Shortly after the death in 161 of Antoninus Pius, his sons dedicated a column to him as a funerary monument. The form of the column in general and the reliefs on the pedestal in particular raise problems central to the understanding of Roman art. In this first thorough study, illustrated with nearly 100 photographs, Lise Vogel restores the column to its rightful place as one of the major monuments of Roman art. In addition, she re-evaluates the meaning of the column of Antoninus Pius in the context of the development of second century Roman imperial sculpture.

One of the most important monuments of Imperial Rome and at the same time one of the most poorly understood, the Column of Marcus Aurelius has long stood in the shadow of the Column of Trajan. In The Column of Marcus Aurelius, Martin Beckmann makes a thorough study of the form, content, and meaning of this infrequently studied monument. Beckmann employs a new approach to the column, one that focuses on the process of its creation and construction, to uncover the cultural significance of the column to the Romans of the late second century A.D. Using clues from ancient sources and from the monument itself, this book traces the creative process step by step from the first decision to build the monument through the processes of planning and construction to the final carving of the column's relief decoration. The conclusions challenge many of the widely held assumptions about the value of the column's 700-foot-long frieze as a historical source. By reconstructing the creative process of the column's sculpture, Beckmann opens up numerous new paths of analysis not only to the Column of Marcus Aurelius but also to Roman imperial art and architecture in general.

A study of the period of the Antonines in the Roman Empire, a time of great social and political change for Rome, and a time when art and literature flourished.