Trajan Column

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The Column of Trajan stands at a height 97 feet and 9 inches, the equivalent of 100 Roman feet, and is composed of 17 “drum” cylinders made of white Luna marble, each measuring 12 feet and 2 inches in diameter. Spiraling up the column is a single continuous 3 foot 6 inch band which showcases a plethora of low relief engravings. The cylindrical column is placed on a rectangular podium that measures 17 feet 6 inches tall that is decorated with military “trophies” also engraved in low relief. The top of the column creates a base which supports a statue of Trajan, which is later replaced in by a statue of Saint Peter. The Doric style of the column as can be seen in the simplistic rounded capital that meets the statue’s base. A door on the …show more content…

The reliefs portray much more than just scenes of the fighting that occurred; in fact, the vast majority of the relief showcases in great detail the multifaceted elements of the war dealing with the context of the battle and its importance for those involved and to the overall war. Topics such as “imperial addresses, sacrifices, works of fornication, marches and journeys, envoys and prisoners” were major themes in the episodes expressed in the frieze, which resulted in a much more complex and interesting narrative for the viewer. In the classic ideology of Rome in this period, man was the ‘measure of all things’ and the frieze on the column reinforces this concept in the way that it focuses on the actions and response of man to the situations that surround him equally or more so than the actual war that he is embroiled …show more content…

The reliefs employ an ongoing style of narrative that shows successive episodes moving chronologically up the spiral, referred to as the “continuous” method. This method uses reoccurring pictures of the leader, Trajan, which helps create unity and to indicate new scenes and the passage of time; case in point, Trajan is shown over 900 times throughout the 660 foot relief. The many sculptures engraved on the column made it necessary for the viewer to circle the column in order to see the full work. This column’s spiral created a sense of Rome’s power while it also created a wide rang of emotional high and low points incorporated throughout the stable and cohesive progression of the relief. There is a great deal of landscape and architecture portrayed in the frieze; the miniaturization used in these elements creates a “semi-realistic setting” for the scenes depicted on the columns The column’s engravings also show the artist’s disregard for correct perspective and illusionist work. These principles of design are ignored in exchange for the use of a “map technique” which alters the scale of the people and objects pictured to be seen like that from a bird’s eye view. This enabled the column to encapsulate Rome’s distinctive belief that understanding and learning from the past will help you in the

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