The greatest cultural and archaeological heritage of the Eternal City, woven from different historical eras, makes Rome unique. In the capital of Italy, an incredible amount of works of art has been collected - real masterpieces known throughout the world, behind which are the names of great talents. In this article we want to talk about the most famous sculptures in Rome, which are definitely worth seeing.

For many centuries, Rome has been the center of world art. Since ancient times, masterpieces of creations of human hands have been brought to the capital of the Empire. During the Renaissance, pontiffs, cardinals and representatives of the nobility built palaces and churches, decorating them with beautiful frescoes, paintings and sculptures. Many newly erected buildings of this period gave new life to the architectural and decorative elements of antiquity - ancient columns, capitals, marble friezes and sculptures were taken from the buildings of the times of the Empire, restored and installed in a new place. In addition, the Renaissance gave Rome an endless number of new brilliant creations, including the work of Michelangelo, Canova, Bernini and many other talented sculptors. You can read about the most outstanding works of art and their creators on the page

Sleeping hermaphrodite

Capitoline she-wolf

The most significant for the Romans is " Capitoline she-wolf”, now in the Capitoline Museums. According to the legend that tells about the founding of Rome, she was raised by a she-wolf at the Capitoline Hill.

Capitoline she-wolf

It is generally accepted that the bronze statue was made by the Etruscans in the 5th century BC. However, modern researchers are inclined to assume that the She-Wolf was made much later - during the Middle Ages, and the figures of the twins were added in the second half of the 15th century. Their authorship has not been established for certain. Most likely they were created by Antonio del Pollaiolo.

Laocoön and sons

The famous sculptural group depicting the scene of the struggle of Laocoön and his sons with snakes, supposedly adorned the private villa of Emperor Titus. Dated circa Ic. BC, it is a marble Roman copy made by unknown craftsmen from an ancient Greek bronze original, which, unfortunately, has not survived. One of the most famous sculptures in Rome is located in the Pio Clementine Museum, which is part of.

The statue was discovered at the beginning of the 16th century in the territory of the vineyards located on the hill of Oppio, which belonged to a certain Felice de Fredis. In the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, on the tombstone of Felice, you can see an inscription telling about this fact. Michelangelo Buonarroti and Giuliano da Sangallo were invited to the excavations, who were to evaluate the find.

Accidentally found sculpture produced a strong resonance at that time, influencing the development of art throughout Italy during the Renaissance. The incredible dynamism and plasticity of the forms of the antique work inspired many masters of that time, such as Michelangelo, Titian, El Greco, Andrea del Sarto, and others.

Sculptures by Michelangelo

The famous sculptor, architect, painter and poet has been recognized the greatest master while still alive. Only a few sculptures by Michelangelo Buonarroti can be seen in Rome, as most of his works are in Florence and Bologna. In the Vatican, in, it is stored. Michelangelo sculpted a masterpiece when he was only 24 years old. In addition, Pieta is the only hand-signed work of the master.

Another famous work by Michelangelo Buonarroti can be admired in the Cathedral of San Pietro in Vincoli. There is a monumental tombstone of Pope Julius II, the creation of which stretched over four decades. Despite the fact that the original project of the funeral monument was never fully implemented, its main figure, the one decorating the monument, makes a strong impression and looks so realistic that it fully conveys the character and mood of the biblical character.

Sculptures by Lorenzo Bernini

Bernini. Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona. Fragment

Sensual marble figures with graceful soft forms and special sophistication, amaze with their virtuoso performance: the cold stone looks warm and soft, and the characters sculptural compositions- alive.

Among the most famous works Bernini must-sees, topping our list are The Rape of Proserpina and Apollo and Daphne, which make up the Borghese Gallery collection. .

Apollo and Daphne

Another masterpiece by Bernini, The Ecstasy of Blessed Ludovica Albertoni, deserves special attention. famous sculpture, created as a funeral monument at the request of Cardinal Paluzzi, depicts a scene of religious ecstasy by Ludovica Albertoni, who lived at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. The sculptural group adorns the Altieri Chapel, located in the Basilica of San Francesco a Ripa in the Trastevere area.

The art of Rome begins with a portrait, just as the Etruscan Romans made wax or plaster casts of the face of the deceased. All the details of the face turned into a means of characterizing the image, where there is no place for the ideal, everyone is what he is.

Taking Greek art as a model, (after 146 BC in the era of Augustus), the Romans began to depict emperors in countless idealized statues of patricians, Atlanteans and gods, although the model is, of course, heroized, and the head is a portrait of the emperor.

Statue of Augustus from Primaporte.

August as Zeus.

But more often the portrait sculpture of the Romans is a bust.

Beginning of Ic. BC. - characterized by deliberate simplicity and restraint.

Portrait of Nero

By the middle of the 1st century AD - the desire for decorativeness, strong lighting effects is intensified. (This is the Flavian era)

Portraits are reminiscent of Hellenistic images, there is an interest in the human personality, a subtle characteristic of feelings is conveyed without changes in idealization, but very prominently. The artist uses a complex marble processing technique, especially in women's, frilly hairstyles.

Female portrait.

Portrait of Vittelius.

In the II century. AD (the era of Adrian, Antoninov) - portraits are distinguished by the softness of modeling, refinement, a self-absorbed look, a haze of sadness and detachment.

Portrait of Sirpanka.

Orientation, animation of the look is now emphasized by a carved pupil (previously it was painted, painted).

Around 170, an equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius was cast (now stands on the Capitol Square in Rome). The alleged heroism of the image does not coincide with the appearance of the emperor - the philosopher.

3rd century marked by features of the approaching end of ancient civilization. The fusion of local and ancient traditions that had developed in Roman art was being destroyed by internecine wars and the disintegration of the slave-owning economic system.

The sculptural portrait is full of cruel and rude images inspired by life itself. The images are truthful and mercilessly - revealing, they carry fear and uncertainty, painful inconsistency. 3rd century AD called the era of soldier emperors or the era of verism.

Portrait of Caraccana.

Portrait of Philip the Arabian.

The Romans were the creators of the so-called historical relief.

Wall of the Altar of Peace (13-9 BC) – Emperor Augustus with his family and associates march in a solemn procession of offerings to the Goddess of Peace.

Trajan's Column (113 AD) - a thirty-meter column rises in the Forum of Trajan (Rome) erected in honor of the victory over the Dacians. The relief, like a ribbon with a width of about one meter and a length of 200 meters, spirals around the entire trunk of the column. The historical sequence depicts the main events of Trajan's campaign: the construction of a bridge over the Danube, the crossing, the battle itself, the siege of the Dacian fortress, the procession of prisoners, the triumphant return. Trajan at the head of the army, everything is depicted deeply realistically and permeated with the pathos of glorifying the winner.

Painting of Ancient Rome

By the middle of the 1st c. BC. Ancient Rome becomes a wealthy state. Palaces and villas were built, which were decorated with frescoes. The floors and patios were decorated with mosaics - inlaid paintings made from natural pebbles, as well as from colored glass paste (smalt). Especially many frescoes and mosaics have been preserved in the villas of Pompeii (which were destroyed as a result of the eruption of Vesuvius in 74 AD)

In the house of the Faun in Pompeii (the name originated from the bronze figure of a faun found in the house), a mosaic of 15 square meters was uncovered, depicting the battle of A. Macedon with the Persian king Darius. The excitement of the battle is perfectly conveyed, the portrait characteristics of the generals are emphasized by the beauty of color.

In the ІІv. BC. the fresco imitated colored marble, the so-called inlay style.

In IV.BC. an architectural (perspective) style develops. As an example, the murals of the Villa of the Mysteries: against the red background of the wall, almost to its entire height, there are large multi-figure compositions, including the figures of Dionysus and his companions - dancers, amaze with picturesque statuary, plasticity of movements.

During the period of the empire IV. AD a third style is created, which is called ornamental or candelabra, featuring Egyptian motifs reminiscent of candelabra (the house of Lucretius Frontinus).

In the second half of IV. AD the murals are filled with the image of the architecture of gardens and parks, illusory pushing the space of the rooms, in the center of the wall, as a separate picture in the frame, mythological plots are written (the house of the Vettii).

From the murals of Roman villas, we can get an idea of ​​ancient painting, the influence of which will be felt for many centuries to come.

The city of Rome was founded, according to legend, by the twins Rom and Remus on seven hills as early as the 8th century. BC. It contains a large number of monuments from the period of the late republic and the imperial era. No wonder the old saying goes that "all roads lead to Rome". The name of the city symbolized its greatness and glory, power and splendor, richness of culture. Initially, Roman sculptors completely imitated the Greeks, but unlike them, who depicted gods and mythological heroes, the Romans are gradually starting to work on sculptural portraits of specific people. It is believed that the Roman sculptural portrait is outstanding achievement sculptures of ancient Rome. But time passes, and the ancient sculptural portrait begins to change. From the time of Hadrian (2nd century AD), Roman sculptors no longer painted marble. Along with the development of the architecture of Rome, the sculptural portrait also develops. If we compare it with the portraits of Greek sculptors, we can observe some differences. In sculpture ancient greece Depicting the image of the great commanders, writers, politicians, the Greek masters sought to create the image of an ideal, beautiful, harmoniously developed personality that would be a model for all citizens. And in the sculpture of ancient Rome, when creating a sculptural portrait, the masters focused on the individual image of a person. Let's analyze one sculpture of ancient Rome, this famous portrait the famous commander Pompey, created in the 1st century BC. It is located in Copenhagen in the New Carlsberg Glyptothek. This is an image of a middle-aged man with a non-standard face. In it, the sculptor tried to show the individuality of the commander's appearance and reveal different sides his character, namely a man with a deceitful soul and honest in words. As a rule, portraits of that time depict only very elderly men. And as for the portraits of women, young people or children, they could only be found on tombstones. Feature sculptures of ancient Rome can be clearly seen in the female image. She is not idealized, but accurately conveys the depicted type. In the very sculpture of Rome, the prerequisites for an accurate depiction of a person are formed. This is clearly seen in the bronze statue of the orator, made in honor of Aulus Metellus. He was depicted in a normal and natural pose. When depicted in sculptures, Roman emperors were often idealized. Ancient marble sculpture of Octavian Augustus, who was the first Roman emperor, glorifies him as a commander and ruler of the state (Vatican, Rome). His image symbolizes the strength and power of the state, which, as they believed, was intended to lead other peoples. That is why sculptors, depicting emperors, did not quite try to preserve the portrait resemblance, but used conscious idealization. To create ancient sculptures, the Romans, as a model, used the sculptures of ancient Greece of the 5th-4th centuries BC, in which they liked the simplicity, curves of lines and the beauty of proportions. The majestic pose of the emperor, expressive hands and a fixed gaze give the ancient sculpture a monumental character. His robe is effectively thrown over his hand, the rod is a symbol of the power of the commander. A masculine figure with a muscular body and naked beautiful legs reminiscent of sculptures of gods and heroes of ancient Greece. At the feet of Augustus is Cupid, the son of the goddess Venus, from whom, according to legend, the family of Augustus descended. His face is conveyed with great accuracy, but his appearance expresses masculinity, directness and honesty, the ideal of a person is emphasized in it, although, according to historians, Augustus was a neat and tough politician. ancient sculpture Emperor Vespasian is striking in its realism. The Roman sculptors adopted this style from the Hellenic ones. It so happened that the desire for individualization of the portrait reached the grotesque, as, for example, in the portrait of a representative of the middle class, the rich, cunning pawnbroker of Pompeii, Lucius Caecilius Jucundus. Later, in the sculptures of ancient Rome, in particular in portraits of the second half of the 2nd century, individualism is more clearly traced. The image becomes more spiritualized and refined, the eyes seem to contemplate the viewer. The sculptor achieved this by emphasizing the eyes with sharply marked pupils. Among the sculptures of ancient Rome, the famous equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius is recognized as one of the best creations of this era. It was cast in bronze around 170. In the 16th century, the great Michelangelo placed his work on the Capitoline Hill in Ancient Rome. It served as a model for the creation of various equestrian monuments in many European countries. The Creator portrayed Marcus Aurelius in simple clothes, in a cloak, without a sign of imperial greatness. Marcus Aurelius was an emperor, he spent his whole life on campaigns, and he was portrayed by Michelangelo in the clothes of a simple Roman. The emperor was a model of ideal and humanity. Looking at this ancient sculpture, everyone can note that the emperor has a high intellectual culture. Depicting Marcus Aurelius, the sculptor conveyed the mood of a person, he feels disagreements and struggles in the surrounding reality and tries to move away from them into the world of dreams and personal emotions. This ancient sculpture summarizes the features of the worldview that were characteristic of the entire era, when disappointment in life values ​​prevailed in the minds of the inhabitants of Rome. His masterpieces reflect a kind of conflict between the individual and society, which was provoked by a deep socio-political crisis that pursued the Roman Empire in that historical era. The power of the state was constantly undermined by the frequent change of emperors. The middle of the 3rd century was very difficult for the Roman Empire crisis period, she was almost on the verge between collapse and death. All these harsh events are reflected in the reliefs that adorned Roman sarcophagi in the 3rd century. On them we can see pictures of the battle between the Romans and the barbarians. In this historical era, an important role in Rome is played by the army, which is the most the main support the power of the emperor. As a result of these events, the sculptures of ancient Rome are modified, the rulers are given more rough and cruel forms of the face, the idealization of the person disappears. The ancient marble sculpture of the emperor Caracalla is devoid of restraint. His eyebrows close in anger, a piercing, suspicious look from under his brows, nervously compressed lips make you think about the merciless cruelty, nervousness and irritability of Emperor Caracalla. An ancient sculpture depicts a gloomy tyrant. Relief reaches great popularity in the 2nd century. They decorated the forum of Trajan and the famous memorial column. The column rests on a plinth with an Ionic base decorated with a laurel wreath. At the top of the column was a gilded bronze statue. In the base of the column his ashes were placed in an urn made of gold. The reliefs on the column form twenty-three turns and reach two hundred meters in length. The ancient sculpture belongs to one master, but he had many assistants who studied Hellenistic art various directions. This dissimilarity is reflected in the depiction of the bodies and heads of the Dacians. The multi-figure composition, consisting of more than two hundred figures, is subject to a single idea. It displayed the power, organization, endurance and discipline of the Roman army - the winner. Trajan was portrayed ninety times. The Dacians appear before us as bold, brave, but not organized barbarians. Their images were very expressive. Dacian emotions openly come out. This sculpture of ancient Rome in the form of a relief was brightly painted, with gilded details. If we abstract, then it could be assumed that all this is a bright fabric. At the end of the century, the features of a change in style are clearly visible. This process developed intensively in the 3rd-4th centuries. Ancient sculptures created in the 3rd century absorbed the ideas and thoughts of people of that time. Roman art ended a huge period of ancient culture. In 395, the Roman Empire was divided into Western and Eastern. But all this did not undermine the power and existence of Roman art, its traditions continued to live on. The artistic images of the sculptures of ancient Rome inspired the creators of the Renaissance period. Most famous masters 17-19 centuries took an example from the heroic and severe art of Rome.

ORIGINS OF ROMAN SCULPTURE

1.1 Italic sculpture

“In ancient Rome, sculpture was limited mainly to historical relief and portraiture. The plastic forms of Greek athletes are always presented openly. Images like a praying Roman, throwing a hem of a robe over his head, are for the most part enclosed in themselves, concentrated. If the Greek masters consciously broke with the specific uniqueness of features in order to convey the broadly understood essence of the person being portrayed - a poet, orator or commander, then the Roman masters in sculptural portraits focused on the personal, individual characteristics of a person.

The Romans paid less attention to the art of plastic art than the Greeks of that time. Like other Italic tribes of the Apennine Peninsula, their own monumental sculpture (they brought a lot of Hellenic statues) was rare among them; dominated by small bronze statuettes of gods, geniuses, priests and priestesses, kept in domestic sanctuaries and brought to temples; but the portrait became the main type of plastic art.

1.2 Etruscan sculpture

Plastics played a significant role in the daily and religious life of the Etruscans: temples were decorated with statues, sculptural and relief sculptures were installed in the tombs, interest in the portrait arose, and decor is also characteristic. The profession of sculptor in Etruria, however, was hardly highly valued. The names of the sculptors have almost not survived to this day; only the one mentioned by Pliny who worked at the end of the 6th - 5th centuries is known. Master Vulka.

FORMATION OF ROMAN SCULPTURE (VIII - I cc. BC)

“During the years of the mature and Late Republic, various types of portraits were formed: statues of Romans wrapped in a toga and making a sacrifice (the best example is in the Vatican Museum), generals in a heroized appearance with an image of a number of military armor (a statue from Tivoli of Rome National Museum), noble nobles demonstrating antiquity with a kind of busts of ancestors that they hold in their hands (repeating the 1st century AD in the Palazzo Conservatorium), orators delivering speeches to the people (a bronze statue of Aulus Metellus, executed by an Etruscan master). Non-Roman influences were still strong in the statuary portrait plasticity, but in the tomb portrait sculptures, where, obviously, everything alien was less allowed, there were few of them. And although one must think that the tombstones were first executed under the guidance of Hellenic and Etruscan masters, apparently, the customers dictated their desires and tastes in them more strongly. The tombstones of the Republic, which were horizontal slabs with niches in which portrait statues were placed, are extremely simple. In a clear sequence, two, three, and sometimes five people were depicted. Only at first glance they seem - because of the uniformity of postures, the location of folds, the movements of the hands - similar to each other. There is not a single person similar to another, and they are related by the captivating restraint of feelings characteristic of all, the sublime stoic state in the face of death. The masters, however, not only conveyed individual characteristics in sculptural images, but made it possible to feel the tension of the harsh era of wars of conquest, civil unrest, uninterrupted anxieties and unrest. In the portraits, the sculptor's attention is drawn, first of all, to the beauty of the volumes, the strength of the frame, the backbone of the plastic image.

FLOWERING OF ROMAN SCULPTURE (I - II cc.)

3.1 Time of the principate of Augustus

In the years of August, portrait painters paid less attention to unique facial features, smoothed out individual originality, emphasized in it something common, common to everyone, likening one subject to another, according to the type pleasing to the emperor. As if typical standards were created. “This influence is especially pronounced in the heroized statues of Augustus. The most famous is his marble statue from Prima Porta. The emperor is depicted as calm, majestic, his hand is raised in an inviting gesture; dressed as a Roman general, he seemed to appear before his legions. His shell is decorated with allegorical reliefs, the cloak is thrown over the hand holding a spear or wand. Augustus is depicted bare-headed and bare-legged, which, as is known, is a tradition of Greek art, conventionally depicting gods and heroes naked or half-naked. The staging of the figure uses motifs of Hellenistic male figures from the school of the famous Greek master Lysippus. The face of Augustus bears portrait features, but is nonetheless somewhat idealized, which again comes from Greek portrait sculpture. Such portraits of emperors, intended to decorate forums, basilicas, theaters and baths, were supposed to embody the idea of ​​​​the greatness and power of the Roman Empire and the inviolability of imperial power. The era of August opens a new page in the history of the Roman portrait. In portrait sculpture, sculptors now liked to operate with large, poorly modeled planes of the cheeks, forehead, and chin. This is a preference for flatness and a rejection of volume, which is especially pronounced in decorative painting, affected at that time in sculptural portraits. In the time of Augustus, more than before, portraits of women and children were created, which were very rare before. Most often, these were images of the wife and daughter of the princeps; marble and bronze busts and statues of boys represented the heirs to the throne. The official nature of such works was recognized by everyone: many wealthy Romans installed such statues in their homes to emphasize their disposition to the ruling family.

3.2 Time Julii - Claudius and Flavius

The essence of art in general and sculpture in particular of the Roman Empire began to fully express itself in the works of this time. monumental sculpture took forms different from the Hellenic ones. The desire for concreteness led to the fact that the masters even attached to the deities the individual features of the emperor. Rome was decorated with many statues of the gods: Jupiter, Roma, Minerva, Victoria, Mars. The Romans, who appreciated the masterpieces of Hellenic sculpture, sometimes treated them with fetishism. “During the heyday of the Empire, monuments-trophies were created in honor of the victories. Two huge marble Domitian trophies adorn the balustrade of the Capitol Square in Rome to this day. Majestic are also the huge statues of the Dioscuri in Rome, on the Quirinal. Rearing horses, mighty young men holding reins are shown in a decisive stormy movement. The sculptors of those years sought, first of all, to impress a person. In the first period of the heyday of the art of the Empire, however, chamber sculpture also became widespread - marble figurines decorating the interiors, quite often found during excavations of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia. The sculptural portrait of that period developed in several artistic directions. During the years of Tiberius, the sculptors adhered to the classicist manner that prevailed under Augustus and was preserved along with new techniques. Under Caligula, Claudius and especially Flavius, the idealizing interpretation of the appearance began to be replaced by a more accurate transfer of facial features and character of a person. It was supported by the republican manner, which did not disappear at all, but was muted in the years of Augustus, with its sharp expressiveness. “In the monuments belonging to these different currents, one can notice the development of a spatial understanding of volumes and an increase in the eccentric interpretation of composition. Comparison of three statues of seated emperors: Augustus from Kum (St. Petersburg, Hermitage), Tiberius from Privernus (Rome. Vatican) and Nerva (Rome. Vatican), convinces that already in the statue of Tiberius, which preserves the classic interpretation of the face, the plastic understanding of forms has changed . The restraint and formality of the posture of the Cuman Augustus was replaced by a free, relaxed position of the body, a soft interpretation of volumes that are not opposed to space, but already merged with it. Further development the plastic-spatial composition of the seated figure can be seen in the statue of Nerva with his torso leaning back, raised high right hand with a decisive turn of the head. Changes also occurred in the plastic of upright statues. The statues of Claudius have much in common with Augustus from Prima Porta, but eccentric tendencies make themselves felt here too. It is noteworthy that some sculptors tried to oppose these spectacular plastic compositions with portrait statues, solved in the spirit of a restrained republican manner: the setting of the figure in the huge portrait of Titus from the Vatican is emphatically simple, the legs rest on full feet, the arms are pressed to the body, only the right one is slightly exposed. “If in the classicizing portrait art of the time of Augustus the graphic principle prevailed, now the sculptors recreated the individual appearance and character of nature by voluminous molding of forms. The skin became denser, more embossed, and hid the distinct head structure in republican portraits. The plasticity of sculptural images turned out to be richer and more expressive. This was manifested even in the portraits of Roman rulers that appeared on the far periphery. The style of imperial portraits was also imitated by private ones. Generals, wealthy freedmen, usurers tried everything - with postures, movements, demeanor to resemble rulers; sculptors gave pride to the landing of heads, and decisiveness to turns, without softening, however, the sharp, far from always attractive features of the individual appearance; after the harsh norms of August classicism in art, they began to appreciate the uniqueness and complexity of physiognomic expressiveness. A noticeable departure from the Greek norms that prevailed in the years of August is explained not only by the general evolution, but also by the desire of the masters to free themselves from foreign principles and methods, to reveal their Roman features. In marble portraits, as before, pupils, lips, and possibly hair were tinted with paint. In those years, more often than before, female sculptural portraits were created. In the images of the wives and daughters of emperors, as well as noble Roman women, the masters initially followed the classic principles that prevailed under Augustus. Then in portraits of women complex hairstyles began to play an increasingly important role, and the significance of plastic decoration manifested itself more strongly than in men's. The portrait painters of Domitia Longina, using high hairstyles, in the interpretation of faces, however, often adhered to the classicist manner, idealizing the features, smoothing the surface of the marble, softening, as far as possible, the sharpness of the individual appearance. “A magnificent monument to the time of the late Flavians is the bust of a young Roman woman from the Capitoline Museum. In the depiction of her curly curls, the sculptor departed from the flatness seen in the portraits of Domitia Longina. In the portraits of elderly Roman women, the opposition to the classicist manner was stronger. The woman in the Vatican portrait is depicted by the Flavian sculptor with all impartiality. Modeling a puffy face with bags under the eyes, deep wrinkles on sunken cheeks, squinting like watery eyes, thinning hair - all reveal the frightening signs of old age.

3.3 Time of Trojan and Hadrian

In the years of the second heyday of Roman art - during the time of the early Antonines - Trajan (98-117) and Hadrian (117-138) - the empire remained militarily strong and flourished economically. “Round sculpture in the years of Adrian classicism imitated the Hellenic one in many ways. It is possible that the huge Dioscuri statues dating back to Greek originals, flanking the entrance to the Roman Capitol, arose in the first half of the 2nd century. They lack the dynamism of the Dioscuri of the Quirinal; they are calm, restrained and confidently lead meek and obedient horses by the reins. Some monotony, sluggish forms make us think that they are the creation of Adrian's classicism. The size of the sculptures (5.50 m - 5.80 m) is also characteristic of the art of this time, which strove for monumentalization. In the portraits of this period, two stages can be distinguished: Trayan's, characterized by an inclination towards republican principles, and Adrian's, in the plasticity of which there is more adherence to Greek models. The emperors acted in the guise of generals chained in armor, in the pose of sacrificial priests, in the form of naked gods, heroes or warriors. “In the busts of Trajan, who can be recognized by the parallel strands of hair descending to the forehead and the strong-willed fold of the lips, the calm planes of the cheeks and some sharpness of the features always prevail, especially noticeable both in Moscow and in the Vatican monuments. The energy concentrated in a person is clearly expressed in the St. Petersburg busts: a hook-nosed Roman - Sallust, a young man with a determined look, and a lictor. The surface of the faces in the marble portraits of the time of Trajan conveys the calmness and inflexibility of people; they seem to be cast in metal, not sculpted in stone. Subtly perceiving physiognomic shades, Roman portrait painters created far from unambiguous images. The bureaucratization of the entire system of the Roman Empire also left an imprint on the faces. The tired, indifferent eyes and dry, tightly compressed lips of a man in a portrait from the National Museum of Naples characterize a man of a difficult era who subordinated his emotions to the cruel will of the emperor. Women's images filled with the same sense of restraint, volitional tension, only occasionally softened light irony, thoughtfulness or concentration. The conversion under Hadrian to the Greek aesthetic system is an important phenomenon, but in essence this second wave of classicism after the August wave was even more external than the first. Classicism, even under Hadrian, was only a mask under which it did not die, but developed a proper Roman attitude to form. The originality of the development of Roman art, with its pulsating manifestations of either classicism, or actually Roman essence, with its spatiality of forms and authenticity, called verism, is evidence of the very contradictory nature of the artistic thinking of late antiquity.

3.4 Time of the last Antonines

The late heyday of Roman art, which began in last years the reign of Hadrian and under Antoninus Pius and continued until the end of the 2nd century, was characterized by the extinction of pathos and pomposity in art forms . This period is marked by an effort in the sphere of culture of individualistic tendencies. “The sculptural portrait underwent great changes at that time. The monumental round sculpture of the late Antonines, while preserving Hadrian's traditions, still testified to the fusion of ideal heroic images with specific characters, most often the emperor or his entourage, to the glorification or deification of an individual. The faces of deities in huge statues were given the features of emperors, monumental equestrian statues were cast, the model of which is the statue of Marcus Aurelius, the magnificence of the equestrian monument was enhanced by gilding. However, even in the monumental portrait images of even the emperor himself, fatigue and philosophical reflection began to be felt. The art of portraiture, which experienced a kind of crisis in the years of the early Hadrian in connection with the strong classicist trends of the time, entered under the late Antonines into a period of prosperity that it did not know even in the years of the Republic and the Flavians. In statuary portraiture, heroic idealized images continued to be created, which determined the art of the time of Trajan and Hadrian. “From the thirties of the III century. n. e. in portrait art, new artistic forms are being developed. The depth of psychological characteristics is achieved not by detailing the plastic form, but, on the contrary, by conciseness, avarice in the selection of the most important defining personality traits. Such, for example, is the portrait of Philip the Arabian (Petersburg, the Hermitage). The rough surface of the stone well conveys the weathered skin of the "soldier" emperors: a generalized flax, sharp, asymmetrically located folds on the forehead and cheeks, processing of hair and a short beard only with small sharp notches focuses the viewer's attention on the eyes, on the expressive line of the mouth. “Portrait painters began to interpret the eyes in a new way: the pupils, which were depicted plastically, crashing into marble, now gave the look liveliness and naturalness. Slightly covered by wide upper eyelids, they looked melancholy and sad. The look seemed absent-minded and dreamy, obedient submission to higher, not fully conscious, mysterious forces dominated. Hints of the deep spirituality of the marble mass echoed on the surface in the thoughtful looks, the mobility of the strands of hair, the quivering of the light bends of the beard and mustache. The portrait painters, making curly hair, cut hard with a drill into the marble and sometimes drilled deep internal cavities. Illuminated by the sun's rays, such hairstyles seemed like a mass of living hair. Artistic image assimilated to the real, the sculptors were getting closer and closer to what they especially wanted to depict - to the elusive movements of human feelings and moods. Masters of that era used various, often expensive materials for portraits: gold and silver, rock crystal, and also glass that became widespread. Sculptors appreciated this material - delicate, transparent, creating beautiful highlights. Even marble, under the hands of masters, sometimes lost the strength of stone, and its surface seemed like human skin. The nuanced sense of reality in such portraits made the hair lush and moving, the skin silky, the fabrics of the clothes soft. They polished the marble of the woman's face more carefully than that of the man's; the youthful was distinguished by texture from the senile.

THE CRISIS OF ROMAN SCULPTURE (III-IV CENTURIES)

4.1 End of the principate era

Two stages can be more or less clearly distinguished in the development of late Roman art. The first is the art of the end of the principate (3rd century) and the second is the art of the era of the dominate (from the beginning of the reign of Diocletian to the fall of the Roman Empire). “In artistic monuments, especially of the second period, the extinction of ancient pagan ideas and the increasing expression of new, Christian ones are noticeable.” Sculptural portrait in the III century. It has undergone significant changes. In the statues and busts, the techniques of the late Antonines were still preserved, but the meaning of the images was already different. Alertness and suspicion replaced the philosophical thoughtfulness of the characters of the second half of the 2nd century. The tension made itself felt even in female faces that time. In portraits in the second quarter of the III century. The volumes became denser, the masters abandoned the gimlet, performed the hair with notches, achieved especially expressive expressiveness of wide-open eyes. The desire of innovative sculptors by such means to increase the artistic impact of their works caused in the years of Gallienus (mid-3rd century) a reaction and a return to the old methods. For two decades, portrait painters again portrayed the Romans with curly hair and curly beards, trying at least in artistic forms to revive the old manners and thereby recall the former greatness of plasticity. However, after this short-term and artificial return to Antoninov's forms, already at the end of the third quarter of the 3rd century. The desire of sculptors to convey emotional tension with extremely concise means was again revealed. inner peace person. During the years of bloody civil strife and the frequent change of emperors who fought for the throne, portrait painters embodied shades of complex spiritual experiences in new forms that were born then. Gradually, they were more and more interested not in individual traits, but in those sometimes elusive moods that were already difficult to express in stone, marble, and bronze.

4.2 Dominance era

In works of sculpture of the 4th century. pagan and Christian plots coexisted; artists turned to the image and chanting of not only mythological, but also Christian heroes; continuing what had begun in the third century. praising the emperors and members of their families, they prepared the atmosphere of unbridled panegyrics and the cult of worship, characteristic of the Byzantine court ceremonial. Face modeling gradually ceased to occupy portrait painters. The spiritual forces of man, which were especially keenly felt in the age when Christianity conquered the hearts of the pagans, seemed cramped in the hard forms of marble and bronze. The consciousness of this deep conflict of the era, the impossibility of expressing feelings in plastic materials gave artistic monuments of the 4th century. something tragic. Widely open in portraits of the 4th century. eyes that looked now sadly and imperiously, now inquiringly and anxiously, warmed the cold, ossified masses of stone and bronze with human feelings. The material of portrait painters became less and less warm and translucent from the surface of marble, more and more often they chose to depict faces less similar to the qualities human body basalt or porphyry.

CONCLUSION

From all that has been considered, it can be seen that sculpture developed within the framework of its time, i.e. she relied very heavily on her predecessors, as well as on Greek. During the heyday of the Roman Empire, each emperor brought something new to art, something of his own, and along with art, sculpture changed accordingly. The antique sculpture is being replaced by the Christian one; to replace the more or less unified Greco-Roman sculpture, widespread within the Roman state, provincial sculptures, with revived local traditions, already close to the “barbarian” ones that were replacing them. Begins new era the history of world culture, in which Roman and Greco-Roman sculpture is included only as one of the components. AT European art ancient Roman works often served as a kind of standards, which were imitated by architects, sculptors, glassblowers and ceramists. The priceless artistic heritage of ancient Rome continues to live on as a school of classical craftsmanship for the art of today.

The main advantage of ancient Roman sculpture is the realism and authenticity of the images. First of all, this is due to the fact that the Romans had a strong cult of ancestors, and from the very early period In Roman history, there was a custom to remove posthumous wax masks, which were later taken by sculptors as the basis for sculptural portraits.

The very concept of "ancient Roman art" has a very arbitrary meaning. All Roman sculptors were Greek in origin. In an aesthetic sense, all ancient Roman sculpture is a replica of the Greek one. The innovation was the combination of the Greek desire for harmony and Roman rigidity and the cult of strength.

The history of ancient Roman sculpture is divided into three parts - the art of the Etruscans, the plastic of the era of the Republic and the imperial art.

Etruscan art

Etruscan sculpture was intended to decorate funerary urns. These urns themselves were created in the form of a human body. The realism of the image was considered necessary to maintain order in the world of spirits and people. The works of the ancient Etruscan masters, despite the primitiveness and sketchiness of the images, surprise with the individuality of each image, their character and energy.

Sculpture of the Roman Republic

The sculpture of the times of the Republic is characterized by emotional stinginess, detachment and coldness. There was an impression of a complete isolation of the image. This is due to the exact reproduction of the death mask when creating the sculpture. The situation was somewhat rectified by Greek aesthetics, the canons, according to which the proportions of the human body were calculated.

Numerous reliefs of triumphal columns, temples, which belong to this period, amaze with the elegance of lines and realism. Especially worth mentioning is the bronze sculpture of the "Roman she-wolf". The fundamental legend of Rome, the material embodiment of Roman ideology - this is the significance of this statue in culture. The primitivization of the plot, incorrect proportions, fantasticness, do not in the least prevent one from admiring the dynamics of this work, its special sharpness and temperament.

But the main achievement in the sculpture of this era is a realistic sculptural portrait. Unlike Greece, where creating a portrait, the master somehow subordinated to the laws of harmony and beauty all the individual features of the model, the Roman masters carefully copied all the subtleties of the appearance of the models. On the other hand, this often led to the simplification of images, the roughness of lines and the removal from realism.

Sculpture of the Roman Empire

The task of the art of any empire is to exalt the emperor and the state. - not an exception. The Romans of the era of the empire could not imagine their home without sculptures of ancestors, gods and the emperor himself. Therefore, many examples of imperial plastic art have survived to this day.

First of all, the triumphal columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius deserve attention. The columns are decorated with bas-reliefs telling about military campaigns, exploits and trophies. Such reliefs are not only works of art that amaze with the accuracy of images, the multi-figured composition, the harmony of lines and the subtlety of work, they are also priceless historical source, which allows you to restore household and military details of the era of the empire.

The statues of emperors in the forums of Rome are made in a harsh, rude manner. There is no longer a trace of that Greek harmony and beauty that was characteristic of early Roman art. Masters, first of all, had to portray strong and tough rulers. There was also a departure from realism. Roman emperors were portrayed as athletic, tall, despite the fact that rarely any of them had a harmonious physique.

Almost always during the Roman Empire, the sculptures of the gods were depicted with the faces of the ruling emperors, so historians reliably know what the emperors of the largest ancient state looked like.

Despite the fact that Roman art, without any doubt, entered the world treasury of many masterpieces, in its essence it is only a continuation of ancient Greek. The Romans developed antique art, made it more magnificent, majestic, brighter. On the other hand, it was the Romans who lost the sense of proportion, depth and ideological content of early ancient art.