Two Sarcophagi - A Comparison in Styles

Below is the Great Ludovisi Sarcophagus. This piece dates to approximately AD 250, but is very late example of a battle sarcophagus type common from AD 170-210. The triumphant Roman soldiers dominate the upper row. In the middle section the Roman soldiers attack the barbarians, who are crushed below the Roman soldiers in the bottom row. Note you can tell they are barbarians because they are wearing pants. This is a picture of an confident, triumphant empire.




Compare the confidence of the above to the Sarcophagus of Acilia, below, which is thought to depict a procession to install a consul during the reign of Emperor Gallienus 253-268. The young man being made consul is far from the picture of confidence, and his companions glance around nervously. This is a very different vibe from the triumphant scene depicted above.



I am far from the first person to come up with this comparison but I thought it was cool so I am including it.

And for fun here is another cool sarcophagus made of an amazing banded marble.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More pictures from Spain

Image
This is a picture of Plaza Mayor in Madrid. This is a closeup of the statue of Phillip III that is in Plaza Mayor. Madrid street view. This is a strange looking bird we saw in the botanical gardens in Madrid. I don't know what kind of bird it is. If anyone does, please post it in the comments. Another Madrid street view.
Read more

the Prado Museum

Image
Today we went to the Prado Museum . They don't allow pictures inside, but here is a picture of the exterior. As you have probably heard, it's an amazing museum. The collection is heavily weighed towards painting, particularly the Spanish masters such as Goya, Velazques, etc. If you have taken an art history class, you have studied many of these paintings. It was pretty incredible. We got there before it opened, and the line wasn't too bad. It wasn't that crowded, especially at first. If you want sculpture or modern art, go elsewhere, but if you are interested in classical painting, you can't do much better. Afterwards we had an excellent lunch at an Itallian restaurant as we walked north. We were walking to the National Archaeological Museum . The museum is mostly closed for a major renovation, b ut a small collection is available for viewing. Looking at thier plans for expansion, this is going to be a amazing museum when it is finished. Here are a few cho
Read more