ROMAN

SCULPTUR
E
 ROMAN SCULPTURE
• Roman sculpture gained momentum
after the conquest of Greece circa 146
BC.

• The Romans most significant

contribution to the art of sculpture was
REALISTIC PORTRAITRURE. This style
of realistic sculpture probably
originated in the terra-cotta busts of
ancestors which were displayed at the
funerals of Roman aristocrats.
• For the most part, Roman
statues were used to:

1. Decorate public & private

buildings
2. To honor the ruler
3. To celebrate victories
4. To promote the state and its
governance.
 ROMAN SCULPTURE
• Traditional Roman sculpture
is divided into 5 categories:
1.Roman Portraiture
2.Historical relief
3.Funerary reliefs
4.Sarcophagi
5.Copies of ancient Greek
works
 1. Roman Portraiture
• was one of the most important
currents in ancient Roman art.

• Portrait sculpture from the

Republican era tends to be
somewhat more modest, realistic,
and natural compared to early
Imperial works.
 Relief portrait of the emperor
Lucius Verus
ca. 166–170; Antonine
Roman
Marble
Height 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1913 (13.227.1)

In this portrait, the face of the

emperor assumes a meditative
expression with a prominent brow
that overshadows his heavy-lidded
eyes.

His features reflect the mid-

Antonine revival of the style of
fourth-century B.C. Greek sculpture
like the Vatican Meleager.
Augustus of Prima Porta
• Augustus of Prima
Porta is a 2.04m high
marble statue of Augustus
Caesar which was
discovered on April 20,
1863, in the Villa of Livia at
Prim Porta, near Rome.

• Augustus is shown in
this role of "Imperator",
the commander of the
army— meaning the statue
form part of a
commemorative
monument to his latest
victories
The Venus de Milo
• Venus or her Greek
name Aphrodite, she is the
goddess of love, beauty,
and fertility.

• The most famous Venus

statue is the Venus de Milo
housed in the Louvre in
France. Although the
sculptor is unknown and
the date of origin can only
be estimated the second
century B.C., it remains a
masterpiece with few
equals.
 Portrait of Caracalla
• The best known portrait
of Caracalla (was Roman
Emperor from 211 to 217)
is that held at the Vatican
Museums and of which
several copies are known.

• was first created on his

assuming full
responsibility for the
empire after his murder
of Geta in 212.
 2. Historical reliefs

• Roman reliefs of battle scenes,

like those on the Column of
Trajan, were created for the
glorification of Roman might, but
also provide first-hand
representation of military
costumes and military equipment.
 Column of Trajan
• is a Roman triumphal
column in Rome, Italy,
which commemorates
Roman emperor Trajan's
victory in the Dacian
Wars.

• The structure is about 30

meters (98 ft) in height,
35 meters (125 ft)
including its large
pedestal.
 Villa of the Mysteries

• The Villa of the Mysteries or Villa dei

Misteri is a well preserved ruin of a Roman
Villa which lies some 800 meters north-
west of Pompeii, southern Italy.
 3. Funerary Relief
• During the late Republican and
Augustan periods (about 70 B.C.-A.D.
14), funerary reliefs with portraits of
the deceased and members of their
families were popular.

• The portraits are frequently

accompanied by inscriptions that
indicate the professions and family
relationships of the people in the relief.
 Funerary Relief of the
Publius Gessius Family
• Funerary Relief of the Publius Gessius
Family ; Roman, late Republican period,
about 50-20 B.C.; Marble (probably from
Carrara, Italy)

• The Latin inscription at the base identifies

the central figure as Publius Gessius, a
Roman citizen in military costume. He is
flanked by Fausta Gessia, a slave whom he
had freed, and by their son, R. Gessius
Primus, also a freed slave.
Funerary Relief of the
Publius Gessius Family
Funerary relief of
Mmia and Koartilla
• Syrian, Roman Imperial
Period, AD 70-100

• The mother, Koartilla,

wears traditional regional
dress of Syria, while Mmia
wears the forehead
jewelry fashionable for
girls throughout the
Roman world.
 Italy - Roman Funerary Slab
with Carved Relief

* Used for architectural decoration, funerary, votive, or

commemorative monuments. Approximate date: 2nd c. B.C. to
4th c. A.D.

* This example is a funerary slab with the bust of the deceased

couple in a central tondo and representations of the seasons
around them.
 4. Sarcophagi

• Ancient Roman sarcophagi (a funeral

receptacle for a corpse, most
commonly carved or cut from stone.)
were the often richly-carved
sarcophagi used for inhumation of
the dead by the ancient Romans.
Stone sarcophagus of Merneptah in KV8
Merneptah (or Merenptah)
was the fourth ruler of the
Nineteenth Dynasty of
Ancient Egypt. He ruled Egypt
for almost ten years between
late July or early August 1213
to May 2, 1203 BC, according
to contemporary historical
records

The body is that of an old

man and is 1 meter 714
millimeters in height.
 "Sarcophagus of the Spouses"
• is a late 6th century BC
Etruscan anthropoid
sarcophagus. It is 1.14 m
high by 1.9 m wide, and is
made of painted
terracotta. It depicts a
married couple reclining
at a banquet together in
the afterlife.

• It is now in the National

Etruscan Museum of Villa
Giulia, Rome.
Sarcophagus of the Triumph of
Bacchus

• The Sarcophagus of
the Triumph of
Bacchus is
treasured for its
intricate detail and
for its bas relief
carving
 Portonaccio sarcophagus
• was a 2nd century
ancient Roman
sarcophagus found in the
Portonaccio quarter of
Rome and now held at the
Museo Nazionale Romano
(palazzo Massimo).

• Dating to between 190

and 200, it was used for
the burial of a Roman
general involved in the
campaigns of Marcus
Aurelius
 Constantinople Christian
sarcophagus with XI monogram
The IX monogram, also XI monogram, is a type of early
Christian monogram looking like the spokes of a wheel,
sometimes within a circle. The IX monogram is formed
by the combination of the letter "I" for IHCOYC (Ιησους,
Jesus in Greek) and "X" for XPICTOC (Χριστος, Christ in
Greek). These monograms can often be found as ancient
burial inscriptions
 5. Copies of Ancient
Greek works
• In the late fourth century B.C., the
Romans initiated a policy of expansion
that in 300 years made them the masters
of the Mediterranean world. Impressed by
the wealth, culture, and beauty of the
Greek cities, victorious generals returned
to Rome with booty that included works of
art in all media.
Fragments of the Great
Eleusinian Relief
• 27 b.c.–14 a.d.; Augustan
Fragments of a Roman copy
set in a plaster cast of the
original Greek marble relief,
ca. 450–425 b.c. ; Marble

• Height : 89 3/8 in. (227 cm)

 Statue of a woman
• second half of 4th century
b.c.; Greek; Marble

• Height 68 1/8 in. (173.02 cm)

• The particularly lively and

varied rendering of fabrics in
this marble statue suggests
that it is a Greek original,
rather than a Roman copy.
Relief with a dancing Maenad
• Augustan Roman copy of a Greek relief
attributed to Kallimachos, ca. 425–400
b.c. ; Pentelic marble

• Height- 56 5/16 in. (143.03 cm)

• Maenads abandoned themselves to

orgiastic festivities. They celebrated the
rites of the god with song, dance, and
music in the mountains, often clothed in
animal skins.