Design and Carving
Column for Marcus Aurelius, depiction of the Roman army crossing a personified river on the Column of Marcus Aurelius, which is very similar to a scene on the Column of Trajan's frieze
The design for the helical frieze on the Column of Marcus Aurelius draws heavily from the frieze on the Column of Trajan. Some scenes, such as those depicting the army crossing the river, or the scene of Victoria, are almost directly copied from the Column of Trajan.1 The Column of Marcus Aurelius’ frieze, however, was carved in significantly higher relief than the Column of Trajan’s, which increased legibility. The frieze band on the Column of Marcus Aurelius rises at a constant rate, and all of the windings have the same band height, unlike the Column of Trajan.2 The division of the scenes on the Column of Marcus Aurelius is also standardized, particularly in the top half of the frieze, with scenes equally divided into eighths of a turn.3
This visual evidence suggests that the frieze on the Column of Marcus Aurelius was planned in advance, whereas the frieze on the Column of Trajan was planned as it was carved.4 The regularization of the frieze’s overall layout may have been necessitated for the employment of multiple teams of carvers working at once, likely 46 carvers overall,5 who were probably from several different sarcophagi carving workshops,6 resulting in different styles of carving represented on the frieze. There is a mixture of more innovative artistic styles and more traditional artistic styles throughout the frieze. Innovative features include slimmer and longer figures with bodies that appear more alive and emotional, as well as centralized compositions.7
1 Beckmann, Martin, The Column of Marcus Aurelius: The Genesis and Meaning of a Roman Imperial Monument (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2011), 89.
2 Beckmann, The Column of Marcus Aurelius, 84-86.
3 Beckmann, The Column of Marcus Aurelius, 108-109.
4 Beckmann, The Column of Marcus Aurelius, 106-108.
5 Beckmann, The Column of Marcus Aurelius, 111.
6 Beckmann, The Column of Marcus Aurelius, 179.
7 Beckmann, The Column of Marcus Aurelius, 159-160.