Side opposite Augustus
original north side
Processional Frieze - Details of Heads
This processional frieze on the original north side of the Ara Pacis combines largely original Augustan carving of the clothed bodies with 18th century replacements and recarving of nearly all the heads.
The only heads to survive with their original carving are the few profiles in very low relief, barely emerging from the background. Although worn, these capture the characteristic verism of Roman portrait sculpture. Even the very low relief figures at the left of this procession, seen here on a plaster cast of the original marble slab in the Louvre, convey the character of the original Ara Pacis. The recarved heads, however, give the impression that Roman portraiture could be neo-classical in style. Judging by the few Renaissance drawings that record some of these figural slabs, about half of the heads are complete recreations rather than recarvings of the original Ara Pacis heads.
Although we wish that the original, damaged Augustan heads had not been recarved, the recarved heads are recongized for the remarkable skill of the sculptor, Francesco Carradori. Carradori was also a famous teacher and author of an important 1802 book on sculpture, Instruzione Elementare per gli Studiosi della Scultura, which includes brief sections on restoring ancient sculpture. Although given little attention in publications on the Ara Pacis, these heads provide examples of late 18th century master carving.
The figures are identified and numbered in accordance with the official museum guiddbook (Rossini, 2006).
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Family of Augustus (figures 39-36). photo May 2010
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Family of Augustus (figures 33-32). The heads newly carved by Carradori can be easily distinguished. photo May 2010
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In the hurried 1938 reconstruction, these 2 slabs were spaced nearly together, as if a single figure had been divided by the break. But scholars now agree that there would have been more space between these 2 slabs. The face of the figure is in low relief, whereas the back of the head belongs to a rounded foreground figure. Because the back of the head is so damaged, this difference is not clear in this photo. However, in the lower parts of the bodies, it is clear that the damaged back of a head at the left belongs to a rounded foreground figure. photo May 2010
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Members of a college with priestly duties, the quindecemviri (figures 24-22); a few figures are missing between the 2 slabs, which originally would have been farther apart. photo May 2010 |
Members of a college with priestly duties, the quindecemviri (figures 22-20). photo May 2010
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Members of a college with priestly duties, possibly the augures (figures 20-17). photo May 2010
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Scanned from Giovanna Martellotti, "Reconstructive Restoration of Roman Sculptures: Three Case Studies", History of Restoration of Ancient Stone Sculptures, ed. Janet Burnett Grossman, Jerry Podany, and Marion True; Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003, fig.14 (photo P. Rizzi). Reproduced with appreciation.
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photo May 2010
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"Fig. 13 Detail of the Ara Pacis Augustae. Figures from the north wall." - "An example of drapery from the north wall, seen after the removal of numerous small inserts (fig. 13), allow us to imaging how it looked prior to [previous] restoration, with breaks and corrosion of the stone a little worse than those seen in the Flamines block (see fig. 11), a level of damage that surely would not have affected out overall enjoyment of the work" (pp.187-188). Scanned from Giovanna Martellotti, "Reconstructive Restoration of Roman Sculptures: Three Case Studies", History of Restoration of Ancient Stone Sculptures, ed. Janet Burnett Grossman, Jerry Podany, and Marion True; Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003, fig.13 (photo P. Rizzi). Reproduced with appreciation.
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photo May 2010 |
Members of a college with priestly duties, the septemviri (figures 13-12). The head at right in low relief is one of the rare heads that were not recaved and thus retains much of its original Augustan character. photo May 2010
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Members of a college with priestly duties, the septemviri (figures 12-10). photo May 2010
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Members of a college with priestly duties, the septemviri (figures 11-9). The head at right in low relief is one of the rare heads that were not recaved and thus retains much of its original Augustan character. photo May 2010
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Members of a college with priestly duties, the septemviri (figures 9-8), and young attendant, camillus (figure 7). photo May 2010
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All except the 2 low-relief background heads were newly carved in the late 18th century. They are brilliantly carved but much more neo-classical than the Augustan originals. photo May 2010
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