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  1. Seuso Research Project
  2. Statue of Augustus from Prima Porta
The Augustus statue of Prima Porta (Photo by Ágnes Bencze)
The Augustus statue of Prima Porta (Photo by Ágnes Bencze)
Roman Empire
Beginning of 1st c. A.D.

Statue of Augustus from Prima Porta

Today one of the most prominent artworks of Roman sculpture is arguably the 2-metre-tall marble statue representing Augustus. It was discovered in the villa of his wife, Livia, at the site of Prima Porta, situated on the northern periphery of Rome. The empress retired to this villa after Augustus’s death (14 A.D.); thus the statue at Prima Porta was probably made following his passing away. However, a bronze statue sculpted around the middle of Augustus’s reign and erected in a public building could have been the original composition, which served as a model for the marble statue. The work also refers to a political event: the scene decorating the cuirass shows the Parthians returning the Roman military standards they had earlier captured. The event took place in 20 B.C. and therefore that is regarded as possibly the earliest date of modelling the bronze statue. The proportions and body posture of the emperor’s standing figure are based on the famous statue of the Spear-bearer by the Greek sculptor Polykleitos, who lived in the 5th century B.C., but it was regarded as the main artistic model in the age of Augustus. Yet the sculptor dressed the nude figure of an athlete in military clothing and changed the head to a portrait of Augustus by modelling his individual features. Due to that, the Augustus statue of Prima Porta corresponds to the emperor’s portrait type, which took formed around 27 B.C. It presents a masterly synthesis between the features of an individual and an abstract ‘ideal’ version of a man’s face.

  • Reign of Emperor Augustus

    Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace)
    Statue of Augustus from Prima Porta
  • “Corinthian bronze”jug and bowl with handle, Egyed

  • Roman wall paintings

  • The Conquest of Pannonia

  • Colosseum

  • Reign of Emperor Trajan

    Trajan’s Column
  • Reign of Emperor Hadrian

    Pantheon
  • Reign of Marcus Aurelius

    Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius
    Bronze portrait of Marcus Aurelius, Lugio
  • The Severan dynasty: the golden age of Pannonia

    Wall paintings from Brigetio
    Hercules mosaic, Aquincum
    Cult relief of Mithras, Sárkeszi
  • Ivory statue of Autumn (Autumnus), Savaria

  • The age of the soldier emperors

    Statue of Nemesis from the governor’s palace, Aquincum
  • Silver augur staff, Brigetio

  • Reign of Diocletian: the age of the First Tetrarchy

    Statue of the tetrarchs of Venice
    The Gold Coffin by Ferenc Móra
  • Reign of Emperor Constantine I (the Great)

    Mosaics of the Villa del Casale, Piazza Armerina
    The triumphal arch of Constantine
    The Colossus of Constantine I
    Colossal bronze statue of Constantine I
  • Foundation of Constantinople

  • Reign of Emperor Constantius II.

    Heidentor, Carnuntum
    The Kaiseraugst treasure
  • Helmet of March 15 Square, Budapest Castellum contra Teutanum

  • Imperial fibula with onyx, Szilágysomlyó

  • Reign of Emperor Julian

  • Reign of Emperor Valentinian I

  • Battle of Hadrianopolis

  • Barbarian incursions into Pannonia

    The Kőszárhegy quadripus
  • I. (The Great) Theodosius and his co-emperors

    Obelisk of Theodosius
    Gilded bronze bust of Valentinian II, Sopianae (?)
  • Fragment of glass vessel with gold foil decoration, Intercisa

  • Painted Early Christian burial chambers, Sopianae

  • Ivory diptychs

  • Sack of Rome

  • Giving up the territory of Pannonia

    Late Roman luxury villa, Nagyharsány
    The Beremend bronze plaque
  • Dethronement of Romulus Augustulus

  • Mosaics of Ravenna

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