My impression is this work is advanced for the era,
and shows a high degree of achievement on the part of Roman sculptors. The
overall statement of what amounts to a family portrait is frustrating to me
because it shows a family that, in my opinion, lives in opulence based on a
near-parasitic relationship with the population while many if not most of its
citizens are suffering and can hardly feed themselves. I can’t stop myself from
judging this extended family unit with cynicism. |
Idealized realism characterizes this work; forms are presented in overlapping manner to optical reality. Elemental pacing and directional forces present the figures in an arrangement that would be difficult to achieve without being posed. Documenting in relief the extended imperial family of the first Emperor, Octavian, is the subject of this work. It presents them as pious, family-oriented, with curious, well-behaved children.
That this work is a beautiful and respectably realistic portrait of a family is obvious. Pattern is an undeniable strength of this relief. The arrangement of limbs, heads, the directionality of clothing folds and the even pacing of figures is simply amazing. It results in an even-paced distribution of shapes, axis lines that are parallel to the ground plane and bisected by oblique angles that are parallel to each other, and organically presents a sense of steady movement as the group casually stands together as a family.
Splitting the difference between portraiture and sculpture, reliefs are burdened with a portion of the difficulties characteristic of two-dimensional art when attempting to describe spatial depth. The creator(s) of this work developed a solution that surpasses all reasonable standards. Figures on the far side of the procession have forms that are less defined and flattened into the medium, providing an implied atmospheric perspective. Nearby figures are much more richly developed, some to the point of becoming in-the-round sculpture.
Local areas are energized with specific details that are unique to their figures, but taken in whole this work is remarkably stable and elementally diffuse to near-rigidity. In terms of balance, one well-crafted disharmonizing measure is the oblique lines of force that vie against the nearly military lateral pace of this procession.
Defined, figurative shapes dominate. The size of all shapes is well-balanced and contrast well; small rounded shapes are the same rough size while large shapes (cloth-covered bodies) are upright, narrow and textured with folds. All lines are well-defined and angled to one degree or another and yet organic in character. Harmony predominates; to the casual observer, it’s everything a portrait (in this case series of portraits) should be and much more.
I will not identify a single area as being primary over another as far as the attention it draws; structured ambiguity is subtle, and not an end. What I see are a series of “moments”, or silent exchanges between figures, that “pull” more effort on the part of the observer because there is quite obvious communication occurring between these figures. This occurs laterally between adult figures along the top axis of the work; dramatically diagonally between adult and child figures lower down; and finally at less dramatic diagonal angles between children, especially toward the lower-eastern quadrant. Overall, energy is diffuse, moving in wave-like motion laterally in rhythm with the masterful figurative pattern.
It seems the perspective of the viewer somewhat elevates this procession. Some of the figures are developed to the point of nearly detaching from the medium they are developed on. Where this happens, it tends to be toward the top of the figure, which has the effect of “bending” perspective by, when looking from straight-on, elevating the work and lowering the observer. Other choices, such as the placement of feet, draw the observer into the work in a more inviting, less stratified, way.
Value is used to masterful and not quite dramatic effect. Value does more than provide a framework for this piece; more than any other element or strategy it nearly breathes life into the figures, setting them in motion. Value defines shapes, shapes create patterns, and pattern animates motion. I believe favoring naturalism over idealism and depicting a specific event over the eternal are strong choices in this deliberate, well-planned work. The emotionally available observer unmistakably feels the sense of familial warmth and intuitively understands the subtle gestures which draw them in to the rendering.
Idealized realism characterizes this work; forms are presented in overlapping manner to optical reality. Elemental pacing and directional forces present the figures in an arrangement that would be difficult to achieve without being posed. Documenting in relief the extended imperial family of the first Emperor, Octavian, is the subject of this work. It presents them as pious, family-oriented, with curious, well-behaved children.
That this work is a beautiful and respectably realistic portrait of a family is obvious. Pattern is an undeniable strength of this relief. The arrangement of limbs, heads, the directionality of clothing folds and the even pacing of figures is simply amazing. It results in an even-paced distribution of shapes, axis lines that are parallel to the ground plane and bisected by oblique angles that are parallel to each other, and organically presents a sense of steady movement as the group casually stands together as a family.
Splitting the difference between portraiture and sculpture, reliefs are burdened with a portion of the difficulties characteristic of two-dimensional art when attempting to describe spatial depth. The creator(s) of this work developed a solution that surpasses all reasonable standards. Figures on the far side of the procession have forms that are less defined and flattened into the medium, providing an implied atmospheric perspective. Nearby figures are much more richly developed, some to the point of becoming in-the-round sculpture.
Local areas are energized with specific details that are unique to their figures, but taken in whole this work is remarkably stable and elementally diffuse to near-rigidity. In terms of balance, one well-crafted disharmonizing measure is the oblique lines of force that vie against the nearly military lateral pace of this procession.
Defined, figurative shapes dominate. The size of all shapes is well-balanced and contrast well; small rounded shapes are the same rough size while large shapes (cloth-covered bodies) are upright, narrow and textured with folds. All lines are well-defined and angled to one degree or another and yet organic in character. Harmony predominates; to the casual observer, it’s everything a portrait (in this case series of portraits) should be and much more.
I will not identify a single area as being primary over another as far as the attention it draws; structured ambiguity is subtle, and not an end. What I see are a series of “moments”, or silent exchanges between figures, that “pull” more effort on the part of the observer because there is quite obvious communication occurring between these figures. This occurs laterally between adult figures along the top axis of the work; dramatically diagonally between adult and child figures lower down; and finally at less dramatic diagonal angles between children, especially toward the lower-eastern quadrant. Overall, energy is diffuse, moving in wave-like motion laterally in rhythm with the masterful figurative pattern.
It seems the perspective of the viewer somewhat elevates this procession. Some of the figures are developed to the point of nearly detaching from the medium they are developed on. Where this happens, it tends to be toward the top of the figure, which has the effect of “bending” perspective by, when looking from straight-on, elevating the work and lowering the observer. Other choices, such as the placement of feet, draw the observer into the work in a more inviting, less stratified, way.
Value is used to masterful and not quite dramatic effect. Value does more than provide a framework for this piece; more than any other element or strategy it nearly breathes life into the figures, setting them in motion. Value defines shapes, shapes create patterns, and pattern animates motion. I believe favoring naturalism over idealism and depicting a specific event over the eternal are strong choices in this deliberate, well-planned work. The emotionally available observer unmistakably feels the sense of familial warmth and intuitively understands the subtle gestures which draw them in to the rendering.
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