Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE C: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Augustus of Prima Porta
Alternate Title:
Augusto di Prima Porta
Image View:
Detail, Cupid at Augustus' bare feet (bare feet may be a reference to Augustus as a god or hero)
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 small Cupid (son of Venus) at his feet (riding on a dolphin, Venus's patron animal) is a reference to the claim that the Julian family were descended from the goddess Venus, made by both Augustus and by his great uncle Julius Caesar as a way of claiming divine lineage without claiming the full divine status.
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module C: World Art
Identifier:
7A3-R-VM-AFPP-A15
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Augustus of Prima Porta