How Effectively Вdo Emperors after 68 CE Break With Julio-Claudian Traditions?

After the Augustan-Claudian era, the Roman cultural program displayed gradual elaboration of distinct, individual art decorum. Though it was not based uniquely on aberration from classical Hellenistic canons in portraiture, sculpture and other art forms, it developed a solid platform for further growth of art. The Hellenistic representation of the human body as the symbol of natural harmony and balance and the Roman implication of art at the service of political interest implied the “a priori” distinctions.

The accomplishments of Augustan period were not “consistently carried forward”, since “Roman art and architecture moved in directions unforeseen and in many respects incompatible with the Greek-based framework developed by Vitruvius and Pliny (Grafton, Most, Settis 841).

Scientists consider the column of Trajan dedicated in 113 the bright exponent of the shift in the Roman cultural program and new direction within which “Greek canons and types remained available for quotation but were gradually debased through repetition, as inventiveness was focused on new art forms and the representation of history and the imperial regime” (841). The column’s form derived from Hellenistic architecture. It is set on the base of trophies and weapons and is surmounted with the colossal statue on the top. Davies acutely proves that the content of column “as one of the few extant sources that document the wars” is generally related to the Dacian campaigns of Trajan (43).

In the second half of the 1st century CE, the Roman art experienced significant functional changes related to availability of art to every citizen. The Thermae can be considered an element of that tendency. Despite the popularity of public baths in Rome for many centuries before, Nero was the first emperor who gifted the Thermae to his fellow citizens. Marvin underscores the “overwhelming richness of decoration … [as] an integral of all these Thermae, which served to convince the populace both of their own importance and of their emperor’s generosity” (347). Apparently, the baths gave the opportunity for diverse related activities and for enjoying luxurious marble and bronze statues. In its multiple spacious halls, the most remarkable Baths of Caracalla (211-217 CE) enclosed numerous statues four dozens of which were identified by the scientists.

The reign of Vespasian (69 -79 CE) is testimonial of accepted requirements of rich materials and fabulous splendor of architectural creations. His ruling is associated with rebuilding of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, the Baths of Titus, and the commencement of Colosseum. The erection of Flavian Amphitheater or Colosseum was not only a construction of remarkable edifice, but also a significant step towards the change of the emperor’s image and his attitude towards fellow citizens. According to Goldman, Vespasian commissioned the construction of Colosseum in about A.D. 72 -75 in the former Nero’s private pleasure park with the intention “to replace the image of Neronian excess and self-indulgence with a fresh vigor and concern for people” (59). Besides the completion of Colosseum, the ending of the 1st century CE was marked by the arch of Titus, amphitheaters in Verona, Reggio, Tusculum, arches, and temples.

The portraiture deserves particular consideration, as sculptural portraits, numismatics, and reliefs served a perfect device of political propaganda for Augustus and his successors (Kleiner 61). The imperator appeared in the roles of commander, orator and a perfect ruler in the image of a young man even at the old age. The emperor’s constant attention to his own image and its propagation had a significant impact on further development of portraiture. Nodelman considers that the portrait of Vespasian (Vespasian, C. A. D. 70 Marble (Ny Carlsberg, Glyptotek, Copenhagen) “in modified and updated form (incorporating, indeed, Augustan elements) the veristic portrait style is reintroduced at the center of power as the invisible expression of new attitudes of business-like sobriety and republican-flavored traditionalist virtues” (17).