Marcus Aurelius
- Object belonging
- One's own
- Category
- Terracotta sculpture
- City
- Rome
- Location
- Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia
- Specific location
- Room 26
- Inventory
- PV 13969
- Material and technique
- Terracotta/ patina
- Author
- Bartolomeo Cavaceppi (1717-1799)
- Dating
- Second half of 18th century
- Dimensions
- 52 x 17 x 13.5 cm.
- Origin
- Cavaceppi Collection (1799); Torlonia Collection (last quarter of 19th century); Gorga Collection (1948)
- Image copyright
- SSPSAE e per il Polo Museale della città di Roma
Short description
The original sculpture, formerly in the collection of the Cardinal Alessandro Albani and now in the Capitoline Museum, is nearly two metres tall and depicts the Emperor Marcus Aurelius in a standing position, in the typical pose of the adlocutio, with his right arm outstretched, and his left folded and covered by the mantle. Cavaceppi’s terracotta, which is still in good condition, though missing the left hand and almost all of the right arm, is positioned on a small rectangular base and reproduces quite faithfully the original detail, even though the sculptor softens the model, especially in the features of the emperor’s face. The technique stands out, as usual, for its extreme attention to every last detail, particularly in the depiction of the armour and the decoration on the sandals.
Cristiano Giometti
Bibliography
M. G. Barberini and C. Gasparri (eds.), Bartolomeo Cavaceppi: scultore romano (1717-1799), exh. cat., Roma 1994, p. 98, n. 13 (published as PV 13391); C. Brook - V. Curzi (eds.), Roma e l'Antico. Realtà e visione nel '700, exh. cat., Roma 2010, pp. 423-424.