The city of Rome was founded, according to legend, by the twins Rom and Remus on seven hills back in the 8th century. BC. It contains a large number of monuments of the period of the late republic and the imperial era. It is not for nothing that the ancient proverb says that “all roads lead to Rome.” The name of the city symbolized its greatness and glory, power and splendor, richness of culture.
Initially, Roman sculptors completely imitated the Greeks, but unlike them, who depicted gods and mythological heroes, the Romans gradually began to work on sculptural portraits of specific people. The Roman sculpture is considered to be the outstanding achievement of sculpture of ancient Rome.
But time passes, and the ancient sculptural portrait begins to change. Since the time of Hadrian (2nd century AD), Roman sculptors no longer painted marble. Along with the development of the architecture of Rome, the sculptural portrait also developed. If you compare it with the portraits of Greek sculptors, you can observe some differences. In sculpture ancient Greece By depicting the image of great commanders, writers, and politicians, Greek masters sought to create the image of an ideal, beautiful, harmoniously developed personality who would be a model for all citizens. And in the sculpture of ancient Rome, when the masters created a sculptural portrait, they focused on the individual image of a person.
Let's analyze one sculpture of ancient Rome, this is a famous portrait of the famous commander Pompey, created in the 1st century BC. It is located in Copenhagen in the Ny-Carlsberg Glyptothek. This image is not young man with a non-standard face. In it, the sculptor tried to show the individuality of the commander’s appearance and reveal different sides of his character, namely a man with a deceitful soul and honest in his words. As a rule, portraits of this time depict only very old men. As for portraits of women, young people or children, they could only be found on tombstones. Feature sculptures of ancient Rome can be clearly seen in the female image. She is not idealized, but accurately conveys the type portrayed. In the sculpture of Rome itself, the preconditions for an accurate depiction of a person are formed. This is clearly seen in the bronze statue of an orator made in honor of Aulus Metellus. He was depicted in a normal and natural pose. When depicted in sculptures, Roman emperors were often idealized.
The ancient Octavian Augustus, who was the first Roman emperor, glorifies him as a commander and ruler of the state (Vatican, Rome). His image symbolizes the strength and power of the state, which was believed to be destined to lead other nations. That is why sculptors, when depicting emperors, did not exactly try to preserve portrait likeness, but used conscious idealization. To create ancient sculptures, the Romans used sculptures of ancient Greece from the 5th-4th centuries BC as a model, in which they liked the simplicity, curves of lines and beauty of proportions.
The majestic pose of the emperor, expressive hands and directed gaze give the ancient sculpture a monumental character. His robe is effectively thrown over his arm, the staff is a symbol of the commander’s power. The masculine figure with a muscular body and naked beautiful legs is reminiscent of the sculptures of gods and heroes of ancient Greece. At the feet of Augustus stood Cupid, the son of the goddess Venus, from whom, according to legend, the family of Augustus originated. His face is conveyed with great accuracy, but his appearance expresses masculinity, directness and honesty, it emphasizes the ideal of a person, although, according to historians, Augustus was a neat and tough politician.
Ancient sculpture Emperor Vespasian amazes with its realism. Roman sculptors adopted this manner from Hellenic ones. It happened that the desire to individualize a portrait reached the point of grotesquery, as, for example, in the portrait of a representative of the middle class, a wealthy, cunning moneylender of Pompeii, Lucius Caecilius Jucunda. Later, in the sculptures of ancient Rome, in particular in the portraits of the second half of the 2nd century, individualism is more clearly visible. The image becomes more spiritual and sophisticated, the eyes seem to contemplate the viewer. The sculptor achieved this by emphasizing the eyes with sharply defined pupils.
Among the sculptures of ancient Rome, the famous equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius is recognized as one of the best creations of this era. It was cast in bronze around 170. In the 16th century, the great Michelangelo placed his work on the Capitoline Hill in Ancient Rome. It served as a model for the creation of various equestrian monuments in many European countries. The Creator depicted Marcus Aurelius in simple clothes, in a cloak, without a sign of imperial grandeur. Marcus Aurelius was an emperor, he spent his entire life on campaigns, and he was depicted by Michelangelo in the clothes of a simple Roman. The Emperor was a model of ideals and humanity. Looking at this ancient sculpture, everyone can note that the emperor has a high intellectual culture.
Depicting Marcus Aurelius, the sculptor conveyed the mood of a person; he feels disagreements and struggles in the surrounding reality and tries to move away from them into the world of dreams and personal emotions. This ancient sculpture summarizes the features of the worldview that were characteristic of the entire era, when disappointment in life values prevailed in the minds of the inhabitants of Rome. His masterpieces reflect a peculiar conflict between the individual and society, which was provoked by the deep socio-political crisis that haunted the Roman Empire in that historical era. The power of the state was constantly undermined by the frequent change of emperors. The middle of the 3rd century was a very difficult crisis period for the Roman Empire; it was almost on the verge between collapse and death. All these harsh events are reflected in the reliefs that decorated Roman sarcophagi in the 3rd century. On them we can see pictures of the battle between the Romans and barbarians.
In this historical era important role in Rome the army plays, which is the most important support of the emperor’s power. As a result of these events, the sculptures of ancient Rome are modified, the rulers are given rougher and crueler facial shapes, and the idealization of the person disappears.
The ancient marble sculpture of Emperor Caracalla lacks restraint. His eyebrows close in anger, a piercing, suspicious glance from under his brows, nervously compressed lips make one think about the merciless cruelty, nervousness and irritability of Emperor Caracalla. An ancient sculpture depicts a gloomy tyrant.
The relief achieved great popularity in the 2nd century. They decorated Trajan's Forum and the famous memorial column. The column is located on a plinth with an Ionic base decorated with a laurel wreath. At the top of the column was a gilded bronze statue. His ashes were placed in a gold urn in the base of the column. The reliefs on the column form twenty-three turns and reach two hundred meters in length. The ancient sculpture belongs to one master, but he had many assistants who studied Hellenistic art of various directions. This dissimilarity is reflected in the depiction of the bodies and heads of the Dacians.
The multi-figure composition, consisting of more than two hundred figures, is subordinated to a single idea. It reflected the power, organization, endurance and discipline of the victorious Roman army. Trajan was depicted ninety times. The Dacians appear before us as bold, brave, but unorganized barbarians. Their images were very expressive. The emotions of the Dacians come out openly. This sculpture of ancient Rome in relief was brightly decorated with gilded details. If we abstract, one could assume that this is all bright fabric. At the end of the century, features of a change in style are clearly visible. This process develops intensively in the 3rd-4th centuries. Ancient sculptures created in the 3rd century absorbed the ideas and thoughts of the people of that time.
Roman art ended a huge period ancient culture. In 395, the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern. But all this did not undermine the power and existence of Roman art; its traditions continued to live on. Artistic images of sculptures of ancient Rome inspired the creators of the Renaissance period. The most famous masters of the 17th-19th centuries took their cues from the heroic and harsh art of Rome.
Italic font is what will go into your notes. A very broad topic, I don’t even know how to put it together more compactly. Let me start with the fact that the period of the Empire began with the reign of Augustus in 27. BC, which I already talked about earlier. The art of that time is called Augustan classicism. Its peculiarity was its imitation of the examples of classical Greece. What the Romans introduced new to sculpture back in the period of the Republic was the genre of the bust, in addition to the statue and herm (pillar with a head at the top). All these numerous busts that have come down to us, in addition to artistic value, have documentary and historical value, just like reliefs with coinage. Realism and craftsmanship were at such a level that by coins with profiles and inscriptions they recognized the person who owned the previously nameless bust. If the Greeks had such a concept as kalokagathia (correspondence between physical beauty and spiritual beauty), then among the Romans a person was glorified as he is, with all his physical disabilities. It was important to show his exact physical and spiritual appearance - tasks to which modern realistic portrait art also strives. In general, the art of Roman sculptural portraiture during the Empire period develops cyclically. What does it mean? For example, in the era of Augustus, the sculptural portrait strove for Greek classicism, which is characterized by the idealization of the model, and already in the period of Trajan there was a return to the traditions of the art of the period of the Republic, which is expressed in the severity, coldness and emotionlessness of plastic interpretation; during the reign of Antony there was again an interest in classicism, and already in the time of Septimius Severus, in general, something unimaginable was happening in sculpture, bordering on brutality. Some smart art historians call this troubled period in the development of Roman sculpture “plastic impressionism.” After the era of the soldier emperors, there was a short surge of interest in Greek classicism. In total, there are ten periods of development of Roman sculpture, starting with Augustus and ending with Constantine the Great (IV century). So let's follow common features all this:
Cyclicality in the development of sculpture, two directions (progressive realistic and classic idealizing), the introduction of new genres in sculpture, sharp realism in conveying appearance and character traits, the development of the tradition of deified images of the emperor, the emergence of a child’s portrait.
Now let's look at the most representative works of sculpture from the Empire era.
Reliefs of the Altar of Peace, erected in the era of Augustus
restored under Mussolini, individual parts are kept in the Uffizi, Louvre and Vatican.
Reliefs of Trajan's Column
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 (material on Trajan’s Column from Wiki)
Sculpture of Augustus from Prima Porta (early 1st century, Rome, Vatican)
depicts the emperor in the form of a commander in armor, with his hand extended forward and pointing
Statue of Augustus making a sacrifice (Rome, Pius Clement Museum)
Claudius (Rome, Pius Clement Museum)
further, in order not to flood the post with pictures, I will post images in the form of links
Nero (Capitolian Museums)
Vespasian. Louvre
Domitian. Louvre
Germanicus. Louvre
Portrait of Trajan as a commander
Statue of Marcus Aurelius.Palazzo Nuovo Capitoline Museums
Statue of a Roman woman (so-called “Sabina”) Rome, Loggia dei Lanzi
Portrait of Emperor Commodus as Hercules, Capitoline Museums
Septimius Severus, Munich Glyptotek
Colossus of Constantine the Great, Capitoline Museums
All these portraits have features characteristic of their era. This is especially noticeable in works of sculpture belonging to periods that deny the Greek canon, in a historical context considered as troubled times. These are the periods of Trajan, Severus, soldier emperors and Constantine, who became the last for the Roman Empire.
In conclusion, I want to say that by the end of Rome, the features of the so-called spiritualism, characteristic of medieval art. In the era of Constantine the Great, who recognized Christianity as the dominant religion, characteristic feature The sculptural portrait had huge eyes with deeply slit semicircular pupils, which gave the image a special concentration and gloominess. In the image of a person who has lost classicist idealism, the harmony of the physical and spiritual principles characteristic of antiquity is destroyed. Tragedy, sublimity and heightened spirituality are expressed in the plastic solution, movement, lines, facial expressions, generalization, expressiveness of the eyes; everything material and physical in the portrait is now subordinated to the spiritual principle. Human face loses its individually specific features, and with them its meaning as a portrait.
In the era of the empire, relief and round plastic were further developed. In the Roman Forum, the Altar of Peace is being erected, the upper part of which ends with a multi-faceted relief depicting the solemn procession of strict, battle-hardened Roman patricians, endowed with sharp portrait characteristics. Historical reliefs glorifying the feats of Roman weapons and the wisdom of rulers decorate triumphal arches. A two-hundred-meter strip of reliefs of Trajan's triumphal column tells in detail and dispassionately the campaign of Roman troops against the Dacians
.However, the portrait still occupies the leading place in Roman sculpture. In the age of Augustus, the character of the image changes dramatically - the ideal of classical beauty and the type of new person that republican Rome did not know emerge in it. Full-length ceremonial portraits appear, filled with calm restraint and grandeur. The marble sculpture of Augustus from Prima Porta (early 1st century AD, Rome, Vatican) depicts the emperor as a commander in armor and with a staff in his hand. The pose of the athletically built Augustus is simple. The posing of the figure with support on one leg is reminiscent of the style of Polykleitos. But the inviting gesture of the raised right hand facing the legions is powerful and laconic - it changes the basic rhythm of the figure, emphasizing the decisive movement up and forward. The head is constructed strictly, the facial features are generalized, the volume is sculpted with finely modeled large planes, connected by a smooth rhythm and soft chiaroscuro. In a frowning face with sharply protruding cheekbones and chin, in a sharp gaze, in compressed lips, tension of will, mental energy, self-control, and internal discipline are expressed.
The austere style of Augustus under the Flavians (69-96 AD) is replaced by a more spectacular and pompous full-length portrait; at the same time, sharp realism is being revived again, mercilessly reproducing man with all his ugly features - Lucius Caecilius Jucundus (second half of the 1st century AD, Naples, Museum). In contrast to the verism of the republican era, artists achieve versatility, generalization of characteristics, enrich artistic language new means. The portrait of Nero (Rome, National Museum), with a low forehead and a heavy, suspicious gaze, reveals the cold cruelty of the despot, the arbitrariness of base, unbridled passions, and conceit. The heavy shapes of the face and strands of thick hair are conveyed by a combination of large pictorial masses. The artists abandon traditional frontal compositions and place the sculpture more freely in space, thereby destroying the closed image of the republican portrait. These features can be observed in the “Portrait of a Roman Woman” (Rome, Capitoline Museum), where the image is enlivened by a barely noticeable movement, a tilt of the head. The relaxed posture is proud, the face is full of self-confidence. A lush hairstyle of picturesque masses of curls crowns the arrogant features of a young woman. After the restraint and stinginess of the images of the era of Trajan at the time of the crisis of the ancient worldview under the Antonines (2nd century), features of spirituality, self-deepening and at the same time an imprint of sophistication and fatigue characterizing a dying era appear in the Roman portrait. People appear humane, but filled with anxiety, with sad gazes directed into the distance. The contemplative mood is emphasized by the interpretation of the eyes with sharply inset pupils, half-covered by soft, heavy eyelids. The finest chiaroscuro and brilliant polishing of the face make the marble glow from the inside, destroying the sharpness of the lines;
picturesque masses of hair highlight the transparency of features. The features of “The Syrian Woman” (second half of the 2nd century, Leningrad, Hermitage) are ennobled by the most subtle experiences, reflecting the world of sad and hidden thoughts. The facial expression that changes depending on the lighting reveals a hint of subtle irony.
The equestrian sculpture of Marcus Aurelius (c. 170), installed again in the 16th century, dates back to this era. according to the design of Michelangelo on the square: Capitol in Rome. Alien military glory, Marcus Aurelius is depicted in a toga, seated on a slowly walking horse. The image of the emperor is interpreted as the embodiment of the civic ideal and humanity. The concentrated face of the stoic is filled with an unclouded calm of spirit; he addresses the people with a wide, pacifying gesture. This is the image of a pensive philosopher, the author of “Reflections Alone with Myself.” The figure of the horse seems to echo the movements of the rider, not only carries him, but also complements his image. “A more beautiful and smarter head than the horse of Marcus Aurelius,” wrote the German art historian Winckelmann, “cannot be found in nature.” The third century is the heyday of Roman portraiture, increasingly liberated from the traditions of the past. This flourishing takes place in conditions of decline, decomposition of the Roman state and its culture, but at the same time the emergence of new creative trends in its depths. The influx of barbarians, often at the head of the empire, infused new, fresh energy into the fading Roman art. It outlines the features that developed in the Middle Ages in the West and East, in the portrait of the Renaissance. Full of extreme energy, lust for power, and brute force, images of people appear, born of the brutal struggle that gripped society at that time. In the bust of Emperor Caracalla (early 3rd century, Naples, National Museum), Roman realism reaches its peak. The individual image of Caracalla grows into a typical embodiment of a despot.
Ruthless realism is enriched by psychological penetration into the inner world, full of dramatic tension and conflicts with environment. The composition is built on a sharp contrast of shoulders and a sudden angry turn of the head. The energetically carved face is distorted by convulsions of anger; the expressive image is dramatized by contrasts of light and shadow. Portrait images of this period are contrasting. They differ in characteristics and artistic techniques. The sculptor reveals not only the brutal struggle of man’s rough and strong passions, but becomes sensitive to the subtle nuances of moods. The “Portrait of a Boy” (first half of the 3rd century, Moscow, Pushkin Museum) with large sad eyes, in which hidden reproach is visible, is marked by spiritual fragility. The sculptor notices in the touching tenderness and defenselessness of the child a shade of weak-will that appears slightly in the line open mouth. In this portrait, the artist refuses to work with a drill, which was usually used to crush the sculptural mass, causing a dynamic play of light and shadow, as was observed in the portrait of Caracalla. The psychological richness in the portrait of the boy is achieved by extreme restraint of plastic means, solidity of compact volumes, and at the same time an unusually subtle development of facial plasticity. The transparency of marble enhances the impression of pain on the face, and light shadows, light and air vibrating on its surface spiritualize it.
The late period of development of the portrait is marked by an external coarsening of the appearance and increased spiritual expression, appearing in the burning gaze. Philip the Arabian (244-249, Leningrad, Hermitage) - a stern soldier, the son of a robber, the embodiment of the image of “barbarian” Rome; the sculptor highlights the most important things in his face, outlines the hair with only a few lines and notches, builds the composition in large masses, thereby achieving almost architectural monumentality. In the portrait of Maximin Daza (4th century, Cairo, Museum), schematism wins, internal tension acquires superhuman strength. In the “Portrait of a Woman” (4th century, Leningrad, Hermitage), in the frozen gaze directed into the distance, a spiritual impulse anticipates the iconic faces of early Byzantine art. A person seems to turn to the outside world, which he perceives as the embodiment of unknown supernatural forces. The will to live disappears, submission to fate begins to dominate - a person recognizes himself as a weak creature. Within Roman art, spiritualism was born, characteristic of the emerging medieval art. In the image of a person who has lost the ethical ideal in life itself, the harmony of the physical and spiritual principles, characteristic of the ancient ideal of personality, is destroyed.
Roman monuments cultures II-I centuries BC e. not very numerous. This, for example, is the so-called “Brutus”, made of bronze. The main streets of the city of Rome in the late Republican period were decorated with magnificent marble statues, mostly copies of Greek masters. Thanks to this, the works of famous Greek sculptors have reached us: Myron, Polycleges, Praxiteles, Lysippos.
From the end of the 3rd century. BC. The remarkable Greek sculpture begins to exert a powerful influence on Roman sculpture. During the plunder of Greek cities, the Romans captured a large number of sculptures, which delighted even the practical and conservative Romans.
Roman sculptures were much different from Greek ones. The Greeks very often depicted Gods in the form of statues, and the Romans tried to give the image of a person: his appearance. They made huge full-length busts and statues. In the II century. BC. the forum was so cluttered with bronze statues that a special resolution was issued by which many of them were removed.
According to legend, the first sculptures in Rome appeared under Tarquinius the Proud, who decorated the roof of the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol, which he built according to Etruscan custom, with clay statues. In sculpture, the Romans lagged far behind the Greeks, although in their portraits there is individuality and an attempt to convey specific image(as opposed to idealized Greek statues). At the same time, Roman sculpture of the Republican period is characterized by some simplicity and angularity of forms. The first bronze sculpture was a statue of the fertility goddess Ceres, cast at the beginning of the 5th century. BC. From the 4th century BC. they begin to erect statues of Roman magistrates and even private individuals. Many Romans sought to erect statues of themselves or their ancestors in the Forum. In the II century. BC e. the forum was so cluttered with bronze statues that a special resolution was issued by which many of them were removed. Bronze statues, as a rule, were cast in the early era by Etruscan craftsmen, and starting from the 2nd century. BC. - Greek sculptors. Mass production of statues did not contribute to the creation good work, but the Romans did not strive for this. For them, the most important thing in the statue was its portrait resemblance to the original. The statue was supposed to glorify this person, his descendants, and it was therefore important that the person depicted not be confused with someone else. Monuments of Roman culture of the 2nd-1st centuries. BC e. not very numerous. This, for example, is the so-called “Brutus”, made of bronze. The main streets of the city of Rome in the late Republican period were decorated with magnificent marble statues, mostly copies of Greek masters.
The development of Roman individual portraiture was influenced by the custom of removing wax masks from the dead, which were then kept in the main room of the Roman house. These masks were taken out of the house during ceremonial funerals, and the more such masks there were, the more noble the family was considered. During sculptural work, the masters apparently widely used these wax masks. The emergence and development of Roman realistic portraiture was influenced by the Etruscan tradition, which was guided by Etruscan masters working for Roman clients.
From the end of the 3rd century. BC. on roman sculpture remarkable Greek sculpture begins to exert a powerful influence. During the plunder of Greek cities, the Romans captured a large number of sculptures, which delighted even the practical and conservative Romans. A flood of Greek statues literally poured into Rome. For example, one of the Roman commanders brought 285 bronze and 230 marble sculptures to Rome after his campaign, another carried 250 carts with Greek statues in triumph. Greek statues are exhibited everywhere: in the forum, in temples, baths, villas, and in city houses. Despite the abundance of originals exported from Greece, there is a great demand for copies of the most famous statues. Moves to Rome big number Greek sculptors who copy the originals of famous masters. The abundant influx of Greek masterpieces and mass copying slowed down the flowering of Roman sculpture itself. Only in the field of realistic portrait did the Romans, using Etruscan traditions, contribute to the development of sculpture and create several excellent work(Capitolian she-wolf, Brutus, Orator, busts of Cicero and Caesar). Under the influence of Greek art, the Roman portrait begins to lose the features of naturalism characteristic of the Etruscan school, and acquires the features of some generalization, i.e. is truly realistic.
Initially, the Romans completely imitated Greek sculpture, considering it the height of perfection, and often made copies of the surviving Greek statues they liked best (thanks to which we can judge the existing originals). But if the Greeks sculpted gods and mythological heroes, the Romans created sculptural portraits of specific people. The Roman sculptural portrait is considered an outstanding achievement of ancient culture. Its creation was influenced by the republican custom of removing a plaster mask from the face of the deceased.
In funeral processions, relatives carried masks of their ancestors; it seemed that all the elders of the family were participating in the funeral. Noble Romans, proud of their origins, ordered their statues with portraits of their ancestors from sculptors. Very few early republican sculptural portraits have survived. Masters of the 1st century BC, working on a portrait, they followed nature exactly, often, probably already based on a dead face, without changing anything, preserving all the small details. A magnificent portrait of a moneylender from Pompeii. The character of the cunning and evil man who had no sympathy for people.
With the establishment of the empire, one of the main themes in Roman art was the glorification of the emperor. The first emperor Octavian Augustus himself and his assistants carefully supported those trends in literature and art that corresponded to the spirit of the official ideology. The glorification of the “divine Augustus,” the glorification of the Roman world, and the idealization of antiquity became the main motives of the work of Roman poets and artists. The majestic style of Pheidias and the ideal athletic beauty of the statues of Polykleitos were best suited for the expression of new ideas. The sculptural images of this period differ significantly from the sculptural portraits of the Republican period.
In famous images, Octavian Augustus is shown wearing the military armor of a commander. Cupid on the dolphin at his feet recalls the divine origin of Augustus (the dolphin is an attribute of Venus, which the Julius family considered their divine ancestor). The emperor's face and figure are too embellished. It is known that Augustus had large ears, sunken cheeks, and a weak and stooped body. The face is devoid of signs of age. The hero, the demigod, addressing the troops is confident in their devotion. The emperor's armor depicts the gods of heaven and earth, allegorical figures represent the conquered provinces of Gaul and Spain - a narrative relief.
Augustus, although shown in ceremonial armor, is depicted barefoot, as greek god and hero. The statue was painted like the Greek one. The statue of Augustus is based on classical sculpture from the school of Polykleitos. This statue was located near the altar of the Temple of Mars during the construction of his forum by Augustus. But here is Augustus seated on the throne with the goddess of victory Nike in his right hand and a rod in his left as a sign of power over the world. This is a famous composition in the ancient world: the composition of the statue of Olympian Zeus (5th century BC) made of gold and Ivory, performed by Phidias. Augustus is half-naked, as it was customary to depict gods and heroes in Greek art.
The sculptural portrait changes over time. Since the time of Hadrian (2nd century AD), Roman sculptors have stopped painting marble: the iris, pupil, and eyebrows are now rendered with a chisel. The surface of the naked parts of the body is polished to a high shine, while hair and clothing remain matte. On multi-figure reliefs, the coloring continued to be preserved.
In numerous portraits of emperors, their wives, members of their families and private individuals, portrait likeness is always strictly observed, individual characteristics facial structure and hairstyle. But all portraits also have common features: an expression of sad reflection, self-absorption, and sometimes sadness. The ideas of the official philosophy of Stoicism were imbued with pessimism and disappointment in earthly goods. This can be read in the face of Marcus Aurelius in his portrait statue (equestrian statue of the 160s - 170s AD).
It was considered a special honor to capture an emperor, military leader or other political figure on a horse (the horse was an ancient symbol of the sun). The fate of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius is interesting because, taken in the Middle Ages as an image of the Emperor Constantine, revered as a saint by the Christian Church, it was not destroyed as pagan, it was carefully preserved and became a model for equestrian statues of the Renaissance.
The image of Commodus, represented as Hercules (190 AD), is full of dreamy melancholy, although such an expression does not at all correspond to the rude and cruel character of this last ruler from the Antonine dynasty. He has a lion's skin on his shoulders, a club in his right hand, and magic apples in his left that restore youth.
Of particular brilliance in the 2nd century. Relief reached. Reliefs decorated Trajan's Forum and the famous memorial column. The column with a Doric capital stands on a plinth with an Ionic base framed by a laurel wreath. The top of the column was crowned with a bronze gilded statue of the emperor; his ashes were buried in a golden urn in the base of the column. The reliefs on the column make 23 turns and reach 200 m in length. The relief of Trajan's Column accurately tells the protocol about all the details of the campaigns of the Roman troops on the Danube in 101-102 and 105-106. against the Dacians.
The composition of the entire relief belongs to one author, but there were many performers, all the masters went through the school of Greek, or rather Hellenistic, art, but different directions, which is especially noticeable in the interpretation of the figures and heads of the Dacians. The entire multi-figure frieze (more than 2000 figures) is subordinated to one idea: a demonstration of the strength, organization, endurance and discipline of the victorious Roman army. Trajan was depicted 90 times. The Dacians are characterized as brave, courageous, but unorganized barbarians. The images of the Dacians turned out to be more expressive than the images of the Romans, their emotions openly come out.
The relief was variegatedly painted, the details were gilded; it looked like a bright picturesque tape, full of lively dynamic pictures. In the last third of the century, in the reliefs of the column of Marcus Aurelius, the features of a change in style, its “barbarization” already clearly appear. This process received intensive development in the 3rd-4th centuries.
Only strong-willed, energetic, stern rulers could retain power in their hands during the ensuing period of crisis and collapse of the empire. Portraits depicting soft sadness and melancholy give way not to the depiction of any mood, but to the revelation of character. Such, for example, is the portrait of Philip the Arabian (3rd century AD). This ruler killed his predecessor and, relying on troops loyal to him, came to power. The outstanding sculptor conveyed the gloomy expression on the face of Philip the Arabian, his energetically closed lips, and the weathered skin of the soldier. The portrait reveals courage and strength, as well as suspicion and mistrust of others. The portrait of Emperor Caracalla is equally expressive.
Celebration christian church was accompanied by the destruction of many monuments of ancient sculpture.
Initially, the Romans completely imitated Greek sculpture, considering it the height of perfection, and often made copies of the surviving Greek statues they liked the most. But still, Roman sculptures were much different from Greek ones. The Greeks very often depicted Gods in the form of statues, and the Romans tried to convey the image of a person: his appearance. They made huge full-length busts and statues. In the II century. BC e. the forum was so cluttered with bronze statues that a special resolution was issued by which many of them were removed.
The first bronze sculpture was a statue of the fertility goddess Ceres, cast at the beginning of the 5th century. BC. From the 4th century BC. they begin to erect statues of Roman magistrates and even private individuals. Many Romans sought to erect statues of themselves or their ancestors in the Forum. For the Romans, the most important thing about the statue was its portrait resemblance to the original. The statue was supposed to glorify this person, his descendants, and therefore it was important that the person depicted was not confused with someone else. In numerous portraits of emperors, their wives, members of their families and private individuals, portrait resemblance and individual features of facial structure and hairstyle are always strictly observed.
The conquest of Greece and the Hellenistic states was accompanied by a grandiose plunder of Greek cities. Along with the slaves, various kinds material assets Greek statues and paintings were exported to Rome in huge quantities. This is how the works of Scopas, Praxiteles, Lysippos and many other great Greek masters were transported to Rome.
INTRODUCTION
Problems of the history of Roman culture have attracted and continue to attract close attention from both wide circles of readers and specialists in various fields of science. This interest is largely determined of great importance cultural heritage that Rome left to subsequent generations.
The accumulation of new material allows us to take a fresh look at a number of established, traditional ideas about Roman culture. General cultural changes also affected art, accordingly affecting sculpture.
The sculpture of ancient Rome, like that of ancient Greece, developed within the framework of a slave society. Moreover, they adhere to the sequence - first Greece, then Rome. Roman sculpture continued the traditions of Hellenic masters.
Roman sculpture went through four stages of its development:
1. The origins of Roman sculpture
2. The formation of Roman sculpture (VIII - I centuries BC)
3. The heyday of Roman sculpture (1st – 2nd centuries)
4. The crisis of Roman sculpture (III – IV centuries)
And at each of these stages, Roman sculpture underwent changes associated with the cultural development of the country. Each stage reflects the time of its era with its features in style, genre and direction in sculptural art, which are manifested in the works of sculptors.
THE ORIGINS OF ROMAN SCULPTURE
1.1Italic sculpture
"In ancient Rome, sculpture was limited primarily to historical relief and portrait. The plastic forms of Greek athletes are always presented openly. Images, like a praying Roman throwing the edge of his robe over his head, are mostly self-contained, concentrated. If the Greek masters consciously broke with the specific uniqueness of features for the sake of conveying the broadly understood essence of the person being portrayed - the poet , orator or commander, then the Roman masters in sculptural portraits focused attention on cash ,individual characteristics of a person."
The Romans paid attention to the art of plastic arts less attention than the Greeks of that time. Like other Italian tribes of the Apennine Peninsula, their own monumental sculpture (they brought a lot of Hellenic statues for themselves) was rare among them; small bronze figurines of gods, geniuses, priests and priestesses predominated, kept in home sanctuaries and brought to temples; but the portrait became the main type of plastic art.
1.2Etruscan sculpture
played a significant role in everyday and religious life Etruscan plastic: temples were decorated with statues, sculptural and relief sculptures were installed in tombs, interest in portraits arose, and decor was also characteristic. The profession of sculptor in Etruria, however, was hardly highly valued. The names of the sculptors have hardly survived to this day; Only the one mentioned by Pliny, who worked at the end of the 6th - 5th centuries, is known. Master Vulka.
FORMATION OF ROMAN SCULPTURE (VIII – I CENTURIES BC)
“During the years of the Mature and Late Republic, Various types portraits: statues of Romans wrapped in a toga and making a sacrifice (the best example is in the Vatican Museum), generals in a heroic guise with a number of military armor depicted nearby (statue from the Tivoli of the Roman National Museum), noble nobles demonstrating the antiquity of their city with busts of their ancestors, which they hold in their hands (repetition of the 1st century AD in Palazzo Conservatori), orators giving speeches to the people (a bronze statue of Aulus Metellus, executed by an Etruscan master). In statuary portrait sculpture, non-Roman influences were still strong, but in funerary portrait sculptures, where, obviously, everything alien was less allowed, there were few of them left. And although one must think that the tombstones were first executed under the guidance of Hellenic and Etruscan masters, apparently, the customers more strongly dictated their desires and tastes in them. The tombstones of the Republic, which were horizontal slabs with niches in which portrait sculptures were placed, are extremely simple. Two were depicted in a clear sequence, three and sometimes five people. Only at first glance they seem - due to the uniformity of poses, arrangement of folds, movements of hands - similar to each other. There is not a single face like the other, and they have in common the captivating restraint of feelings, a sublime stoic state in the face of death."
The masters, however, not only conveyed individual characteristics in sculptural images, but also made it possible to feel the tension of the harsh era of wars of conquest, civil unrest, continuous anxiety and unrest. In the portraits, the sculptor’s attention was drawn, first of all, to the beauty of the volumes, the strength of the skeleton, the backbone of the plastic image.
THE FLOWING OF ROMAN SCULPTURE (I – II CENTURIES)
3.1The time of the Principate of Augustus
During the years of Augustus, portrait painters paid less attention to the unique features of the face, smoothed out individual originality, emphasizing something common in it, characteristic of everyone, likening one subject to another, according to the type pleasing the emperor. It was as if typical standards were created.
“This influence is especially clearly manifested in the heroic statues of Augustus. The most famous is his marble statue from Prima Porta. The Emperor is depicted as calm, majestic, hand raised in acalling gesture; in the clothes of a Roman general he as if appearing before his legions. His shell is decorated with allegorical reliefs mi, the cloak is thrown over the hand holding spear or rod. Augustus is depicted with his head uncovered and his legs bare, which, as is known, is tradition of Greek art,conventionally representing gods and heroes revealed married or half naked. Staged the figures use Hellenistic motifs male figures of the famous Greek school master Lysippos.
Augustus's face bears portrait features, buthowever, it is somewhat idealized, which again still comes from Greek portrait sculpture tours. Similar portraits of emperors, intended for decoration forums, basil, theaters and thermal baths, should were to embody the idea of greatness and the power of the Roman Empire and the inviolability of imperial power. The Age of Augustus opens new page in the history of Roman portraiture."
In portrait sculpture, sculptors now loved to operate with large, poorly modeled planes of the cheeks, forehead, and chin. This preference for flatness and rejection of three-dimensionality, especially clearly manifested in decorative painting, was also reflected in sculptural portraits at that time.
In the time of Augustus, more portraits of women and children, previously very rare, were created than before. Most often these were images of the princeps’ wife and daughter; the heirs to the throne were represented in marble and bronze busts and statues of boys. The official nature of such works was recognized by everyone: many wealthy Romans installed such sculptures in their homes to emphasize their affection for the ruling family.
3.2 Time Julius – Claudius and Flavians
The essence of art in general and sculpture in particular of the Roman Empire began to fully express itself in the works of this time.
Monumental sculpture took forms different from Hellenic ones. The desire for specificity led to the fact that masters even gave the deities the individual features of the emperor. Rome was decorated with many statues of gods: Jupiter, Roma, Minerva, Victoria, Mars. The Romans, who appreciated the masterpieces of Hellenic sculpture, sometimes treated them with fetishism.
“During the heyday of the Empire, trophy monuments were created in honor of victories. Two huge marble Domitian trophies still decorate the balustrade of the Capitoline Square in Rome. The huge statues of the Dioscuri in Rome, on the Quirinal, are also majestic. Horses rearing up, powerful young men holding the reins, are shown in a decisive, stormy movement.”
The sculptors of those years sought, first of all, to amaze people. It became widespread in the first period of the heyday of the art of the Empire,
however, there is also chamber sculpture - marble figurines that decorated the interiors, quite often found during excavations of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia.
The sculptural portrait of that period developed in several artistic directions. During the years of Tiberius, sculptors adhered to the classic style, which dominated under Augustus and was preserved along with new techniques. Under Caligula, Claudius and especially the Flavians, the idealizing interpretation of appearance began to be replaced by a more accurate rendering of a person’s facial features and character. It was supported by the republican style with its sharp expressiveness, which did not disappear altogether, but was subdued during the years of Augustus.
“In the monuments belonging to these various movements, one can notice the development of a spatial understanding of volumes and the strengthening of an ex-centric interpretation of composition. A comparison of three statues of seated emperors: Augustus of Cumae (St. Petersburg, Hermitage), Tiberius of Privernus (Vatican of Rome) and Nerva (Vatican of Rome), convinces that already in the statue of Tiberius, which preserves the classicist interpretation of the face, the plastic understanding of forms has changed . The restraint and formality of the pose of the Kuma Augustus was replaced by a free, relaxed body position, a soft interpretation of volumes, not opposed to space, but already merged with it. Further development of the plastic-spatial composition of the seated figure is visible in the statue of Nerva with his torso leaning back, raised high right hand, a decisive turn of the head.
Changes also occurred in the plastic of upright statues. The sculptures of Claudius have much in common with Augustus from Prima Porta, but eccentric tendencies make themselves felt here too. It is noteworthy that some sculptors tried to contrast these spectacular plastic compositions with portrait statues, designed in the spirit of a restrained republican manner: the setting of the figure in the huge portrait of Titus from the Vatican is emphatically simple, the legs rest on full feet, the arms are pressed to the body, only the right one is slightly exhibited."
“If in the classicizing portrait art of the time of Augustus the graphic principle prevailed, now sculptors recreated the individual appearance and character of nature by voluminous sculpting of forms. Skin covering it became denser, more prominent, and hid the structure of the head, which was clear in republican portraits. The plasticity of the sculptural images turned out to be richer and more expressive. This was manifested even in the provincial portraits of Roman rulers that appeared on the distant periphery.”
The style of imperial portraits was also imitated by private ones. Generals, rich freedmen, moneylenders tried in everything - in their postures, movements, demeanor - to resemble the rulers; the sculptors imparted pride to the landing of the heads and decisiveness to the turns, without softening, however, sharp, not always attractive features of the individual appearance; after the harsh norms of Augustan classicism in art, they began to appreciate the uniqueness and complexity of physiognomic expressiveness. The noticeable departure from the Greek norms that prevailed during the years of Augustus is explained not only by general evolution, but also by the desire of the masters to free themselves from foreign principles and methods and to reveal their Roman characteristics.
In marble portraits, as before, pupils, lips, and possibly hair were tinted with paint.
In those years, female sculptural portraits were created more often than before. In the images of the wives and daughters of emperors, as well as noble Roman wives, the master
At first they followed the classicist principles that prevailed under Augustus. Then complex hairstyles began to play an increasingly important role in women’s portraits, and the importance of plastic decoration became more pronounced than in men’s portraits. Portraits of Domitia Longina, using high hairstyles, in the interpretation of faces, however, often adhered to a classicist manner, idealizing features, smoothing the surface of marble, softening, as far as possible, the sharpness of the individual appearance. “A magnificent monument from the time of the late Flavians - a bust of a young Roman woman from the Capitoline Museum. In the depiction of her curly locks, the sculptor moved away from the flatness noticeable in the portraits of Domitia Longina. In portraits of elderly Roman women, the opposition to the classicist style was stronger. The woman in the Vatican portrait is depicted by the Flavian sculptor with all impartiality. Modeling a puffy face with bags under the eyes, deep wrinkles on sagging cheeks, squinting eyes that seem to be watery, thinning hair - everything reveals the frightening signs of old age.”
3.3 Time of Trojan and Hadrian
During the second period of the flowering of Roman art - during the time of the early Antonines - Trajan (98-117) and Hadrian (117-138) - the empire remained strong militarily and prospered economically.
“Round sculpture during the years of Hadrian’s classicism largely imitated the Hellenic one. It is possible that the huge statues of the Dioscuri, dating back to the Greek originals, flanking the entrance to the Roman Capitol, arose in the first half of the 2nd century. They do not have the dynamism of the Dioscuri from the Quirinal; they are calm, restrained and confidently lead the reins of quiet and obedient horses. Some monotony, lethargy of forms make you think,
that they are the creation of Adrian's classicism. The size of the sculptures (5.50m – ----------5.80m) is also characteristic of the art of this time, which strived for monumentalization.”
In the portraits of this period, two stages can be distinguished: Trajan's, characterized by a tendency towards republican principles, and Adrian's, in whose plastics more following Greek models. Emperors appeared in the guise of commanders clad in armor, in the pose of priests performing a sacrifice, in the form of naked gods, heroes or warriors.
“In the busts of Trajan, who can be recognized by the parallel strands of hair descending onto his forehead and the strong fold of his lips, calm planes of the cheeks and a certain sharpness of features always prevail, especially noticeable in both the Moscow and Vatican monuments. The energy concentrated in a person is clearly expressed in the St. Petersburg busts: the hook-nosed Roman - Sallust, a young man with a decisive look, and the lictor" 04ma. The size of the sculptures (5.50m. The surface of the faces in the marble portraits of Trajan's time conveys the calm and inflexibility of the people; they appear to be cast in metal rather than sculptured in stone. Subtly perceiving physiognomic shades, Roman portrait painters created far from unambiguous images. The bureaucratization of the entire system of the Roman Empire also left its mark on their faces. Tired, indifferent eyes and dry, tightly compressed lips of a man in a portrait from the National Museum
Naples is characterized by a man of a difficult era, who subordinated his emotions to the cruel will of the emperor. Women's images filled with the same sense of restraint, volitional tension, only occasionally softened by slight irony, thoughtfulness or concentration.
The turn under Hadrian to the Greek aesthetic system is an important phenomenon, but in essence this second wave of classicism after the August wave was even more external in nature than the first. Even under Adrian, classicism was only a mask under which the Roman attitude to form itself did not die, but developed. The originality of the development of Roman art, with its pulsating manifestations of either classicism or the Roman essence itself, with its spatiality of forms and authenticity, called verism, is evidence of the very contradictory nature of the artistic thinking of late antiquity.
3.4The time of the last Antonines
The late flourishing period of Roman art, which began in last years the reign of Hadrian and under Antoninus Pius and lasted until the end of the 2nd century, was characterized by the fading of pathos and pomp in artistic forms. This period was marked by an effort in the cultural sphere of individualistic tendencies.
“The sculptural portrait underwent great changes at that time. The monumental round sculpture of the late Antonines, while preserving Hadrian's traditions, also testified to the merging of ideal heroic images with specific characters, most often the emperor or his entourage, to the glorification or deification of an individual personality. The faces of deities in huge statues were given the features of emperors, monumental equestrian statues were cast, an example of which is the statue of Marcus Aurelius, and the splendor of the equestrian monument was enhanced by gilding. However, even in the monumental portrait images of even the emperor himself, fatigue and philosophical reflection began to be felt.” The art of portraiture, which experienced a kind of crisis in the years of early Hadrian due to the strong classicist trends of the time, entered a period of prosperity under the late Antonines, which it did not know even in the years of the Republic and the Flavians.
In statuary portraiture, heroic idealized images continued to be created, which determined the art of the time of Trajan and Hadrian.
"Since the thirties III V. n. e. in portrait- new art is being developedpre-real forms. Depth of psychologycharacteristics are achieved not de-talization of plastic form, and, on the contrary,mouth, laconicism, stinginess of selectionthe most important defining personality traitsness. Such, for example, is the portrait of Philip the Arabian (St. Petersburg, Hermitage). She-the rough surface of the stone is well re-Redens the weathered skin of “soldiers”emperors: generalized lenka, sharp,asymmetrically located folds on forehead and cheeks, hair and short hair treatment beards focus attention only with small sharp cutsthe viewer's eyes, on the expressive mouth lines" .
“Portrait painters began to interpret the eyes in a new way: the pupils, which were depicted plastically, cutting into the marble, now gave the look liveliness and naturalness. Slightly covered by wide upper eyelids, they looked melancholy and sadly. The look seemed absent-minded and dreamy, submissive submission to the superiors prevailed, not fully realized mysterious forces.” Hints of the deep spirituality of the marble mass were echoed on the surface in the thoughtfulness of the glances, the mobility of strands of hair, the trembling of the light curves of the beard and mustache. Portrait painters, when creating curly hair, cut the drill hard into the marble and sometimes drilled out deep internal cavities. illuminated sun rays, such hairstyles seemed like a mass of living hair.
The artistic image became similar to the real one, everyone was getting closer
sculptors and what they especially wanted to depict - the elusive movements of human feelings and moods.
Masters of that era used various, often expensive materials: gold and silver, rhinestone, as well as the widespread use of glass. Sculptors appreciated this material - delicate, transparent, creating beautiful highlights. Even marble, under the hands of masters, sometimes lost the strength of stone, and its surface seemed like human skin. A nuanced sense of reality made the hair in such portraits lush and mobile, the skin silky, and the fabrics of clothes soft. They polished the marble of a woman's face more carefully than a man's; youthful was distinguished by texture from senile.
CRISIS OF ROMAN SCULPTURE (III – IV CENTURIES)
4.1End of the era of the Principate
In the development of the art of Late Rome, two stages can be more or less clearly distinguished. The first is the art of the end of the Principate (III century) and the second is the art of the Dominant era (from the beginning of the reign of Diocletian to the fall of the Roman Empire). “In artistic monuments, especially of the second period, the extinction of ancient pagan ideas and the increasing expression of new, Christian ideas are noticeable.”
Sculptural portrait in the 3rd century. Has undergone particularly noticeable changes. The statues and busts still retained the techniques of the late Antonines, but
the meaning of the images has already become different. Wariness and suspicion replaced the philosophical thoughtfulness of the characters in the second half of the 2nd century. The tension made itself felt even in the women's faces of that time. In portraits in the second
quarter of the 3rd century The volumes became denser, the masters abandoned the gimlet, made hair with notches, and achieved especially expressive expression of wide-open eyes.
The desire of innovative sculptors by such means to increase the artistic impact of their works caused a reaction and a return to old methods in the years of Gallienus (mid-3rd century). For two decades, portraitists again depicted Romans with curly hair and curly beards, trying, at least in artistic forms, to revive the old manners and thereby remind them of the former greatness of plastic art. However, after this short-term and artificial return to Antoninian forms, already at the end of the third quarter of the 3rd century. The sculptors’ desire to convey emotional tension using extremely laconic means was again revealed. inner world person. During the years of bloody civil strife and frequent changes of emperors fighting for the throne, portrait painters embodied shades of complex spiritual experiences in new forms that were born then. Gradually, they were increasingly interested not in individual traits, but in those sometimes elusive moods that were already difficult to express in stone, marble, bronze.
4.2The era of dominance
In works of sculpture of the 4th century. Pagan and Christian themes coexisted; artists turned to depicting and glorifying not only mythological, but also Christian heroes; continuing what began in the 3rd century. praising emperors and members of their families, they prepared an atmosphere of unrestrained panegyrics and the cult of worship characteristic of Byzantine court ceremonial.
Facial modeling gradually ceased to interest portrait painters. The spiritual powers of man, which were especially acutely felt in the age when Christianity conquered the hearts of the pagans, seemed cramped in the rigid forms of marble and bronze. The awareness of this deep conflict of the era, the impossibility of expressing feelings in plastic materials, gave artistic monuments of the 4th century. something tragic.
Widely opened in portraits of the 4th century. eyes, looking sometimes sadly and imperiously, sometimes inquiringly and anxiously, warmed the cold, ossified masses of stone and bronze with human feelings. The material of portrait painters became less and less warm marble, which was translucent from the surface; more and more often they chose basalt or porphyry to depict faces, less similar to the qualities of the human body.
CONCLUSION
From everything considered, it is clear that sculpture developed within the framework of its time, i.e. it drew very heavily on its predecessors, as well as on the Greek. During the heyday of the Roman Empire, each emperor brought something new, something of his own, to art, and along with art, sculpture changed accordingly.
Christian sculpture is replacing ancient sculpture; to replace the more or less unified Greco-Roman sculpture, widespread within the Roman Empire, provincial sculptures, with revived local traditions, already close to the “barbarian” ones replacing them. Begins new era history of world culture, in which Roman and Greco-Roman sculpture is included only as one of the components.
In European art, ancient Roman works often served as original standards, which were imitated by architects, sculptors, glassblowers and ceramists. The priceless artistic heritage of ancient Rome lives on as a school of classical excellence for modern art.
LITERATURE
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