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Bronze equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. School Encyclopedia

An equestrian statue of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius has survived only through a mistake. This is the only ancient bronze equestrian monument that has come down to us. There were many such statues in Ancient Rome, but all of them were melted down in the Middle Ages, with the exception of this one, which was considered the image of Emperor Constantine the Great, revered by Christians:

Gilded bronze statue for a long time was in front of the pope's residence, the Lateran Palace. In the 16th century, Michelangelo placed it in the center of the Capitoline Square:

In recent years, after restoration, Marcus Aurelius is under the roof of the new hall of the Capitoline Museums. There is now a copy on the square: http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/janet1981/view/66746/?page=4
It was made using the latest technologies, but, nevertheless, the difference between the original and the copy is colossal. The ancient monument is alive:

The equestrian monument is a monument to the commander. The rider's gesture is addressed to the army. Marcus Aurelius really had to fight a lot in his lifetime with the Parthians, barbarian tribes, but descendants remember him not as a commander, but as a philosopher on the throne. The emperor managed to repel the attacks of enemies and pacify the rebels, but he did not value military glory highly. Marcus Aurelius was one of the most educated people of his time. He devoted all his free time from state concerns to the study of philosophy. We have a book of his thoughts. In it we read: “Look, do not be caesarized, do not be soaked in porphyry - it happens. Keep yourself simple, worthy, uncorrupted, strict, upright, a friend of justice, pious, benevolent, affable, strong for every proper work. Enter the struggle to remain the way the teaching you have accepted wants you to be. Honor the gods, save the people. Life is short; one fruit of earthly existence is a righteous mental warehouse and deeds for the common good.
Marcus Aurelius was born in 121. In 138 he was adopted by Antoninus Pius, from whom he inherited power in 161. The co-ruler of Marcus Aurelius was Lucius Ver, who died in 169. Marcus Aurelius died during a military campaign in 180.

The emperor's horse is magnificent! Winckelmann, the author of the first "History of the Art of Antiquity", believed that "more beautiful and smarter than the head of the horse of Marcus Aurelius cannot be found in nature."

portrait. Equestrian statue of Mark

Aurelius. late antique painting

(Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae)

Glyptothek (collection of busts) / Roman sculptural portrait - one of the most significant periods in the development of the world portrait, covering about five centuries (I century BC - IV century AD), is characterized by extraordinary realism and the desire to convey character depicted; in ancient Roman fine arts in terms of quality, it occupies one of the first places among other genres.

It is distinguished by a significant number of monuments that have come down to us, which, in addition to art, have significant historical value, as they complement written sources, showing us the faces of participants in important historical events. According to researchers, this period laid the foundation for the subsequent development of the European realistic portrait. The vast majority of the images are made in marble, there are also bronze images that have come down in smaller numbers. Although many Roman portraits are identified with specific individuals or directly bear an inscription indicating who served as their model, not a single name of a Roman portraitist has survived.

One of the roots of the realism of the Roman portrait was its technique: according to many scholars, the Roman portrait developed from death masks, which were taken from the dead and kept at the home altar (lararium) along with figures of lars and penates. They were made of wax and were called imagines.

The political function of the Roman portrait

With the onset of the Empire, the portrait of the emperor and his family became one of the most powerful means of propaganda.

The development of the ancient Roman portrait was associated with an increased interest in the individual person, with the expansion of the circle of those portrayed. Rome is characterized by an emerging interest in a particular person (in contrast to the interest in a person in general in the art of ancient Greece). The basis of the artistic structure of many ancient Roman portraits is a clear and scrupulous transmission of the unique features of the model, while maintaining the unity of the individual and the typical. Unlike the ancient Greek portrait with its tendency to idealization (the Greeks believed that good man must be beautiful - kalokagatia), the Roman sculptural portrait turned out to be as naturalistic as possible and is still considered one of the most realistic examples of the genre in the history of art. The ancient Romans had such faith in themselves that they considered a person worthy of respect in the form that it is, without any embellishment and idealization, with all wrinkles, baldness and overweight (see, for example, the portrait of Emperor Vitellius).

Roman portrait painters for the first time attempted to solve the problem that ultimately faces contemporary artists, - to convey not only the external individual appearance of a certain person, but also the distinctive features of his character.

General trends

They were created not only by Roman artisans, but also by slave masters, including captured Greeks. However, a general proportion cannot be established.

Big number forgeries in modern times and false reconstructions

Identification of marble heads by comparison with profiles on coins

The portrait of the emperor (dynastic portraits) is in most cases the most representative for determining the general era style, since these works were performed by the most skilled artisans and, in addition, the rest of the subjects, ordering their images, were guided by the fashion set by the emperor.

The works created in the capital were reference. At the same time, a provincial portrait in its style could lag behind fashion for decades. In addition, in the provincial portrait (depending on the region), the influence of the Greek portrait was stronger.

, Rome

Statue of Marcus Aurelius- a bronze ancient Roman statue, which is located in Rome in the New Palace of the Capitoline Museums. It was created in the 160-180s.

originally gilded equestrian statue The Marcus Aurelius was erected on the slope of the Capitol opposite the Roman Forum. This is the only equestrian statue that has survived from antiquity, since in the Middle Ages it was believed that it depicts Emperor Constantine I the Great, whom Christian church canonized as "Saint Equal to the Apostles".

In the 12th century, the statue was moved to the Lateran Square. In the 15th century, the Vatican librarian Bartolomeo Platina compared the images on the coins and recognized the identity of the rider. In 1538, she was placed on the Capitol by order of Pope Paul III. The plinth for the statue was made by Michelangelo; it says: "ex humiliore loco in area capitoliam".

The statue is only twice the size life size. Marcus Aurelius is depicted in a soldier's cloak (lat. paludamentum) over a tunic. Under the raised hoof of the horse there used to be a sculpture of a bound barbarian.

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Literature

Siebler M. Romesche Kunst. - Köln: Taschen GmbH, 2005. - P. 72. - ISBN 978-3-8228-5451-8.

An excerpt characterizing the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius

The military council, at which Prince Andrei failed to express his opinion, as he hoped, left an unclear and disturbing impression on him. Who was right: Dolgorukov with Weyrother or Kutuzov with Langeron and others who did not approve of the plan of attack, he did not know. “But was it really impossible for Kutuzov to directly express his thoughts to the sovereign? Can't it be done differently? Is it really necessary to risk tens of thousands and my, my life because of court and personal considerations? he thought.
"Yes, it's very possible they'll kill you tomorrow," he thought. And suddenly, at this thought of death, whole line memories, the most remote and the most sincere, rose in his imagination; he remembered the last farewell to his father and wife; he remembered the first days of his love for her! He remembered her pregnancy, and he felt sorry for both her and himself, and in a nervously softened and agitated state he left the hut in which he stood with Nesvitsky, and began to walk in front of the house.
The night was foggy, and through the fog mysteriously made its way Moonlight. “Yes, tomorrow, tomorrow! he thought. “Tomorrow, perhaps, everything will be over for me, all these memories will no longer exist, all these memories will no longer have any meaning for me. Tomorrow, maybe, even probably tomorrow, I foresee it, for the first time I will finally have to show everything that I can do. And he imagined the battle, the loss of it, the concentration of the battle on one point and the confusion of all commanding persons. And now that happy moment, that Toulon, which he had been waiting for so long, finally appears to him. He firmly and clearly speaks his opinion to both Kutuzov, and Weyrother, and the emperors. Everyone is amazed at the correctness of his ideas, but no one undertakes to fulfill it, and so he takes a regiment, a division, pronounces a condition that no one should interfere with his orders, and leads his division to a decisive point and alone wins. What about death and suffering? says another voice. But Prince Andrei does not answer this voice and continues his successes. The disposition of the next battle is made by him alone. He bears the rank of army duty officer under Kutuzov, but he does everything alone. The next battle is won by him alone. Kutuzov is replaced, he is appointed ... Well, and then? another voice says again, and then, if you are not wounded, killed or deceived ten times before; well, then what? “Well, and then,” Prince Andrei answers himself, “I don’t know what will happen next, I don’t want and I can’t know: but if I want this, I want glory, I want to be famous people I want to be loved by them, then it's not my fault that I want this, that I want this alone, for this alone I live. Yes, for this one! I will never tell anyone this, but, my God! what am I to do if I love nothing but glory, human love. Death, wounds, loss of family, nothing scares me. And no matter how dear and dear to me many people are - my father, sister, wife - the people dearest to me - but, no matter how terrible and unnatural it seems, I will give them all now for a moment of glory, triumph over people, for love for to myself people whom I do not know and will not know, for the love of these people, ”he thought, listening to the conversation in Kutuzov’s yard. In the yard of Kutuzov, the voices of orderlies packing up were heard; one voice, probably the coachman, teasing the old Kutuzovsky cook, whom Prince Andrei knew, and whose name was Tit, said: “Tit, and Tit?”

The Marcus Aurelius Column is a unique sculptural column erected in honor of the victory of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in the Marcomannic War. This work of stucco and sculptural art in the very center of Rome, on the square of the same name. According to the architectural type, it is a Doric column with a spiral relief, which was erected on the basis of the ancient Trajan's column.

The erection of the column of Marcus Aurelius

Since the original dedicatory inscription was destroyed and lost, it is still unknown whether the column was built during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (on the occasion of a military triumph in 176) or after his death in 180. Later, an inscription supposedly lost earlier was found in the vicinity, which indicates that the construction of the column was completed by 193.

In terms of topography ancient rome, the column stood in the northern part of the city (Campus Martius), in the very center of the square. This area was located between the temple of Hadrian and the temple of Marcus Aurelius, built by his son Commodus and now completely destroyed. Not far from the sculptural column of Marcus Aurelius is the place where the cremation of the emperor took place.

The height of the column is 29.6 m, which strikes the imagination of even the most sophisticated viewer. At the same time, the height of the pedestal exceeds 10 meters. Initially, the architects created the monument, the total height of which was almost 42 meters, but in the course of further restoration, it was decided that it was necessary to reduce the height of the column by 3 meters, by immersing part of the monument underground. The base of the column is made of natural marble blocks, which are stacked in such a way that a cavity remains inside.

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In this cavity there is a high spiral staircase of 200 steps leading to the very top of the monument. There, the sculpture of the emperor Marcus Aurelius himself was originally located. From complete darkness, the stairs are saved by small gaps between the marble blocks, which provide a weak penetration of natural sunlight.

Stucco spiral relief

The fact that such a significant and magnificent monument was dedicated to Marcus Aurelius only confirms the contribution that this emperor made to the development of society and the state during his reign. The history of his rise and reign runs parallel with the life of his co-ruler Lucius Verus. According to historical evidence describing those times, the two rulers of the Roman Empire were absolute opposites and antagonists to each other. Both of them were well educated, but lived in accordance with two opposing philosophies - Stoicism and Epicureanism.

Marcus Aurelius was a staunch representative of Stoicism and in his reign paid great attention to domestic politics, the adoption of correct and useful laws for society, as well as the improvement of the judicial system and social security of the population. The Romans loved and revered Marcus Aurelius as a wise and just ruler. Throughout his reign, the emperor was surrounded by highly educated and decent advisers, who also devoted a lot of time to working with the senate.

His co-ruler Lucius Ver was completely absorbed in another philosophy - Epicureanism. He devoted his whole life to pleasures and pleasures that cost the treasury fabulous money. Lucius Ver was a regular and patron theatrical performances, gladiatorial fights and numerous feasts. A description of a luxurious feast for 12 people has survived to this day, which cost the state treasury a huge amount - 6 million sesterces. During the feast, each guest of Lucius Verus was assigned personal slaves who fulfilled any whims of the owner. All the meat on the table was obtained from the slaughter of animals directly during the feast. The dishes made of precious metals were not served to the table a second time, and the golden glasses were changed immediately after the guest drank from them. At the end of the feast, each guest received a servant and a luxurious silver carriage as a gift.

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Based on the historical significance of Marcus Aurelius, against the backdrop of the idle lifestyle of his co-ruler, the fact that a magnificent column was dedicated to him and his exploits seems completely logical and understandable.

The uniqueness and artistic value of the column lies in the magnificent stucco relief of the spiral type, which adorns the trunk of the monument. The relief of the spiral painting tells the story of Marcus Aurelius's Danubian and Marcomannic wars from 166 until his death. The story depicted in the relief begins with a sculptural picture of the mighty and numerous army of the Roman emperor crossing the Danube River, probably at Carnuntum. This moment is considered a turning point and inspiring the emperor for future exploits.

The further plot of the relief and the chronology of events are still disputed by historians and art critics. The last and most probable theory is that the expeditions against Marcomanni and Quadi in 172 and 173 are in the lower half of the relief of the column, while the successes of the emperor in the wars with the Sarmatians in the period from 174 to 175 are displayed in the upper half of the monument.

The most important and key episode in the plot of the column was an event widely publicized in the Roman religious environment and called the “miracle of rain”. According to legend, the most difficult moment in the military campaign of Marcus Aurelius was the fight against the tongues and quads. The events of this war became the main plot of the stucco relief of the column. Military clashes with the tongues took place in a fierce winter, during which the Danube was completely covered with ice. The battles took place on the ice of the river, and the armies of Marcus Aurelius were defeated only by laying out shields on the ice and stepping on a tree so as not to slip. As a result, most of the Iazyge army was killed on the battlefield, and the survivors were forced to flee far from the Danube.

The victory in this difficult battle inspired Marcus Aurelius so much that he decided to go further and conquer the lands of the Quads. The main battles with the quads took place during an abnormally hot summer, during which there was not a drop of precipitation. Despite the fact that the military forces of the Quadi were much smaller than the army of Marcus Aurelius in numbers, they managed to trap and surround the Romans, thereby cutting off access to drinking water. Abnormal heat and arid climate, exhausted the Romans and robbed them of all their strength. A huge powerful army led by Marcus Aurelius was on the verge of death. At that moment, a miracle occurred, which is recognized and sung by several religions.

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In his letter, Marcus Aurelius describes the miracle of rain as a salvation sent to the Romans by heaven. When the hope of getting water was almost gone, and the soldiers were severely dehydrated and exhausted by the heat, Marcus Aurelius organized a mass prayer, in which the entire Twelfth Legion took part. During this prayer, a torrential downpour began, which Christians around the world consider the miracle of rain. This rain saved the army from destruction and served as the basis for a crushing victory over the Quads. Except Christian religion, the pagans also describe the miracle of rain. However, according to their version, the rain was not caused by the prayer of the soldiers of the Twelfth Legion, but by an Egyptian sorcerer who accompanied Marcus Aurelius on military campaigns. IN sculptural composition columns of Marcus Aurelius, one of the main roles is dedicated to the “miracle of rain”, which demonstrates a special attitude to this historical event.

Despite some similarities with Trajan's Column, architectural style the columns of Marcus Aurelius are completely different. Elements of the previous dramatic style of the 3rd century, in which the famous Triumphal Arch Septimius Severus, installed shortly after the erection of the column of Marcus Aurelius. The heads of the figures are disproportionately large compared to the bodies so that the viewer can better interpret the facial expressions of the warriors.

The original stucco model of the relief was subsequently carved out of stone in such a way that the depth of the individual elements varied. This provides a special play of light and shadows, which creates the most realistic and dynamic picture battles and scenes of violence. When villages are burned, women and children are captured, men are killed, the emotions, desperation and suffering of the "barbarians" in the war are presented sharply in single scenes, in facial expressions and gestures. At the same time, the emperor is presented as the protagonist, maintaining calm and equanimity.

The symbolic language is clearer and more expressive than the seemingly clumsy aesthetic of the Trojan Column, and leaves the viewer with a completely different impression of artistic style. There's a cool and sober balance - here, drama and empathy. The pictorial language is unambiguous - it emphasizes the imperial dominance and authority of the leader and commander in chief.

Monument today

In the Middle Ages, climbing column became so popular that the right to charge an entrance fee was annually sold at auction. Today it is impossible to climb the stairs inside the column. Now the column serves as a central element in the square in front of the Palazzo Chigi. In 1589, by order of Pope Sixtus V, the entire column was restored under the direction of Domenico Fontana and adapted to the ground level of that time. Also on the upper platform was a bronze statue of St. Paul the Apostle, similar to the statue of St. Peter on Trajan's Column. Originally, on the upper platform, there was probably a statue of Marcus Aurelius, which XVI century was lost.

Today, the column of Marcus Aurelius is one of the main symbols of Rome and historical heritage greatest empire of all time.

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