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| Roman workshop Head of fallen Amazon late 1st century BC - early 1st century AD marble Musei Capitolini, Rome |
"An Augustan-era copy of the head of a famous fifth-century BC statue of a fallen Amazon, usually ascribed to the sculptor Polykleitos. Despite the subject's fatal wound, the face shows no sign of pain: only the slightly open mouth indicates any emotion at all. The extraordinarily high quality of this sculpture is especially clear from the refined detail and finish of the hair."
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| Roman workshop Head of fallen Amazon late 1st century BC - early 1st century AD marble Musei Capitolini, Rome |
"The Hellenistic period thus saw the development of a canon containing the most famous masters and works of the Classical period, a canon that provided the basis for the selection of the most popular copies. The statues of athletes by Polykleitos, satyrs and Aphrodites by Praxiteles, and paintings by Zeuxis had become instantly famous at the time they were made, and it is perfectly understandable that Romans with an interest in art now sought good copies of such masterpieces. By comparing various copies of a Greek original archaeologists today can up to a point evaluate the differences in quality between individual items. We have established that the quality and accuracy of the copy were more important in some periods than in others. But even the most "faithful" copies are new works of art; translating a bronze original into a marble version is already an achievement in itself, creating new forms and effects. It was in the Augustan period that fidelity and linear structure were most highly valued, as we can see from the wonderful head of the fallen Amazon [above]. Of course practical matters, such as the availability of a piece and the right to copy it, will often also have played a part in the selection process. Demand on the part of the owners of villas for specific works and subjects was another crucial factor. The aim of these efforts was not to establish a kind of museum, organised according to the criteria of art history. The quantity of statues with Dionysiac themes, for example, may be explained not simply by the importance of Dionysus as the god of pleasure but also by the demand for attractive garden décor. Aristocrats were unimpressed by the fact that these followers of Dionysus were largely based on Hellenistic models and thus considered by classicist "art theory" as products of a decadent age. Of course it would be fascinating to know what the Romans did not like. But sadly we have hardly any information about that aspect of their taste, because our very idea of the works of great Greek artists is largely based on what the Romans selected."
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| Hellenistic workshop Head of Odysseus from statue group at Sperlonga late 1st century BC marble Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Sperlonga |
"In the late first century BC, the owner of a villa on the coast near Sperlonga had a deep cave on his land transformed into a mythological experience by having it decorated with sculptural groups. During the banquets served in the cave, the two largest groups unfolded before the guests, dining on a little island in the center of the grotto, like the scenes of a play. The first group showed the terrible sea-monster Scylla snatching several of Odysseus's crew from his ship and throwing them to her dogs; the second showed Odysseus and his comrades blinding the cyclops, Polyphemus, with a red-hot pole while he was drunk. To the right and left of these groups were two other groups, representations of heroic deeds. This head of Odysseus was originally part of one of the statue-groups at Sperlonga. It reproduced the theft of the Palladium from Troy by Diomedes and Odysseus, which caused the city to lose Athena's protection. The head attests to the mastery of the Greek sculptors of Rhodes, who probably made the sculptures for the grotto. Odysseus's face, looking back at his pursuers, reflects the dramatic tension and excitement of the moment using a formal language that is almost Baroque."
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| Roman workshop Kneeling Barbarian late 1st century BC Pavonazzetto marble from North Africa and nero antico Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples |
"Images of barbarians often served as weight-bearers in architectural contexts. This over-life-size statue of a kneeling Persian made from honey-colored North African marble was part of an elaborate imperial monument. We may conjecture that this barbarian, together with two others, supported the large tripod that Augustus consecrated in the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine to commemorate his victories in the East. Formerly part of the famous Renaissance collection of ancient sculpture at Palazzo Farnese in Rome."
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| Roman provincial workshop Antinous head placed on the body of Apollo mid-2nd century AD marble Archaeological Museum, Tripoli |
"We can find examples of such appropriation of Greek styles at Rome itself. The most spectacular case is Hadrian's adulation of his beloved Antinous, drowned in the Nile in the autumn of AD 130. In the last years of his life, Hadrian honored the youth with statues and cults all over the Empire. But here, too, individual citizens and groups took the initiative and honored the emperor by venerating his favorite. In the process, Antinous was identified with a variety of gods and heroes. The citizens of Leptis Magna [in North Africa] removed the head of a pre-existing statue of Apollo and replaced it with a likeness of Antinous. The choice of Apollo was not coincidental, as the citizens wanted to allude to the beauty of the deceased. The raised arm was a typical gesture of self-exposure, familiar from images of Endymion and the sleeping Ariadne. The widespread cult of Antinous – which arose more or less spontaneously – would not have been possible if the ancient notion that gods appear in human form had not been alive and well, and if people had not seen the emperor's companionship with the "divine" youth in a positive light, or even as sanctioned by the gods."
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| Roman workshop Table-leg (detail) with Ganymede and Zeus (as Eagle) 2nd century AD marble Musei Vaticani, Rome |
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| Roman workshop Table-leg with Ganymede and Zeus (as Eagle) 2nd century AD marble Musei Vaticani, Rome |
"The group of Ganymede and the eagle reproduces a famous work by the fourth-century BC sculptor Leochares, on a reduced scale. The eagle is carrying the beautiful youth to Olympus, where he is to serve the gods as a cupbearer. Table legs and other marble furniture pieces were often decorated with carvings of mythological figures based on famous Greek originals. Ganymede was particularly appropriate for a table, reminding diners of his identity as the gods' wine steward."
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| Roman workshop Head of "Pseudo Seneca" or the poet Hesiod (from the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum) late 1st century BC bronze Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples |
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| Roman workshop Head of an Amazon (from the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum) late 1st century BC bronze Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples |
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| Roman workshop Head of the Doryphoros ("spear-bearing Achilles") (from the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum) late 1st century BC bronze Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples |
"Although most of the sculptures in the Villa of the Papyri [including the three bronze heads above] had been acquired in two or three bulk purchases in the second half the first century BC, it has proven impossible to trace a plausible and coherent program behind their display in the peristyles and living rooms. The owner seems rather to have been anxious to offer as many different associations as possible. By reducing most of the statues to busts, he was able to create a compendium of Greek culture in the limited space available on either side of a long pool. Every image reminded the viewer of aspects of Greek history and culture, of philosophy and literature, of famous battles and Hellenistic courts. . . . I hardly need emphasize that the reception accorded to these objects would have varied with the education and interests of the viewer. Most owners of villas were undoubtedly content with standard sets, which already in the first century BC were being furnished by specialized workshops. Such a set would be a sufficient index of the owners' superior cultural lifestyle and, even more important, their competence in relation to Greek education and culture."
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| Roman workshop Statue of a politician 1st quarter of 1st century BC bronze Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence |
"Bronze statue of a politician from Perusium (Perugia). The man is shown in the characteristic pose of an orator, with his right hand raised. Over his undergarment (tunica) he is wearing a rather short toga of thin material, which was the usual style in Rome and also in the Etruscan towns until the reign of Augustus. The only difference between it and a Greek cloak was the semicircular cut, but in practice it was almost indistinguishable. Under Augustus a new toga using more material came into fashion; it differed significantly from the Greek cloak and was intended to express the dignity and privileged status of the Roman citizen."
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| Roman workshop Funerary monument showing married couple as Mars and Venus ca. 3rd century AD marble Museo Nazionale Romano (Palazzo Massimi), Rome |
"Statue group from a funerary monument in Ostia. That the group originally adorned a tomb is made clear both by its provenance and by the fact that the heads are portraits. The piece reflects a prototype that represented an emperor and his wife as a model couple. The sculptor drew upon two famous Classical masterpieces as inspiration for his group, namely an image of Ares of the fifth century BC and an equally famous statue of Aphrodite of the fourth. The Classical types were not only intended to give the group a special dignity but also to illustrate the couple's virtues and individual character traits. The group was evidently very popular and thus came to be used as a model for statues adorning the tombs of ordinary citizens. The divine images were interpreted allegorically: Mars represented masculine energy and fearlessness, Venus stood for female virtues, which included beauty and love but also maternity."
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| Roman workshop Funerary statue of a matron 2nd century AD marble Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen |
"Funerary statue of a matron in the pose of the Capitoline Venus. To modern eyes the combination of an ideal body type from Greek art and a more or less realistic head seems rather odd. This form of funerary representation could, however, also be read allegorically. In this case, the intention was to extol the beauty or, more generally, the female virtues of the deceased."
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| Roman workshop Grand Camée de France (Tiberius with the imperial family) ca. AD 25 sardonyx cameo Bibliothèque nationale, Paris |
"The Grand Camée de France, probably from the earliest period of Tiberius. This five-layered sardonyx cameo of remarkable size (31 x 26.5 cm, or 12 x 10.5 inches) depicts the members of the emperor's family and the dynasty in an idealized composition. The identification of the individual figures is still debated among specialists, but their roles and overall meanings are quite clear. In the center we see the ruling emperor (Tiberius) in the pose of Jupiter as rector mundi; beside him (to the spectator's right) is his mother, Livia; before and directly behind them are (most probably) the sons of Germanicus – Nero and Drusus – whose proximity indicates their position in the succession to the throne. Behind them on either side we see three female members of the imperial family. In the upper register, the deceased members of the family are represented occupying the heavens: beside Divus Augustus, with a radiate crown, we see two princes, one of whom is borne aloft on his shield (Drusus?), the other borne by Pegasus (Germanicus?). On the lowest level, a row of conquered barbarians symbolizes the main achievement of the emperor's rule, namely the security of the Empire."
– Paul Zanker, from Roman Art, originally published in 2008, translated by Henry Heitmann-Gordon and published in English by the Getty Museum in 2010