South, East, and Southeast Asia. The Pacific. Global Contemporary. World Map. Heilbrunn Timeline. Home I. Similarly, Roman art was closely intertwined with politics and propaganda. This is especially true with portraits of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire; Augustus invoked the power of imagery to communicate his ideology.
In fact, in this portrait Augustus shows himself as a great military victor and a staunch supporter of Roman religion. The statue also foretells the year period of peace that Augustus initiated, called the Pax Romana.
Detail, Augustus of Primaporta , 1st century C. In this marble freestanding sculpture, Augustus stands in a contrapposto pose a relaxed pose where one leg bears weight. The emperor wears military regalia and his right arm is outstretched, demonstrating that the emperor is addressing his troops.
Both have a similar contrapposto stance and both are idealized. That is to say that both Augustus and the Spear-Bearer are portrayed as youthful and flawless individuals: they are perfect. The Romans often modeled their art on Greek predecessors. So far the message of the Augustus of Primaporta is clear: he is an excellent orator and military victor with the youthful and perfect body of a Greek athlete. Is that all there is to this sculpture?
Definitely not! The sculpture contains even more symbolism. Cupid on a dolphin detail , Augustus of Primaporta , 1st century C. He is carrying a consular baton, while his raised right hand indicates he is addressing his troops.
August is also depicted barefoot, usually only gods were depicted in this manner. The iconography of both military leadership and divinity are combined on a youthful body to cast the Emperor as an exceptional man — the best to rule Rome. The Prima Porta statue in colour. Photograph: Bernard Frischer. A copy of the statue was coloured according to the results of the ultraviolet photography, pictured here.
What is immediately obvious is that the skin and the background of the cuirass were left as is. Colour was applied to clothing, the decoration on the cuirass, the hair, parts of the eyes, and the lips.
Not everyone accepts this reconstruction; there is a feeling that the colours are gaudy and exaggerated. The colouring of statues like the Augusta Prima Porta produces images that are a stark contrast to the images we have have become familiar with. And certainly challenges that way in which we have viewed Classical sculptures for centuries.
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