Augustus of Prima Porta
As Augustus of Prima Porta is defined as a 2.04 meter high armored statue of the first Roman emperor Augustus . It was named after its place of discovery in Prima Porta , a northern part of Rome .
The larger than life statue of Augustus of Primaporta was found on April 20, 1863 in the villa of Livia , the home of Augustus' wife Livia Drusilla . It was damaged when it was found. This damage resulted from falls that occurred in ancient times. The left lower leg, the right foot and the right arm lifted into the air broke; these were subsequently restored. The statue is a marble copy of a bronze original that the Senate or other high-ranking dignitaries received around 20 BC. Had commissioned. At that time Augustus appeared modest to the outside world, but the discovery of the marble copy in his wife's villa shows that he was thoroughly satisfied with the original. The iconography is often with motifs of Carmen saeculare of Horace compared. As probably all statues of the Greco-Roman antiquity , Augustus of Primaporta had a colorful painting, of which almost nothing has survived today. Reconstructions of the original appearance were based on old watercolors and more recent scientific studies.
The hairstyle shown consists almost entirely of individually divided, thick strands of hair, also directly above the center of the forehead. They are finished off on either side by opposing curls. This creates a pincer motif on the left and a fork motif on the right. The hairstyle with fork and tongs is the style of Augustus von Prima porta, one speaks of the so-called Prima porta type . The face is modeled on the idealized faces of the statues of Polyklet . In earlier portraits Augustus was portrayed in a more monarchical manner, but this contradicted his later diplomatic conception, which portrayed him as primus inter pares .
The head and neck were made separately from Parian marble and inserted into the trunk. The identity with Augustus results u. a. from comparisons with portraits of coins, which also show the fork-tongs motif. At the time, coins were one of the most effective means of propaganda for spreading political messages and news - such as military victories or a change of power. New coins were minted on such occasions, which also allows a certain chronological order.
Emperor Augustus stands upright in the classic contraposto : one leg is loaded (supporting leg), the other relieved (free leg). This special way of standing results in a kink in the right hip area, which (unrealistic) can also be seen on the tank. The man's right arm is raised, not fully extended, and facing forward. This could indicate a gesture of adlocutio (address of the general before the battle). Another possibility would be that the general held a lance with the tip pointing downwards. Since the right hand was damaged when it was found and not all fingers have been preserved, this question can no longer be clarified.
Augustus' left arm is placed on the side. In ancient times there was also an object in the left hand, possibly a branch of laurel.
The relief on the breastplate of the statue shows in the center - at least according to the most widespread interpretation - the Parthian king shown here as a subjugated king, who was killed by Crassus in 53 BC. Returns lost standard to a Roman soldier (possibly Mars Ultor ) in military posture . This was a very popular motif in Augustan propaganda, as the return of the standard was one of the emperor's greatest foreign policy successes. This success had to be emphasized particularly strongly, since Augustus had renounced the war expected by the Roman public due to the military strength of the Parthians. The portrayal of the Parthian king as subject is a purely propagandistic move and has nothing in common with the political reality of the time. Left and right sit mourning female figures: on one side a personification with a sword in its scabbard, symbolizing the tributary peoples in the east and possibly the Germanic peoples ; on the other hand, a personification without a sword in its scabbard, which apparently stands for the subjugated peoples like the Celts . Furthermore you can see (from the top center clockwise):
- Caelus spreading the sky
- Aurora and Luna
- the personification of the conquered peoples
- the goddess Diana
- the earth goddess Ceres / Tellus - represented similarly to the Ara Pacis
- Apollo
- the personification of tributary peoples
- the sun god Sol
- a sphinx on each shoulder
None of these interpretations is undisputed. In any case, the gods symbolize the continuity and consistency of the events: just as the sun and moon rise again and again, the Roman successes are so sure and divinely sanctioned, which in turn are linked to the wearer of this armor, Augustus. The only self-acting person is the Parthian King - everything else is therefore divinely willed and given.
In a very divine manner, Augustus was depicted without shoes, which until then was reserved for deities. But it could also be an indication that Augustus had already died when Livia commissioned the statue - possibly as a copy of a memorial with shoes on display in the city . As a further divine legitimation, Eros , the son of Venus , rides a dolphin at Augustus' feet . This refers to the alleged, divine ancestral mother of the Julier family .
The prima porta type became the predominant style of representation for portraits of Augustus. It was kept in slight variation until the death of Augustus in the year 14. In accordance with the propaganda purpose of these statues, Augustus has not aged in his images. Statues and portraits of this type have been found throughout the entire Roman Empire.
Today the statue is in the Vatican Museums in Rome. A faithful copy is in Cambodunum .
literature
- Heinz Kähler : The Augustus statue from Primaporta (= Monumenta artis Romanae. Volume 1). Dumont Schauberg, Cologne 1959.
- Erika Simon : The Augustus of Prima Porta (= Opus nobile. Volume 13). Dorn, Bremen 1959.
- Hans Jucker : Documentations on the Augustus statue from Prima Porta. In: Booklets of the Archaeological Seminar Bern. No. 3, 1977, pp. 16-37.
- Paul Zanker : Augustus and the power of images . Munich, CH Beck 1987, ISBN 3-406-32067-8 .
- Emperor Augustus and the lost republic. Exhibition Berlin 1988. Mainz, von Zabern 1988, p. 386f. No. 215.
- Erika Simon: Old and new about the statue of Augustus from Prima Porta. In: Gerhard Binder (Ed.): Saeculum Augustum. Volume 3, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1991, ISBN 3-534-08949-9 , pp. 204-233.
- Dietrich Boschung : The portraits of Augustus (= The Roman image of rulers. Department 1, Volume 2). Gebrüder Mann Verlag, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-7861-1695-4 .
- Thomas Schäfer : The Augustus of Primaporta in the change of media. In: Hans Jürgen Wendel (Hrsg.): Change of medium. On the interdependence of form and content. Institute for Philosophy, Rostock 2001, ISBN 3-86009-214-6 , pp. 37–58.
- Vinzenz Brinkmann , Raimund Wünsche (Ed.): Colorful gods. The colors of ancient sculpture. An exhibition by the Staatliche Antikensammlungen and Glyptothek Munich in collaboration with the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Copenhagen and the Vatican Museums, Rome. Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-933200-08-3 .
Web links
- Image, reconstruction and detailed representation of the tank
- Description of the statue at VIAMUS
- Data record for the statue at VIAMUS
Individual evidence
- ↑ Klaus Vierneisel, Paul Zanker (ed.): The images of Augustus. Image of rulers and politics in imperial Rome. Exhibition catalog Munich, Munich 1979, p. 45.
- ↑ Erika Simon: Augustus. Art and life in Rome at the turn of the ages. Hirmer, Munich 1986, p. 56.
- ↑ Erika Simon: Augustus. Art and life in Rome at the turn of the ages. P. 55f.