English: This relief comes from the Ara Pacis - the Altar of Peace, erected between 13 and 9 BC on the Campus Martius in honor of the Roman emperor Augustus on his triumphant return from Spain. The emperor is portrayed at the head of a line of family members, priests, magistrates, and senators - a style of procession appropriated from classical Greek art. The elegant, harmonious composition of this fragment reflect Augustus's preferred models for the expression of official art.

The Altar of Augustan Peace

This fragment was part of the Altar of Augustan Peace (Ara Pacis), commissioned by the Senate to celebrate the emperor Augustus's victorious return from Spain. The richly decorated altar, standing within a sculpted marble enclosure, was erected on the Campus Martius between 13 and 9 BC. The base was adorned with acanthus scrolls intertwined with swans (birds which were sacred to Apollo, protector of Augustus). These luxuriant natural elements evoked the peace and prosperity that Augustus brought to Rome. The reliefs on the upper part of the monument represented various subjects relating to the legendary founding of Rome, such as Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf. A double procession unfolded along the monument's length: Augustus with members of the imperial family, priests, magistrates, and senators. The relief in the Louvre is a fragment of this procession, portraying a family with two children. Their identity has not been firmly established, although they may be members of the emperor's own family. The influence of Greek classicism on official Roman art

This procession is a deliberate reference to the classical art of fifth-century Athens: it is reminiscent of the Panathenaic procession represented on the Parthenon frieze (445-438 BC), and has about it the same atmosphere of cool restraint and solemnity. The masterful low relief work, and the fluid movement of drapery that accompanies the characters' slow progress are comparable to the Parthenon relief of the procession of the Ergastines (Athenian noblewomen, a fragment of which is also in the Louvre).The Roman artist has introduced a number of innovations, however, such as the inclusion of children, and more contemporary Roman hairstyles, thereby linking this work to the Roman tradition of historical reliefs. Greek models were adapted by Roman sculptors for reasons of ideology and propaganda. Augustus judged the harmony and moderation of classical Greek art to be in keeping with his aim to restore a "golden age"; hence, classical Greek art became the reference for official Augustan art. An architectural program to the glory of Augustus

During the first century BC, the Ara Pacis was part of a vast architectural project which dedicated the Campus Martius to the celebration of the emperor Augustus. Octavian undertook the construction of a monumental tomb (now known as the Mausoleum of Augustus) before the battle of Actium in 31 BC, intending it to evoke Augustus's heroic nature and devotion to his capital, Rome. Between 13 and 9 BC, a huge sundial was erected, with an Egyptian obelisk as its gnomon (pointer). This installation was set according to the emperor's horoscope, and gave his astrological sign and date of birth. The monumental altar and the decorations along its sides evoke Augustus's role in the restoration of a golden age after a century of civil war. The monument was reconstructed near the Mausoleum of Augustus in modern times (1937-38), using almost all of the original fragments. Bibliography P. Rehak, "Aenas or Numa ? Rethinking the Meaning of the Ara Pacis Augustae", The Art Bulletin, june 2001, p. 190-208. N. Hannestad, "Late-antique reworking of the Ara Pacis ?", Journal of Roman Archaeology, january 2000, p. 311-318. E. Bartman, Portraits of Livia. Imaging the Imperial Woman in Augustan Rome, Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 80, fig. 65. D. Atnally Conlin, The Artists of the Ara Pacis, Londres, 1997, p. 55-56, fig. 9, 57, 60. R. Billows, "The Religious Procession of the Ara Pacis : Augustus' Supplicatio in 13 B. C.", Journal of Roman Archaeology, 6, 1993, p. 80-92. D.E.E. Kleiner, "The Great Friezes of the Ara Pacis Augustae. Greek Sources, Roman derivatives, and Augustan Social Policy", MEFRA, 90, 1978, p. 761., fig. 6. E. Michon, "Les bas-reliefs historiques romains du musée du Louvre", Mémoires et Monuments. Fondation Piot, 17, 1909, p. 157-187, fig. 4.

Source: www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/fragment-ara-pacis-altar-...