Ateliers de diffusion du portrait impérial et histoire de l'art romain : à propos du Dèce capitolin

Abstract

The place of the portrait of Emperor Decius (249-251) Capitoline in the history of the art of this period of crisis has been frequently analyzed in terms which reflect, not the general trend of third century art, but the technical particularities of a work which is, until now, the unique, or almost unique testimony of this reign in Roman portraiture. A number of its traits in fact do no more than reflect the particular orientation of the workshop which sculpted it, a workshop whose "Kunstwollen" is not necessary indicative of all future developments. It is on a much broader basis, with a much larger number of examples, and over a much longer period of time, that we should define the stylistic evolution of the period.