1000 Scupltures of Genius. Patrick Bade

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СКАЧАТЬ created works conveying a strong sense of moral character, representing such virtues as wisdom, determination, and courage.

      Around the time of Augustus a new kind of idealisation entered into Roman art, exemplified by the harmonious and flowing compositional arrangement of the reliefs on the Ara Pacis Augustae. A marble, standing figure of Augustus, the Augustus Prima Porta, is a Romanised version of Greek tradition, with the contrapposto (weight-shift) stance and the idealised, youthful face of the ruler. Less Greek in conception are the details of his armour and the heavy drapery style. Through the rest of the duration of the Roman Empire, there was a continuous artistic struggle, without resolution, between idealism and realism. The background to this battle was formed by the flood of Greek originals and Roman copies of them that filled the gardens, courtyards, and fora of the Romans, and these works ranged in style from the archaic to the Hellenistic.

      Aside from any dependence on the Greeks, the Romans developed their own traditions, and were especially inventive in arriving at new stylistic expressions in their public monuments. The vigorous narrative and variety of the reliefs on the Arch of Titus still impress, and it is not surprising that they inspired Renaissance artists. No less remarkable are the intricate reliefs on the Column of Trajan and Column of Antoninus Pius. With scroll-like compositions, hundreds of figures adorn these columns in reliefs, showing military and – even more prominently – technological feats of the Roman armies. The figures seem large compared to their architectural surroundings, and the beginning of the “medieval” relationship of the figure to its spatial circumstances begins here.

      The decline and fall of the Roman Empire formed a dramatic backdrop to the change of artistic style, including sculpture itself. By the late Empire of the third and fourth centuries A.D., at the time of the short-lived barracks emperors and during the experience of a host of troubles, portraiture achieved an extreme expression, sometimes capturing fear or cunning, and corresponding to the tenor of the times. The subjective question of the decline in style arises in a consideration of the Arch of Constantine (see no. 166): the side-by-side placement of earlier reliefs alongside those of the fourth century is telling in the squat proportions and repetitions of type and stance of the latter. Thus, even before the advent of Christianity, a decline in style and taste was present. This is no more evident than in the art of portraiture; the noble facial expression and the bodily idealism and harmony of the classical style have disappeared, and one sees instead nude figures with smaller heads and flat, broad chests.

      The Christians, whose rise altered the character of Roman life, inherited the sculptural styles of the late Romans. Even some iconographic types were re-utilised; for example, Apollo-like features were given to Christ. Characteristic sculptural materials included an expansion of working in ivory, which remained a widespread medium in the Middle Ages. The Early Christian iconographic innovations were substantial, and a whole new range of subjects appeared in art. In the Eastern half of the fallen Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire would survive and persevere. Its sculptors retained features adapted from the late Roman style, and eventually the Byzantines would help to re-introduce some of the ancient Mediterranean artistic ideas into late medieval and proto-Renaissance Italy.

      2. Anonymous. Portrait of Julius Caesar, c. 30–20 B.C.E. Marble, 56 × 19 × 26 cm. Musei Vaticani, Vatican City (Italy). Roman Antiquity.

      Julius Caesar began his political leadership as the head of the traditionally Republican government of Rome, but ended it as a murdered dictator. Caesar had taken control over the vast empire of Rome, eschewing the practice of sharing power with the Senate. He was both revered for his strong leadership and resented for his tyranny. It was that resentment that led to his assassination on the Ides of March, 44 B.C.E. This portrait expresses not only Caesar’s likeness, but also his character. We sense his strength, intelligence and nobility. The bust follows the Republican tradition of veristic portraiture.

      3. Anonymous. The “Auxerre Kore”, c. 640–630 B.C.E. Limestone, h: 75 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France). Greek Antiquity.

      In the seventh century B.C.E., Greek sculptors first began to create large-scale sculpture in stone. The tradition grew out of the production of small bronze and terracotta figurines, produced in Greece as early as the tenth century B.C.E. With this piece, the artist changed the conception of sculpture, from small, portable figurines to large, free-standing sculpture, of the type so well-known in later Greek art. In this early example, which stands less than a metre high, the influence of Egypt can be seen in the patterned, wig-like hairstyle and the stiff, frontal stance. She is modestly dressed in a long, patterned gown and shawl, simply adorned with a broad belt. Her hand is raised to her chest in a reverent gesture. Most likely created for placement in a sanctuary, this “Kore,” or female figure, would have represented either a devout young woman, or a goddess to whom a prayer was offered.

      4. Anonymous. Kleobis and Biton, Apollo Sanctuary, Delphi (Greece), c. 610–580 B.C.E. Marble, h: 218 cm. Archaeological Museum of Delphi, Delphi (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

      Kleobis and Biton are life-size statues that were found in the sanctuary at Delphi. An inscription identifies the artist as coming from Argos, on the Peloponnesus. The sculptures’ origin in Argos links them to the mythical twins Kleobis and Biton. These young men from Argos were said to pull a cart a full five miles in order to bring their mother to a festival dedicated to the goddess Hera. In return, Hera granted the men what was seen as a great gift: a gentle death while sleeping. The brothers fell asleep after the festival and never woke up. Their great strength, devotion to their mother, and their early deaths were memorialised in dedicatory statues offered at the great sanctuary at Delphi, according to the historian Herodotus. These statues, which may be those described by Herodotus, are close in date to the Dipylon Head and share the same Egyptian style and decorative, incised details.

      5. Anonymous. Moschophoros, called the “Calf Bearer”, Acropolis, Athens (Greece), c. 570 B.C.E. Marble, h: 164 cm. Acropolis Museum, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

      6. Anonymous. The Sounion Kouros, Temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion (Greece), c. 600 B.C.E. Marble, h: 305 cm. National Archaeological Museum of Athens, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

      7. Anonymous. The Naxian Sphinx, Earth Sanctuary, Delphi (Greece), c. 560 B.C.E. Marble, h: 232 cm. Archaeological Museum of Delphi, Delphi (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

      This graceful creature is a composite of a lion, an eagle, and a woman. The grace and beauty of the sphinx emphasises its strength: this fierce creature was intended to protect all that it could oversee from its position atop a high column. The column and sphinx were erected as a votive offering by the people of Naxos at the sanctuary of Delphi. Such votive offerings, which could also include figurines and statues, reflect the “quid pro quo” nature of the Greeks’ relationship with their gods. They would ask a god for something, promising a votive gift if they got what they asked for. The sanctuary at Delphi was a popular location for this sort of prayer; people from all over Greece would go there to consult the oracle of the Temple of Apollo before they undertook any important act. If they received favour from Apollo, they would leave a votive offering.

      8. Anonymous. Dipylon Head, Dipylon, Athens (Greece), c. 600 B.C.E. Marble, h: 44 cm. National Archaeological Museum of Athens, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

      This fragment is a rare early example of the “kouros”, or standing male statue. Its name comes from the Dipylon Cemetery СКАЧАТЬ