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by Ancient Roman (Unknown), -20
Ancient Roman The Augustus of Prima Porta depicts Rome's first emperor in military dress, his arm raised in a gesture of command. Carved around 20 BCE, the marble statue shows Augustus as a youthful, idealized leader rather than the aging man he actually was. The breastplate displays symbolic imagery including the return of Roman standards from the Parthians.
Archaeologists discovered the statue in 1863 at Livia's villa in Prima Porta, just north of Rome. The original paint has faded, but traces reveal the statue was once vividly colored. A small Cupid riding a dolphin at Augustus's feet references his claimed descent from Venus through Aeneas. The pose deliberately echoes Polykleitos's Doryphoros, connecting Augustus to Greek artistic ideals.
The statue now stands in the Vatican Museums, the definitive image of Roman imperial portraiture.
Luxury wall art with the same mood and energy. Gallery-quality canvas, no museum crowds.
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