Ara Pacis Augustae, in Rome, Italy

Dated from 13-9 BCE, during the apex of the Early Empire our first artwork is the marbled south frieze detail of the Processional of the Imperial family, from the Ara Pacis Augustae, in Rome, Italy. Dedicated on the birthday of his wife, Olivia, the Altar of Augustan Peace was built as a monument celebrating Augustus’s achievements and the ongoing peace enjoyed during his rule. Augustus, only 32 when he took control of the empire, set about advertising himself, a descendent of the god Julius Caesar, as the benefactor of the Roman Empire and the reason for the peaceful times. Augustus employed this altar’s sculptural elements to connect himself and his political ideology to Aeneas, from whom the Julian family claimed as their antecedent. In this piece of sculpture, Augustus is nodding to the Imperial family and all families as the foundation of the empire. Augustus sought to present this new order as a Golden Age equaling that of Athens under Pericles (Kleiner 256).

The procession was inspired by the Parthenon’s Panathenaic Ionic frieze. Like the Procession’s celebration of Augustus and the Julian family, the Panathenaic frieze celebrates the festival of Athena, her greatness, the greatness of Athens, and inadvertently Pericles (the military leader of Athens), Athena’s bountiful goodness, and her protection for her namesake city, Athens. Classical modeling further connected Augustus politically with the greatness of mid-fifth century Greece. Although very similar to the Panathenaic frieze, they differ in one important aspect: the Panathenaic frieze was sculptured with anonymous figures, while the Procession depicts a specific event and recognizable figures (Kleiner 256). Unlike the Greeks, the Roman Procession includes children, acting like children—not miniatures of the adults but toddlers and preteens. By including these children along with their parents, Augustus was setting a moral example for the people of the Roman Empire, whose birthrate had plummeted.

In the Procession the sculptor demonstrates the prowess of classical capabilities. Volume and shadows are created by the very full folds and shadows of the negative space. While there is minimal perspective and no architectural detail, the artist does convey a sense of three dimensions by turning feet, arms and heads to project from the picture plane. The figures’ forms are fully articulated and are represented under the highly articulated flowing mantles, togas, and robes. The figures are closely spaced and overlapping, reminiscent of Hellenistic sculptural details found on the Altar of Zeus. The faces are classical and shown in a variety of positions; 3/4, frontal and in profile. There is clearly a sense of motion and interaction amongst the figures. Augustus, the royal family, and the nobles are engaged and interactive. This familial setting is a departure from earlier Imperial representations, which were standard heroic and idealized in their depiction of the Emperor and other nobles.