Augustus of Prima Porta and Iphigenia’s Sacrifice: Roman Art
Sculpture in Roman Art
The Romans greatly admired sculpture. There was even a literary genre consisting of a description of artworks, known as *ekphrasis*, such as those by Pliny the Elder. The portrait is a significant contribution to Roman sculpture. There are equestrian portraits, group portraits, standing portraits, busts, and more. Materials used include marble, stone, and bronze.
The Roman portrait has three roots:
- Etruscan tombs
- The realism of Greek Hellenism
- The funerary mask and images of ancestors
The portrait is of Greek and Roman public nature, with a private character.
Augustus of Prima Porta
1. Documentation
- Author: Unknown
- Chronology: 1st Century BC
- Style: Imperial Rome
- Type: Free-standing sculpture
- Material: Original in bronze, marble copy
- Topic: Memorial
- Location: Vatican Museums
2. Formal Analysis
Technical and Material Aspects
This is a copy made of white marble, a fine material. The marble was carved using a technique where material is subtracted with a hammer and chisel, in addition to applying abrasives. It is an excellent example of drilling panels. The original, being bronze, we can imagine it without the dolphin ridden by a child for support. If we remove this support, the figure’s dynamism increases, enhancing the feeling of vitality. This child is Eros.
Composition
The character draws a small curve, and the author uses the *contrapposto* of Polykleitos to give dynamism to the sculpture. Although there is a recall of Greek idealism, for example, the face is perfectly modeled, there is a pattern of beauty in the body. The figure is making a gesture of acclamation that appears very often in Christian art.
This portrait is a portrait as *imperator*. This gives a certain idealism that presents the emperor as a general to all armies.
Stylistics
It is in the Imperial Roman style, which seeks to impress the viewer with the characterization of the emperor as powerful. We can see this in the size or the gesture of authority. This work is eclectic because it mixes realism and idealism, both Greek and Etruscan, and is monumental in its size.
3. Interpretation, Meaning, and Function
Function: It had a political function, serving to demonstrate the power of the emperor and commemorate the peace of Augustus (Pax Augusta).
Meaning: After the war against the Parthians, who, after winning, kept some eagles that are represented on the armor. Tiberius was the one who received these eagles, and his mother, Livia, commissioned the work. Livia was Augustus’ wife. This sculpture was made after Augustus’ death because: 1) it signifies that her son is legitimate to be emperor; 2) to divinize Augustus, as Emperor Augustus was the first and marked the transition of the Republic to the Empire. This iconography (subject) commemorates a victory and can be seen in many works.
4. Final Assessments
This iconography, to give a symbolic victory, appeared to mark a dart in many works and many different times, for example, in *Las Lanzas* by Velázquez.
In this work, we see a different view of Greek art. While the Greeks treated the gods as humans, the Romans treated some humans as gods.
Sacrifice of Iphigenia
1. General Documentation
- Author: Unknown
- Chronology: 1st Century AD
- Style: Imperial Rome
- Technique: Mosaic
- Theme: Mythological
- Location: Archaeological Museum