(artist(s) unknown, detail from Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus) (c.250). Battle Between the Romans and the Barbarians [marble deep relief]. Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome.

Hyper-realism arguably applies, but a hint of the abstraction that would become characteristic of Roman expression in the coming centuries is seen in the compromising of forms in favor of maintaining the pictorial chaos characteristic of this work. It is an example of relief cut to such dramatic depth that many of the forms become detached from the source medium. This is an example of a composition sacrificing its design requirements in favor of maximizing the observer’s perspective; in effect, though the observer is stationary, she/he is viewing from a handful of angles at a single given moment. Though the energy of this work is undeniably chaotic, odds are strong that none of it was haphazardly developed. While energy is evenly diffuse, and formal development and weight are reasonably balanced, a distinct sense of tension remains. 

I believe the theme of establishing order through will power (force) inscribed in the Roman DNA is repeated both formally and conceptually. The Roman soldiers, clean-shaven with cropped hair consistently clad in uniforms, are heroic in tone and carry the emotional energy of cold-blooded, professional killers. Interspersed in contrast are the bare-chested, ungroomed and undisciplined barbarians, who from moment-to-moment are engaged in one form of defeat or another. I believe the Roman General, youthful, open-gesturing and seemingly heedless of the violence erupting in every direction around him, is the primary focal point based on location and slightly exaggerated scale.

Battle Between the Romans and the Barbarians is a case study in conflict-generating formal equivalencies: incised versus textured surfaces, figurative versus mechanical forms and disciplined versus chaotic tone. These tensions create a simply masterful void/mass value pattern that fully supports the directional energy, sense of balance and varied emotional tones of this work. The Pergemene style of ancient Greece is brought to mind more than the distant, idealized and gracefully controlled manner of the mature classic period. Conceptual and emotional energy is more unbridled, and while the composition is formally balanced, it accomplishes this through complicated and oblique angles of access and aggressively-meandering directional forces.