his final years, the image of the Emperor lost the descriptive
detail and nervous contraction of the face. The new image had a
Hellenic element introduced by artists from Athens who had
immigrated to Rome after the city was sacked by the Goths in ad267.
Tonal nuances were achieved by the contrast of diffused light on the
skin with the rough beard in a rare effect of abstraction quite in
contrast to the faces of Hadrian and the Antonines. The upward
glance, with the iris partly covered by the eyelid, expresses the
mystical side of power and suggests the influence of the philosopher
and teacher Plotinus and Neo-Platonist philosophy, which stimulated
the desire for religious and moral reforms.
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AURELIAN
Aurelian (ad270-275) restored the unity of the empire, which had
been threatened by widespread uprisings both in the west and east.
He eliminated the remaining powers of the Senate, and invested
himself as god and lord (dens el dominus) of the universe. The
destruction of Athens led him to use the military-style architecture
of the border provinces for Rome. The city, which in the time of
Augustus had expanded in the knowledge that it was secure, was now
encircled by turreted brick walls that still remain impressive to
this day.
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Diocletian
As architecture reached dizzy heights of grandeur, allegorical
ornamentation reflected the apparent stability of the empire.
Diocletian's reforms brought new respectability to the
administrative, political, and moral institutions of the state. They
transformed citizens into subjects who were bound by strict
discipline, and taxes were introduced to fund the army, repairs to
public works, and the construction of grand public buildings. The
pyramid of power set tip by the Tetrarchy (the rule by four
emperors), reproduced the court of Rome in its new centres of
residence: Treviri, Nicomedia, Sirmio, and Milan. The provinces were
divided and then grouped into dioceses, and this system was extended
to Italy itself. Diocletian (ad285-305), building upon the
theocratic ideas of Aurelian, explicitly incorporated within the
immense walls of his new monuments signs of the divine power with
which he believed the empire to be invested. The largest baths ever
built in Rome were dedicated to Jupiter, king of the gods and
guardian deity of Diocletian -who adopted the divine surname Jovius.
In Milan, the baths took the name of Hercules by order of Maximian,
to commemorate his protector. The colossus of Hercules at rest (a
fragment of which survives in the Archaeological Museum in Milan)
was the centrepiece of the decoration. Diocletian retired to a
magnificent palace at Salona, on the edge of the Adriatic
("modern-day Split in Croatia), built like a military camp with
polygonal gate-towers, which served as the model for the castle of
the Mount of Frederick II on the opposite shore of the Adriatic.
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Glass cup depicting the death of Lycurgus.
British Museum London
(formerly Rothschild Collection)
THE TETRARCHS
The statues of Tetrarchs (c.ad300) - now immured in St. Mark's
basilica in Venice -added a new dimension to the traditional working
of porphryry, mined in Egypt at Mons Porphyrites and worked at
Alexandria. In the classical style, stone was used exclusiveiy for
images of gods or rulers and the St Mark's sculptures combine the
two privileged subject types in a metaphor of theocracy. This very
hard rock symbolized the primordial essence of sculpture. The
three-dimensional mass retains its original weight and character and
embraces the rounded figures in a symmetrical, compact group. The
faces, aligned vertically, wear the same stiff expression. with a
touch of abstraction that prevents any natural variety. The divine
nature of the emperors has transformed them into icons with the same
surreal look; the gaze is fixed, with prominent eyes, surrounded by
a curve accentuated by the brows. Yet for all the facial impassivity
and cool formality of the military dress, there is a sense of warm
solidarity in the unusual, embracing poses of these imperial
figures. Diocletian, Maximianus, Constantius Chlorus, and Galerius
stand side by side in their would-be concord like pillars of a iving
tetrapylon. The Tetrarchs affirm the natural beauty of the four
elements, the four seasons, and the division of the heavens. In this
indestructible block, material and form, structure and function are
rooted in the belief that the divine manifests itself on earth
through dynastic rulers. The arrival of the August! in Milan (ad290)
was hailed as the "visible and present" manifestation of Jove; and
Herakles was no longer a stranger in Italy, being embodied by
Maximianus. The emperor, "born of god", was, in his turn, the
"creator of gods" through his creation of a Caesar, He belonged to a
superior world, where harmony reigned and where reforms could bring
transcendent order to worldly confusion.
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The Tetrarchs,
exterior of St Mark's basilica,
Venice
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Maxentius and Constantine
Struggles for the succession brought about the dissolution of the
system of the Tetrarchy. Maxentius (ad306-312) revived the myth of
Rome's foundation and restored the city as the central seat of
power. He enlarged the House of Augustus on the Palatine (and was
the last emperor to live there), and built on the Appian Way a
dynastic complex comprising palace, circus, and the mausoleum of his
son Romulus, which in its Pantheon-like form celebrates the immortal
memory of Rome's founder. Constantine the Great (ad306-337), who
defeated Maxentius at the gates of Rome, had his dreams of a
universal monarchy fulfilled in ad313 through the grace of the
Christian God - he was the first Roman emperor to embrace
Christianity. In the colossal head from the Basilica Nova (built by
Maxentius) his despotic nature is underlined in the strong chin,
furrowed cheeks, and irregular nose. In contrast to the portraits of
Caracalla, Constantine's heroism attains divine majesty in an image
that is marked by pride, solemnity, and detachment. The eyes are
abnormally large and the wrinkled forehead denotes fixed
concentration. The fringe of hair, reminiscent of Trajan's military
haircut, is more compact, tracing the line of the weighty crown worn
by the emperor. The victory of Constantine over Licinius in Thrace
(ad324) was represented allegorically through the death of Lycurgus,
the avowed enemy of Dionysius. The scene is shown on a glass cup in
the British Museum, with Lycurgus being overcome by vine shoots. The
addition of small quantities of gold and silver to the glass
produces a transformation, from green to red, in the transparent
colour of the vessel when light shines through it. The achievement
of bright colours on such a thick medium implies workmanship of
great virtuosity, and suggests that this traditional material was
deliberately chosen by the emperor. From the birth of the empire,
the technique of glass-blowing made it possible to produce glass
that was absolutely pure, easy to handle, capable of being moulded
with maximum speed into a variety of shapes, and which lent itself
to engraved decoration. The cost-effective production, with an
organization that paralleled modern industry, meant that glassware
was widely exported and came to characterize material culture. From
the capitals of the Tetrarchy to Cologne, Alexandria, and Syria
spread techniques of glass manufacture originally used in cameos,
namely exquisitely carved "cage cups" (diatreta vasa). In
recognition of the need to free his policies from class-ridden
conservatism and to pave the way towards a new Europe, Constantine
took the following measures: he founded Constantinople or "New Rome"
(ad325); he was present as Emperor at the Council of Nicaea (which
earned him the description of the "thirteenth apostle''); he
reformed the coinage with Christian symbols; he undertook to tie
farmers to the land; he permitted the large-scale entry of
barbarians into the army; and he accorded privileges to the army
under the direct control of the sovereign (comitatentes) in
comparison with the border troops (limitanei).
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Colossal head of Constantine Basilica of Maxentius,
Rome.
Capitoline Museum. Rome
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LOVE AND DEATH
Crispus, later renamed Caesar by his father, Constantine, lived at
Treviri from ad316 until ad326, when his villa was razed to the
ground to make way for the construction of a church. Fragments of a
ceiling fresco from a reception room, painted in about ad321, have
been retrieved, carefully restored, and are displayed in the
Diocesan museum of Treviri. The church was erected in atonement
after Crispus was exiled to Pola for committing incest with his
stepmother Fausta. who was killed soon afterwards. The coffers in
the fresco contain pairs of cupids who are playing with symbols of
power (a prophetic allusion). These figures alternate with portraits
of two pedagogues (one of whom may be Lattantius, the Christian
writer of African origin) and of the imperial women, who are
distinguished by a circular halo of light. Constantia, half-sister
to Constantine, takes a pearl necklace from a jewellery box; Helena,
wife of Crispus, plays the lyre as a Muse; Flavia Helena,
Constantine's mother, in the centre of the fresco, is represented as
Juno, holding a golden bowl in her left hand and raising a veil with
her right hand; finally, Maxima Fausta, wife of Constantine and
instigator of the fatal love affair, is depicted as Aphrodite gazing
at herself in a mirror. The face of Crispus himself is removed as
part of his "damnatio memoriae".
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Painted ceiling from the palace of Crispus at Treviri
depicting princes
of the second Flavian dynasty, relations of
Constantine.
Museo Diocesano, Treviri |
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 Funerary stela of Publius Clodius.
Rheinisches
Landesmuseum, Bonn |
THE LEGACY OF ROMAN ART
In the frontier regions, away from the city with its elegant busts,
artists produced powerful portraits, modifying the Hellenistic
interpretation of the classical style and providing models for later
European art. A particular form of 15th-century Flemish painting,
for example, derived inspiration from the art of the Roman
provinces. Jan van Eyck's Portrait of a Boy exhibits
certain features - the cutting off of the bust, the inscription, the
scroll in the hand, and a kind of fluted drapery — that show a clear
link with Rhenish stelae of the imperial age. For a thousand
years, the incomplete dream of the empire continued to find
expression, not so much on an official level, convulsed by military
defeat, economic collapse, and invasions, but in lesser parts of
society. The variation between the Italic-provincial style and the
centralized form of propaganda art was reflected during the medieval
age in the contrast of "everyday" art and the aristocratic art that
was typical of the intermittent phases of revival (Carolingian.
Ottoman. Frederican, and Burgundian). In the Roman imperial age. the
most truly authentic art had from the start been found in the
provinces, where it did not have to suffer comparison with courtly
models, and where, both in the colonial settlements and the army,
the plebeian class were in the majority. The quantity and durability
of Roman provincial artefacts inspired the architecture and
decorative arts of Christian Europe in its many forms, from
Romanesque to Gothic, culminating in the Renaissance. Many of the
elements that contributed to these styles and that appeared to be
novelties in Italy were actually born from these peripheral aspects
of Italic art. The so-called "French" style was, in fact, "antique"
in that it was a steady uninterrupted development of the popular art
of the Roman age. but from beyond the Alps. It differs from the
antique style of the Italian Renaissance, which was modelled on a
revival of Roman urban art, similar to the styles that evolved
around the centres of royal power during the previous periods of
cultural renaissance.
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The Christian Empire
The monogram of Christ was the ultimate unifying symbol of the
empire, which pursued its course with renewed faith in its eternal
future. The dynastic role was exaggerated by Constantine's son,
Constantine II (au337-361). who isolated himself from his subjects
in a court that was indifferent to the pressing needs of the moment.
Ammianus Marcellinus described the emperor's entry into Rome
(ad357): "He stared ahead so fixedly that he seemed to be wearing an
iron collar round his neck, moving his head neither to the right nor
the left, so that he appeared not so much a person as an icon." In a
colossal bronze of the emperor, now in the Palazzo dei Conservatori,
Rome, the forehead is concealed by an archaic skullcap of hair. The
reign of Julian (ad36 1-363) was marked by a desperate attempt by
the senatorial class to revive the cult of polytheism. A portrait
statue in Paris shows the emperor wearing a sheathed beard and
cloak, resembling a Greek scholar. The link between imperial
authority and the army was reinforced by Jovian (ad363-364) and the
two succeeding Augusti who co-ruled the empire, Valentinian I
(ad364-375. west) and Valens (ad364— 378, east). Gratian
(ad367-383), son of Valentinian, shared office with his father and
uncle during part of his reign. A portrait, discovered at Trevisi,
shows a return to the vision of the Christian emperor and to the
figures of Constantine's descendants, with a revival of former
motifs from Caracalla to the Tetrarchs. This retrospective trend
prevailed in luxury items such as ivory diptychs and jewellery
produced for the court. The base of the obelisk erected by
Theodosius (ad379-395) in the hippodrome of Constantinople, shows
the imperial family surrounded by high dignitaries in the presence
of the public, while the barbarians prostrate themselves in
submission. On the death of Theodosius, his sons Arcadius and
Honorius formally divided the kingdom, into east and west. It was a
total partition without either claiming supremacy and proved
definitive as each empire hereafter pursued a separate and
independent course.
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Relief portraying Constantine's
speech in the Roman Forum, Arch of
Constantine, Rome.
The arch was built
in ad313 in honour of the emperor after
victory over
his rival Maxentius at the
Milvian Bridge
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