DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0218
144
ROMAN PERIOD
appearance, appealed rather than generalizations and abstrac-
tions. In the sculptured reliefs of the Ara Pacts, for example
(Pl. 53 b), we see a procession of men, women, and children.
In subject matter, this is close to the Parthenon Frieze (Pl. 42.),
but a great difference is felt at once. Here the relief is higher
in the foreground figures and lower in the background, giving
one quite distinctly a feeling of depth and atmosphere; details
are worked out to a greater extent and there is a considerable
amount of portraiture in the faces; in fact we feel the individual
figures here quite forcibly. The purpose has been to give a more
realistic picture of the procession, rather than a simplified ab-
stract one that places strong emphasis on the design, as in the
Parthenon Frieze. Many of the Roman reliefs contain details of
architecture and landscape for the purpose of lively narration
and with little regard for purely decorative design.
In another field of sculpture this desire for realism is strongly
apparent, that is, in portraiture. In the late Greek period, the
generalization that distinguished the earlier portraits had given
way to some surprisingly individualistic work. The Roman
desire for literal facts together with his custom of keeping in
his house, always before his eye, the imagines, or wax masks, of
his ancestors, influenced the sculptor still further to accentuate
this individuality. In the head of an Unknown Roman (Pl. 54 a),
for example, one is struck by the intensely alive quality. The
bony structure of the head, the keen eye, sparse hair, the sagging
skin beneath the chin, all the lines and wrinkles that designate
the peculiar characteristics of an individual — all these qualities
combine to give us a powerful portrait of one of those rugged
men of dominant will, in the days of the Republic, who helped
lay the foundations of Rome’s greatness.
But when we turn to the statue of Augustus (Pl. 54 c), the feel-
ing is different. The emperor stands easily, with all the bearing
of a leader, proud of his race. He wears an elaborately decorated
metal cuirass with leather fringe over his linen tunic and carries
his military cloak thrown easily over his left arm. In every part
of the costume is seen wonderful skill in the rendering of texture,
the soft and heavy quality of the cloths, the rigidity of the
metal, and the tough nature of the leather. In his left hand he
holds the scepter; his right is lifted in the direction of his glance
as if he might be addressing his troops; for Augustus himself had
led the army on his conquests. But the face does not characterize
Augustus in detail as does the head of the Unknown Roman.
There are no individual lines to indicate personal idiosyncrasies.
ROMAN PERIOD
appearance, appealed rather than generalizations and abstrac-
tions. In the sculptured reliefs of the Ara Pacts, for example
(Pl. 53 b), we see a procession of men, women, and children.
In subject matter, this is close to the Parthenon Frieze (Pl. 42.),
but a great difference is felt at once. Here the relief is higher
in the foreground figures and lower in the background, giving
one quite distinctly a feeling of depth and atmosphere; details
are worked out to a greater extent and there is a considerable
amount of portraiture in the faces; in fact we feel the individual
figures here quite forcibly. The purpose has been to give a more
realistic picture of the procession, rather than a simplified ab-
stract one that places strong emphasis on the design, as in the
Parthenon Frieze. Many of the Roman reliefs contain details of
architecture and landscape for the purpose of lively narration
and with little regard for purely decorative design.
In another field of sculpture this desire for realism is strongly
apparent, that is, in portraiture. In the late Greek period, the
generalization that distinguished the earlier portraits had given
way to some surprisingly individualistic work. The Roman
desire for literal facts together with his custom of keeping in
his house, always before his eye, the imagines, or wax masks, of
his ancestors, influenced the sculptor still further to accentuate
this individuality. In the head of an Unknown Roman (Pl. 54 a),
for example, one is struck by the intensely alive quality. The
bony structure of the head, the keen eye, sparse hair, the sagging
skin beneath the chin, all the lines and wrinkles that designate
the peculiar characteristics of an individual — all these qualities
combine to give us a powerful portrait of one of those rugged
men of dominant will, in the days of the Republic, who helped
lay the foundations of Rome’s greatness.
But when we turn to the statue of Augustus (Pl. 54 c), the feel-
ing is different. The emperor stands easily, with all the bearing
of a leader, proud of his race. He wears an elaborately decorated
metal cuirass with leather fringe over his linen tunic and carries
his military cloak thrown easily over his left arm. In every part
of the costume is seen wonderful skill in the rendering of texture,
the soft and heavy quality of the cloths, the rigidity of the
metal, and the tough nature of the leather. In his left hand he
holds the scepter; his right is lifted in the direction of his glance
as if he might be addressing his troops; for Augustus himself had
led the army on his conquests. But the face does not characterize
Augustus in detail as does the head of the Unknown Roman.
There are no individual lines to indicate personal idiosyncrasies.