Livia’s Love

The wife of the Emperor Augustus, Livia, had a large room decorated in frescoes depicting a lovely garden in their villa at Prima Porta in Rome, which was constructed around the 40s CE. All four walls are sumptuously decorated with scenes of trees, bushes, and birds flying and alighting on branches. Lemons, roses, and pomegranates predominate (see image below). Two thousand years old, they are a celebration of the love of nature and the pleasures of gardens.

Livia’s Garden

Another detail from the fresoes of Livia’s garden at Prima Porta (see above).

Hellenistic Hermaphrodite

One of the most eye-opening and sensuous sculptures in the world is in the Museo Nazionale delle Terme in Rome: the Hellenistic marble sculpture of a Hermaphrodite (see below for other view). A gender-bending icon, it’s probably the most photographed artifact in the museum. There are a few versions of this work. The first, and probably the oldest version is in the Louvre. Another version, also ancient, was found in 1781 and is in the Villa Borghese. This one was discovered in 1880, and probably dates from around the 2nd century CE.

Bronze Prince

In February of the year 1885, excavators working along a slope of the Quirinale Hill in Rome came upon this over life sized bronze statue of a heroic figure. A month later, another statue was uncovered, the Bronze Boxer (see below). Both were incredible finds, both rare bronzes from the 2nd or 3rd centuries BCE.

Bronze Boxer

The Bronze Boxer is, in my mind, one of the greatest sculptures ever created. It’s not of a god or goddess or mythical being, but an eloquent portrait of a working man, a man whose job is brutal and exhausting. All of this is conveyed in this remarkable work with its painstaking details such as the ‘boxing gloves’ (see image below) and his crooked nose and cauliflower ear. Over 2000 years old, its survival is a miracle and an indication of the high level of artistic and technical talents of sculptors and founders from the Hellenistic era, where these artists turned their sights to creating works that depicted ordinary people rather than ideal mythic beings.

August Augustus

This is a detail of the famous statue of the Roman Emperor Augustus from around 12 BCE, called the Via Labicana Augustus, named after its find spot. The work shows Augustus as a priest, specifically Pontifex Maximus, a title that the popes of Rome would later adopt. It represents an important concept regarding the imperium: that the emperor is both a political and religious head of state.

Cupid’s Kiss

Detail of a Cupid and Psyche statue in marble in the Capitoline Museum, Rome.

Vespasian’s Vows

The Roman Emperor Vespasian followed the controversial reign of the much-hated Nero. The new emperor quickly moved to institute a new set of laws around 70 CE, the Lex de imperio Vespasiani. These new laws were inscribed on bronze plaques so they could be publicly displayed, including this very rare surviving one.

Capitoline Queen

A detail of a beautiful figure in the Capitoline Museum in Rome.

Rome’s Twins

In the background of this shot of a pigeon enjoying the waters of a fountain, are the twins Romulus and Remus and their She-Wolf mother, a legend of the founding of Rome. The sculpture’s are found on the Capitoline Hill of Rome (see post below).

Old Man River

On the Capitoline Hill in Rome, in front of the Senate building, is a huge statue that’s an allegorical figure of the River Tiber. He holds, as many aquatic allegories do, a rudder. There’s a pendant to him as well, a similar allegorical figure representing the Nile River, thus they signifyed the great scope of the Roman Empire. But the Tiber figure didn’t always signify the Tiber. Originally, during ancient times, it represented the Tigris River, thus, like the Nile, it alluded to the farthest reaches of the Empire. It was only later that the recumbent figure’s symbolism was changed, when Michelangelo moved the figures to their present location in his refurbishing of the Capitoline Hill structures. By then, the Renaissance, the Tigris didn’t have any particular significance for Romans. It had been absorbed into Muslim lands centuries before. Indeed, it was only then that the She-Wolf and the twins Romulus and Remus were added to the ensemble to make it clear that the figure now symbolized Rome’s famous river (see post above).

Dying Gaul

This marble statue is likely a Roman copy of a Hellenistic original done in bronze. The original probably dates from around 225 BCE, commissioned by King Attalus of Pergamon (in present-day Turkey) to commemorate his victory over an army of Gauls. The Gaul, dying of his wounds, is wearing a torque around his neck, a distinctive type of jewelry worn by the Gauls. It’s now in the Capitoline Museum in Rome.

Happy Saints

While most of the early mosaics of the church of San Paolo fuori la Mura (St Paul Outside the Walls) were destroyed in a 19th century fire, they were carefully restored. The earliest mosaics date from the early 4th century, donated by the famous Byzantine, Ravennese Princess and Consort Galla Placidia, whose mausoleum is one of the wonders of Ravenna. In this detail, martyrs carry the crowns that mark them as the Elect of Heaven. I like the fellow in the lower row third from the right. He looks like he’s just seen you taking a picture of him and he’s so happy you’re going to post it on your blog.