Primaporta Augustus
Title
Primaporta Augustus
Date
Julio-Claudian. ca. 15 AD.
Artist or Workshop
Unknown
Materials
Marble and Paint.
Height of the work
203 cm tall
Provenience
Villa of Livia at Prima Porta, Italy.
Current Location
Vatican Museums, Vatican City.
Description and Significance
Description:
The Augustus of Prima Porta sculpture is bigger than life sized. It is an imposing image of Augustus. In this sculpture, Augustus is dressed in military clothing. Augustus has a slight turn of the head. His right arm is raised outward and upward, in a gesture indicating speech (adlocutio)." The back of Augustus hand, right above his elbow contains some red paint. His left arm supports a part of his cloak, which is wrapped around his waist. Augustus has on a highly decorated breastplate/cuirass. There are many figures on the breastplate. One of the central scenes is of a Roman and a Parthian. Also included are the figures of the Sun god, Sol and the sky god, Caelus. Also included are female personifications of nations that Augustus was ruling over. Included as well are the figures of Diana, Apollo and Tellus. The sculpture has very defined legs. His calves are bulging and there is tension in the muscles. Augustus is in the contrapposto pose. The weight of the sculpture is on one foot, the right foot. Augustus does not wear any shoes in this sculpture. To the right of Augustus is a small sculpture of Cupid who is tugging at Augustus cloak. Cupid is shown riding a dolphin.
Significance:
There is tremendous amount of iconography and significance in this sculpture. First, this sculpture is a copy of an original bronze. There would have been many marble copies likes this. These sculptures would have served as official portraits of the emperor, just like an official presidential photo today. A significant difference is that Augustus was actually middle aged when this work was created. This sculpture is idealized. Augustus is in better shape and younger than he was at the time of the commission. This is how Augustus wants the people of Roman Empire to see him. Augustus has a very athletic body here, just like Greek athletes of the past. This is intentional. The emperor is harkening back to Classical Greece. The Augustus of Prima Porta has Augustus in a moment of speaking, presumably to his military. The inspiration for this sculpture is from a piece of sculpture that followed the "kanon," the ideal proportions. This sculpture was modeled after the mid fifth century Doryphoros by Polykleitos. The Doryphoros is idealized, youthful and in contrapposto. There is immense meaning in the iconography of this sculpture. The breastplate/cuirass contains imagery of great significance. In the middle of the breastplate are two figures. One is Tiberius and the other is possibly Phraates IV. This is a scene showing the Parthian returning the standards of the Roman military to a Roman. The standards had been lost in an earlier battle. This is meant to symbolize the submission of the Parthians to Augustus. The top of the breastplate shows Sol, the Sun god and Caelus, the sky god. Around these figures are female personifications of nations that Augustus had put into submission and was now ruling over. There are figures of Diana and Apollo as well. The inclusion of the figure of Tellus at the bottom of the breastplate has a lot of meaning. Tellus is the Earth goddess and is shown holding two babies and a cornucopia. All of this imagery together hints at the Pax Romana, the peace in the Roman empire that Augustus had brought about. The inclusion of Tellus is to symbolize that the peaceful era brought about by Augustus would be a fertile one. The imagery on the breastplate symbolize Augustus' achievements. The other great piece of iconographic significance is at the bottom of the sculpture. There is a small sculpture of Cupid riding a dolphin whilst tugging at Augustus cloak. Cupid is the son of Venus. Augustus traced his ancestry to Aeneas, the mythical founder of Rome. Aeneas was the son of Venus. Julius Caesar, who adopted Augustus, claimed Venus as his ancestor. Cupid here is meant to show Augustus ancestral link to the goddess Venus. The dolphin symbolizes Augustus' victory on the seas against Cleopatra and Mark Antony. To the left of the dolphin and the cupid are Augustus' bare feet. Bare feet are reserved for divine figures, for goddesses and gods. Through the inclusion of the cupid and his bare feet, Augustus is pointing to his own divinity and divine ancestry. All of this is propaganda. Augustus is using this sculpture with all of its symbolism and imagery as propaganda directed towards the people of his empire. Augustus is showing that he is connected to the beginning of Rome with its founding by Aeneas, the son of the goddess Venus all the way to Julius Caesar, who considered Venus as his ancestor and whom Augustus had deified as a god. Here stands Augustus, a god.
The Augustus of Prima Porta sculpture is bigger than life sized. It is an imposing image of Augustus. In this sculpture, Augustus is dressed in military clothing. Augustus has a slight turn of the head. His right arm is raised outward and upward, in a gesture indicating speech (adlocutio)." The back of Augustus hand, right above his elbow contains some red paint. His left arm supports a part of his cloak, which is wrapped around his waist. Augustus has on a highly decorated breastplate/cuirass. There are many figures on the breastplate. One of the central scenes is of a Roman and a Parthian. Also included are the figures of the Sun god, Sol and the sky god, Caelus. Also included are female personifications of nations that Augustus was ruling over. Included as well are the figures of Diana, Apollo and Tellus. The sculpture has very defined legs. His calves are bulging and there is tension in the muscles. Augustus is in the contrapposto pose. The weight of the sculpture is on one foot, the right foot. Augustus does not wear any shoes in this sculpture. To the right of Augustus is a small sculpture of Cupid who is tugging at Augustus cloak. Cupid is shown riding a dolphin.
Significance:
There is tremendous amount of iconography and significance in this sculpture. First, this sculpture is a copy of an original bronze. There would have been many marble copies likes this. These sculptures would have served as official portraits of the emperor, just like an official presidential photo today. A significant difference is that Augustus was actually middle aged when this work was created. This sculpture is idealized. Augustus is in better shape and younger than he was at the time of the commission. This is how Augustus wants the people of Roman Empire to see him. Augustus has a very athletic body here, just like Greek athletes of the past. This is intentional. The emperor is harkening back to Classical Greece. The Augustus of Prima Porta has Augustus in a moment of speaking, presumably to his military. The inspiration for this sculpture is from a piece of sculpture that followed the "kanon," the ideal proportions. This sculpture was modeled after the mid fifth century Doryphoros by Polykleitos. The Doryphoros is idealized, youthful and in contrapposto. There is immense meaning in the iconography of this sculpture. The breastplate/cuirass contains imagery of great significance. In the middle of the breastplate are two figures. One is Tiberius and the other is possibly Phraates IV. This is a scene showing the Parthian returning the standards of the Roman military to a Roman. The standards had been lost in an earlier battle. This is meant to symbolize the submission of the Parthians to Augustus. The top of the breastplate shows Sol, the Sun god and Caelus, the sky god. Around these figures are female personifications of nations that Augustus had put into submission and was now ruling over. There are figures of Diana and Apollo as well. The inclusion of the figure of Tellus at the bottom of the breastplate has a lot of meaning. Tellus is the Earth goddess and is shown holding two babies and a cornucopia. All of this imagery together hints at the Pax Romana, the peace in the Roman empire that Augustus had brought about. The inclusion of Tellus is to symbolize that the peaceful era brought about by Augustus would be a fertile one. The imagery on the breastplate symbolize Augustus' achievements. The other great piece of iconographic significance is at the bottom of the sculpture. There is a small sculpture of Cupid riding a dolphin whilst tugging at Augustus cloak. Cupid is the son of Venus. Augustus traced his ancestry to Aeneas, the mythical founder of Rome. Aeneas was the son of Venus. Julius Caesar, who adopted Augustus, claimed Venus as his ancestor. Cupid here is meant to show Augustus ancestral link to the goddess Venus. The dolphin symbolizes Augustus' victory on the seas against Cleopatra and Mark Antony. To the left of the dolphin and the cupid are Augustus' bare feet. Bare feet are reserved for divine figures, for goddesses and gods. Through the inclusion of the cupid and his bare feet, Augustus is pointing to his own divinity and divine ancestry. All of this is propaganda. Augustus is using this sculpture with all of its symbolism and imagery as propaganda directed towards the people of his empire. Augustus is showing that he is connected to the beginning of Rome with its founding by Aeneas, the son of the goddess Venus all the way to Julius Caesar, who considered Venus as his ancestor and whom Augustus had deified as a god. Here stands Augustus, a god.
References
"Augustus of Primaporta." Khan Academy. Khan Academy, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2017. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/early-empire/v/augustus-of-primaporta-1st-century-c-e-vatican-museums>.
Augustus of Primaporta. Perf. Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Khan Academy, n.d. Web. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/early-empire/v/augustus-of-primaporta-1st-century-c-e-vatican-museums>.
"Vatican Museums." Augustus from Prima Porta. Musei Vaticani, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2017.
Kleiner, Diane E. E. . "The Age of Augustus and the Birth of Imperial Art." Roman Sculpture. N.p.: Yale U Press, n.d. 65-67. Print. Yale Publications in the History of Art.
Augustus of Primaporta. Perf. Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Khan Academy, n.d. Web. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/roman/early-empire/v/augustus-of-primaporta-1st-century-c-e-vatican-museums>.
"Vatican Museums." Augustus from Prima Porta. Musei Vaticani, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2017.
Kleiner, Diane E. E. . "The Age of Augustus and the Birth of Imperial Art." Roman Sculpture. N.p.: Yale U Press, n.d. 65-67. Print. Yale Publications in the History of Art.
Contributor
Sai Teja Surapaneni
Files
Citation
Unknown, “Primaporta Augustus,” Digital Portrait "Basket" - ARTH488A "Ancient Mediterranean Portraiture", accessed November 18, 2024, http://classicalchopped.artinterp.org/omeka/items/show/40.
Item Relations
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