Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE C: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Augustus of Prima Porta
Alternate Title:
Augusto di Prima Porta
Image View:
Detail, bas-reliefs of the cuirass; central figures are the Parthian king and possibly Tiberius (son of Augustus) or symbolically Mars Ultor
Creator:
unknown (Roman (ancient) sculptor)
Location:
repository: Musei Vaticani (Rome (Vatican City), Santa Sede (Holy See), Italy) Inv. 2215
Location Note:
Braccio Nuovo (New Wing)
GPS:
41.906389 12.454444
Date:
early first century CE (creation)
Cultural Context:
Roman (ancient)
Style Period:
Early Imperial
Work Type 1:
sculpture (visual work)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
white marble
Technique:
carving (processes)
Measurements:
2.03 m (height)
Subjects:
military or war; portrait; rulers and leaders; Augustus, Emperor of Rome, 63 B.C.-14 A.D.; Cupid (Roman deity); breastplate; cuirass
Description:
Statue of Augustus Caesar which was discovered in 1863 in the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta, near Rome. Augustus Caesar's wife Livia Drusilla, now known as Julia Augusta, retired to the villa after his death. The dating is contested; the statue may be a copy of a bronze original and may have been gifted to Livia by her son Tiberius, which would date it to 14-37 CE. The sculptor may have been Greek; the statue seems to have been inspired by the figure of the Doryphoros (spear-bearer) by Polykleitos. (Source: Vatican Museums (Musei Vaticani) [website]; http://www.museivati cani.va/)
Image Description:
The cuirass reliefs have a complex allegorical and political agenda, depicting gods and referring to the retrieval of Crassus' standards captured by the Parthians.
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module C: World Art
Identifier:
7A3-R-VM-AFPP-A08
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Augustus of Prima Porta