Reply To: Propaganda Art

[Aubri Stogsdill]

Using art to promote political agendas and ideas is absolutely not a new thing. Governments have been using art to push their perspectives and plans since governments have existed! The Romans were not exception to this rule. One example of this is seen in sculpture Augustus of Primaporta. In the sculpture, Augustus was communicating that he was a great orator and a military victor. His body is portrayed perfectly as an Greek athletes would be. Just beside his leg is Cupid riding a dolphin. This represents Augustus’ victory in the battle against Antony and Cleopatra. It also communicates Augustus’ is a descendant of the gods. On his breastplate, there is depictions of gods and goddesses. The message here is that Augustus has the god’s on his side. This sculpture carries the message that Augustus wanted to communicate. The he was a strong, capable, victorious leader, and that he had every right to be where he was, as he had been blessed by the gods. This is a common theme in Roman art. They did a great job of communicating their ideals and values in way that would have certainly been effective.