Augustus of Primaporta Analysis

The statute Augustus of Primaporta depicts the Roman emperor Octavian, son and heir of Julius Caesar and defeater of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Created circa 20 C.E., and found in the home of Octavian’s wife Livia at Primaporta, this marble statue today stands in the Musei Vaticani in Rome (Janson 2007b 191).

Measuring 6 feet 8 inches in height, and perhaps a copy of a bronze from around 20 BCE, the Augustus of Primaporta depicts Octavian as an “ageless youth,” as did all statues of Octavian until his death in his late seventies (Janson 2007b 191). Based on the bronze Doryphoros (“spear bearer”) by Polykleitos, which depicts a perfectly harmonious and balanced male athletic body in contrapposto (hips tilted such that one leg seems to be moving while the other stands still) supported by a tree stump, the Augustus of Primaporta presents Octavian Augustus in a heroic, idealized contrapposto form (Janson 2007a 121).

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Smooth-faced Octavian is shown in this statue wearing battle armor, with his arm raised “in a gesture of address” in order to signify his claim to authority (Janson 2007b 192).

This orator’s gesture had been adapted from another historical statue, the first century BCE Aulus Metellus, a bronze statue depicting an orator that today can be seen in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Florence (Stokstad 197). Next to his right ankle, a small Cupid (also known as Eros, the son of Venus) can be seen playing with a dolphin. This cupid is not merely decorative, but rather serves as a “strut” to strengthen the statue (Janson 2007b 192).

The statute contains many symbolic references to Octavian Augustus’s claims to power. His divine claims to power are represented through several visual references. To begin with, like the Egyptians and Greeks before him, and many Roman emperors after, Augustus’ statue represents him as being “enveloped in an air of divinity” (Janson 2007a 121).

The statue’s generally godlike appearance is augmented by Octavian’s bare feet, which are the mark of a god, and the Cupid, which represents the descent of the Julian family (of which Augustus was part) from Venus through Aeneas, his Trojan ancestor (Janson 2007b 192). His earthly claims to power are displayed through references to his military and diplomatic victories.

The dolphin represents his earthly claim to power by evoking the sea at Actium where Octavian Augustus defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra and ended 100 years of civil war in the Roman Republic (Janson 2007b 192, Lodge 1).

Augustus’ breastplate, which depicts an allegory in which either Tiberius or the god Mars accepting Roman standards from a Parthian soldier, recalls his diplomatic victory over the Parthians in 20 BCE, when he was able to negotiate the return of some Roman legionary standards that had been captured in 53 and 36 BCE (Janson 2007a 122). Finally, his orator’s pose symbolizes his ability to rule by reason and persuasion, rather than through force (Stokstad 198).

The Augustus of Primaporta was a part of the Augustan period, a new Roman idealist movement that was “grounded in the appearance of the everyday world” (Stokstad 197, Honour 198). This type of sculpture assimilates the traditions of ancient Greece with more modern Roman references. This statue, a good representation of the movement, has been described as a “sophisticated combination of Greek idealism and Roman individuality,” which came together to form “a new Augustan ideal” (Stokstad 197).

The godlike idealized body of Augustus, with its perfect Greek athletic figure, its tight cap of layered curls, its prominent brow and nose, and its contrapposto pose, is combined with realistic portraiture in the head so that Augustus’ features are clearly distinguishable (Stokstad 197, Lodge 4).

This type of Roman idealist sculpture was frequently used as imperial political propaganda. The references to divine and earthly claims to power and the posture and beauty of the statue, combined with the distinctive portraiture, stand for the proposition that the individual Octavian Augustus was a noble and powerful ruler.

The visual imagery of the statues of this time, such as the Augustus of Primaporta, was key in creating a “new mythology” of the imperial line (Lodge 2). This statue solidified and paid homage to Augustus’ claim to authority by depicting his many claims to rule. Later statues of Roman emperors would draw on the Augustus of Primaporta as propaganda to tie them closer to the Julian line (Lodge 3).

Another example of the Augustan style, which similarly shows Augustus in a particular light for propagandistic purposes is the Via Labicana Augustus, which originally dates from 20 BCE, and a copy of which can be found in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme at the National Museum in Rome (Lodge 2).

This sculpture shows Octavian Augustus—again with distinguishable features on the head—dressed as pontifex maximus, the highest priest in the ancient roman religion. Showing Augustus as an idealized religious figure spoke of him as a virtuous and pious citizen of Rome, and a conserver of traditional Roman values, which conveyed another type of authority in addition to the more military and diplomatic authority portrayed in the Augustus of Primaporta (Lodge 7).

The image in the Via Labicana Augustus, when combined with that of the Augustus of Primaporta, shows an imperial figure who ruled justly, piously, and well, and with the support of both heaven and earth.

Works Cited

Honour, Hugh & John Fleming. A World History of Art. London: Lawrence King Publishing, Ltd., 2005. 196-199.

Janson, Anthony F. & H.W. Janson, A Short History of Art. 7th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007a. 121-122.

Janson, Anthony F. Janson’s History of Art. 7th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007b. 191-193.

Lodge, Nancy. “Images of Roman Power: Roman Imperial Sculpture.” 1-7. available at http://www4.vjc.edu/gems/NancyLodge/ArtasPropaganda.pdf.

Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. 197-198.

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