The reign of Augustus marked a turning point in Roman history. As Rome’s first emperor (27 BCE to AD 14), he implemented novel communication strategies and opened a new chapter in the visual culture of antiquity to impose his immense power.
A new desire for the image led to a new approach to media and changed the style in the various genres such as wall painting, sculpture, architecture or everyday objects. New clients were part of this upsurge – not only elites but society at large could participate in both commissioning and appreciating works of art – which ensured an unprecedented wealth of images in all places.
With 200 objects and exceptional loans, the exhibition presents the images and monuments of this period: statues, portrait busts, reliefs, wall paintings, coins and ceramics, lent by the Louvre in Paris, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Capitoline and Vatican Museums in Rome, the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, and other major European museums and collections.
