103 research outputs found
Trajan's column : the sculpting and relief content of a Roman propaganda monument
PhD ThesisThis thesis examines the reliefs of Trajan's Column in Rome (dedicated
A. D. 113). It explores sculptural processes and provides a full and
critical commentary on the relief content.
Section 1 reviews prior work on the column and explains how the present
research was conducted whilst taking advantage of scaffolding erected
in conjunction with conservation studies.
Section 2 examines the role of the column as a propaganda monument,
exploring the value of the depictions of Trajan's wars as a source of
historical information. This runs parallel to an enquiry into the
imperial propaganda functions of the project. These two lines of
approach are set against the column's immediate architectural environment
which suggests how the reliefs were observed by the public audience.
Section 3 is a technical enquiry into the methods by which the column
was fabricated, and the sculptures were planned and executed, based on
minute observation and computer-assisted recording of the reliefs.
Section 4 deals with each of the potential sources of information
concerning historical events, warfare, architecture and the Roman army
available to, and employed by the sculptors working in Rome. It concludes
that input from the war zone on the Danube was minimal in comparison with
models and verbal information available in the capital.
In Section 5, the sixteen categories of human figures on the spiral
frieze ('Figure Types') are dealt with in turn and examined in the
light of comparative textual, artefactual and representational evidence
with regard to their accuracy. Relationships with other contemporary
monuments are also examined.
The last Section reviews the place of Trajan's Column in Roman monumental
art, examining its innovative features and-its influence on later works
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