Commemorative monuments

Commemorative monuments

The Column of Marcus Aurelius – a souvenir of a wise, sensible and brave emperor

Commemorative monuments

Column of the Immaculate Conception – an antidote for heresies and mistakes of contemporary times

Commemorative monuments

Arch of Janus – mysterious structure with four façades

Commemorative monuments

The Arch of the Silversmiths – a place of memory erased

Commemorative monuments

Arch of Constantine – an ancient example of artistic recycling

Commemorative monuments

Triumphant Arch of Emperor Titus – a commemoration of triumph and defeat engraved in stone

Commemorative monuments

Arch of Septimius Severus – a symbol of Roman expansion and dynastic ambitions

Commemorative monuments

Mausoleum of Empress Helena – meaning how to reconcile Christianity with the cult of the emperor

Commemorative monuments

Mausoleum on Janiculum Hill (Mausoleo Ossario Garibaldino) – the struggle for national heritage

Commemorative monuments

Antinous Obelisk (Pinciano) – pilgrimages of an obelisk of „sinful” provenance

Commemorative monuments

Flaminio Obelisk – a war trophy; the pride of the city, emperor and the pope

Commemorative monuments

Obelisk Macuteo – divine support for the emperor, the pope and the Roman populace

Commemorative monuments

Minerveo Obelisk, meaning the triumph of an elephant over Dominican dogs

Commemorative monuments

Mussolini Obelisk – a monument of national amnesia

Commemorative monuments

Vaticano Obelisk – a granite witness to history

Commemorative monuments

Statue of Giordano Bruno, meaning the ”black ship of Satan” among flowers, grapes and lettuce

Commemorative monuments

Statue of Giuseppe Mazzini – the delayed work of belle époque

Commemorative monuments

Funerary monument of Maria Clementina Sobieska – the joyful smile of a miserable queen

Commemorative monuments

Funerary monument of Pope Alexander VII, meaning the triumph of virtue over death

Commemorative monuments

Funerary Monument of Pope Benedict XIV – the last breath of a grand style

Commemorative monuments

Funerary monument of Pope Gregory XIII – the memories of the guardian of true faith

Commemorative monuments

Funerary Monument of Pope Gregory XV – a breath of subtle Jesuit propaganda

Commemorative monuments

Antonio Canova’s funerary monument of Pope Clement XIII – death appeased with beauty

Commemorative monuments

Antonio Canova’s funerary monument of Pope Clement XIV – a quiet grief of final parting

Commemorative monuments

Funerary Monument of Pope Leo XI – a modest and politically convincing work

Commemorative monuments

Funerary Monument of the Stuarts – death beautiful until perdition

Sleeping Hermaphrodite – the ever-present third gender

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Sleeping Hermaphrodite – the ever-present third gender

The figure of the Hermaphrodite stimulated the imagination of the people of Antiquity in a particular way. A being of two genders – both female and male – seemed privileged exceptional, and completely ideal, however, it also aroused ambivalent feelings and suspicion. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that a figure with male genitalia and female breasts garnered a lot of attention both in literature as well as in the visual arts. When it comes to the latter, the favored topic (although not the only one), was a sleeping Hermaphrodite. This is how he is depicted, stretched on b...

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Simon Vouet’s Herodias with the Head of St. John the Baptist – femme fatale of the Baroque

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Simon Vouet’s Herodias with the Head of St. John the Baptist – femme fatale of the Baroque

Femme fatale is associated with painting and literature of the XIX century – with women who devoured the hearts of men, cold-blooded demons of sex who with premeditation led men to their downfall. However, beautiful, erotic, attractive, but at the same time ruthless and sophisticated women have always fascinated artists. We can find them in ancient literature and mythology, as well as in the Old and New Testaments. We can also see them in the painting creations of Caravaggio and his successors because it was exactly in the XVII century when Salome, Judith, and Herodias became fashionable...

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Spada Chapel – ancestors, meaning capital which cannot be underestimated

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Spada Chapel – ancestors, meaning capital which cannot be underestimated

Numerous posthumous chapels, which we can see during a pilgrimage through Roman churches are generally filled with decorations and works of art. They arouse our respect, and approval, and let our thoughts linger on the grandeur and significance of the family, but above all their sense of art. It is quite seldom that we think about them in purely practical categories, not to say mercantile. It is a rare situation indeed that we can say that the main motive of their creation was not only the desire to immortalize one’s fame, but also the prestige of future, yet unborn successors of the fam...

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