Works of art have always been the personification of a specific period. It does not matter at what period the art was made, it is simply understanding what it refers to and what time it describes just by looking at it. Artworks have been appreciated by society due to their significance and excellence. Artists of all times create stories that will be imprinted in their works forever. This paper provides an analysis of the statue of Augustus from Prima Porta and describes its connection to Roman Pragmatism.
The rigorous forms of the Greek classics turned out to be the most harmonical with the conceptions of the grandness of the empire, engaging each aspect of the essence of Rome in the period of Emperor Augustus. Simplicity and clearness of construction, the aspiration for generalization, the idealization of the appearance, and at the same time, the strict Roman individualism of the characters are the leading attributes of the portraits of the times of August classicism. Moreover, the sculpture of August was one of the first attempts of ancient society to propagandize art.
Besides, the sculpture of Augustus from Prima Porta is the finest work of this period. It was discovered in 1863 near Rome, in the house of Livia, the wife of Augustus. He was created as a hero, and his sculptures were usually made lofty (Wang 212). The emperor is portrayed as a commander addressing the soldiers with a speech. Augustus’ correct portrait facial features are interpreted in a generalized and slightly idealized way. The luxurious chased armor of the emperor is decorated with images of allegorical figures – the Earth and Sky, the Sun and the Moon, in the center – a Parthian warrior, dutifully returning the banners once captured from the Romans to the god Mars. The figurine of Cupid on a dolphin at the feet of Augustus recalls the divine origin of the emperor’s family from Venus and Aeneas, sung by Virgil.
Pragmatism is one of the components of philosophy that aims to achieve a practical result. According to American scientists, philosophy should also be a solution to the existential problems of humanity. Thus, they put forward the theory that pragmatism embodies the behavioral essence, his adaptation to his natural and social environment. In this case, the connection between pragmatism and the statue of August from Prima Porta is visible. The emperor is depicted as a majestic commander, which correlates with the reality of those times, and approves the statement of the scientists.
What is more, Roman art originates from the classical Greek period due to its close geo-culture location. The statue of August of Prima Porta embodies the ideals and standards of Roman Pragmatism. The idea of Roman Pragmatism in that period was to embody the strict figures of huge, solid, and majestic people which fascinated by their robust appearance. The ancient Romans chose The Doryphoros of Polykleitos, which is the representative work of the classical Greek period, as the basic framework of Augustus of Prima Porta and made some changes to make it more in line with the aesthetic taste of Roman society at that time (Wang 213). It is possible to say that the statue of August from Prima Porta was the visualization of Roman Pragmatism in the artwork.
Work Cited
Wang, Keyang. “Comparison of Ancient Greek Art and Ancient Roman Art.”Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, vol. 638, 2022, pp. 211–215. Crossref.