During the Roman Republic, members of all social classes used a variety of sculptural techniques to promote their distinguished social statuses.
By the end of this module you will be able to:
- Identify and describe the form, content, and context of key works from the Roman Republic
- Define critical terms related to art of the Republic
- Describe the defining characteristics of sculpture during the Roman Republic
- Explain the importance of both concrete and the arch in Roman architecture
Roman Art in the Republic
Early Roman art was influenced by the art of Greece and that of the neighbouring Etruscans, themselves greatly influenced by their Greek trading partners. As the expanding Roman Republic began to conquer Greek territory, its official sculpture became largely an extension of the Hellenistic style, with its departure from the idealized body and flair for the dramatic. This is partly due to the large number of Greek sculptors working within Roman territory.
However, Roman sculpture during the Republic departed from the Greek traditions in several ways:
- It was the first to feature a new technique called continuous narration.
- Commoners, including freedmen, could commission public art and use it to cast their professions in a positive light.
- Portraiture throughout the Republic celebrated old age with its verism.
- In the closing decades of the Republic, Julius Caesar counteracted traditional propriety by becoming the first living person to place his own portrait on a coin.
In the examples that follow, the patrons use these techniques to promote their status in society.
The Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus
Despite its most common title, the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus (late second century BCE) was more likely a base intended to support cult statues in the cella of a Temple of Neptune (Poseidon) located in Rome on the Field of Mars. The frieze is the second oldest Roman bas-relief currently known.
Domitius Ahenobarbus, a naval general, likely commissioned the altar and the temple in gratitude for a naval victory between 129 and 128 BCE. The reliefs combine mythology and contemporary civic life.
One panel of the altar depicts the census, a uniquely Roman event of contemporary civic life. It is one of the earliest reliefs sculpted in a continuous narration, in which the viewer reads from left to right the recording of the census, the purification of the army before the altar of Mars, and the levy of the soldiers.
The other three panels depict the mythological wedding of Neptune and Amphitrite. At the center of his scene, Neptune and Amphitrite are seated in a chariot drawn by two Tritons (messengers of the sea) who dance to music. They are accompanied by a multitude of fantastic creatures, Tritons, and Nereides (sea nymphs) who form a retinue for the wedding couple, which, like the census scene, can be read from left to right.
On the left, a Nereid riding on a sea-bull carries a present. Next, Amphitrite’s mother Doris advances towards the couple, mounted on a hippocampus (literally, a sea horse) and holding wedding torches in each hand to light the procession’s way. Eros hovers behind her. Behind the wedding couple, a Nereid riding a hippocampus carries another present.
Tomb of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, the Baker
The patronage of public sculpture was not limited to the ruling classes during the Republic. The tomb of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces the Baker (c. 50–20 BCE) is one of the largest and best-preserved freedman funerary monuments in Rome. Its sculpted frieze is a classic example of the plebeian style in Roman sculpture.
The deceased built the tomb for himself and perhaps his wife Atistia in the final decades of the Republic. While the tomb’s inscription lacks an L to denote the status of a freedman, the tripartite name of the deceased follows the pattern of names given to and adopted by former slaves.
The tomb, approximately 33 feet tall, commemorates the deceased and his profession. Its three main components are a frieze at the top and the cylindrical niches (probably symbolic of a kneading machine or grain measuring vessels) below it.
The surviving text of the inscription translates as “This is the monument of Marcus Vergilius Eurysaces, baker, contractor, public servant.” The frieze represents various stages in the baking of bread in continuous narration.
Although time-worn, the naturalistic depiction of human and animal bodies in a variety of poses is still evident. This record of each stage in a mundane process demonstrates the sense of pride the deceased must have had in his profession. Because the wearing of togas was not conducive to manual labour, the simple clothing on the figures marks them as plebeians or commoners.