¡Descarga Columna de Trajano estructuras y más Traducciones en PDF de Historia del Arte solo en Docsity! TRAJAN'S FORUM TRAJAN'S COLUMN BUILDING TRAJAN'S COLUMN To ho nor the Roman emperor who had conquered the Dacians, the senate commissioned a novel monument. The 126-foot column, dedicated to Traj an in A.D.113, was an architectural feat. The carved frieze tells the story of the back-to-back wars, spiraling 23 times from bottom to top. Construction of the Column Workers quarried marble in modern-day Carrara, then transporte d it about 250 m iles t o the bui lding site in Ro me. The column took less than seven years to build. The engineer· ing is so p recise that it has stood for nearly two m illennia. Apo llodorus o f Da mascus (right), the architect of Trajans Forum, is thought t o have designed t he column too. MARBLE DRUMS workers hollowed out th e insides of 17 drums, carving a circular staircase and cutting windows, then stacked t hem. Each drum weighed about 30 tons. Meta l dowels inserted into mortises held the drums in place. SECOND WAR A.D. 105· 106 LIFTING TOWER A sophisticated scaffolding and pulley syste m, set up in a tight space with separate lifting and lowering shafts, m ight have ho isted t he drums. An image of Victory appears halfway up, dividing the tales of the two Dacian Wars. LIBRARY ill~ ~-- LIFTING SHAFT ;;.!tl!,,,,::- pLATFORM A trundling device allowed the drums to be moved horizontally from the lifting shaft to the lowering one. LIBRARY circular machines called cap stans. Using sever al at the same time, they could gain enough leverage to raise and lower the drums. Pedestal The column rises f rom a base made o f e ight blocks o f marble. Over t he door an insc ription w as c hiseled, and on t he sides images of Dacian armor and weaponry- the spo ils of war- were carved. Insid e was t he tomb of Trajan and his wife, Pompeia Plotina. INSCRIPTION The inscription d edicates t he column to Trajan, a gift from the senate and the people of Rome. The engraving is cons idered the finest exam ple o f Roman lettering still in existence. 1 The letters were probably first painted with a flat, square· edged brush. They were then carved with chisels to make deep, V-shaped grooves. 3 The grooves were designed to create shadows FIRST WAR A.D.10H 02 and likely were -----------~~~~ painted. SIMILAR MONUMENTS The unique design o f Trajan ·s Column influenced columns built t o honor Marc us Aurelius, Arcad lus, and others. Marc us Au relius·s column still sta nds, but Arcad ius·s was la rgely destroyed in the 18th century. TraJan's Column (Rome) 126 ft A.0. 113 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Column of Marcus Aurelius (Rome) 151 ft A.D.193 COPYRIGHT C> 2015 REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FOR EDUCATIONAL ONLY Column of Arcadius (Istanbul) height unknown A.D.421 STATUES The bronze statue of Trajan had disappeared by the time a pope installed St. Peter atop the column in 1588. This re· creation is based on Roman coins and sculptures. Trajan probably faced his forum; St. Peter faces the Vatican. SPIRAL FRIEZE O nce t he d rums were in place, c raftsmen began work on t he 656-foot-lon g fr ieze. Some experts say they worked from a master plan; othe rs say mistakes and Inconsistencies in scene heights sh ow they carved the story on the fly . Middle rows Top rows Scenes are separated by elements such as trees, st ructures, or f igures facing opposite directions. PROCESS 4 Painting 4 The frieze was probably painted in bright colors to highlight Trajan's presence in scenes and make details easier to see. No evidence remains on the column 1o indicate what the colors may have been. 3 Drilling Holes were bored into the hands of many figures and fitted with metal weapons and tools. 2 Carving Six to eight sculptors carved simultaneously, experts say, using a variety of tools. ~ ~ Chisels ~ ;;&-" \?"'"7 ~ asp Preparing Workers smoothed the surface with chisels, creating a blank canvas for the frieze. A staircase with 185 steps led 1---------- to a balcony. The d iameter a1 the base of the ,---------- column is 12 feet. Eagles-symbols of Jupiter and, by extension, victory in war- were often featured in Roman triumphal artworks. After Trajan and his wife died, their ashes were purportedly placed in match- Ing golden urns. FERNA"-00 G. BAPTISTA, OANIB..A SANTAWARINA. AND EMILY M. ENG, NGM ST,\FF. SAMANTHA WELKER; AMANDA HOBBS. TEXT: JERE"1Y BERUN, NGM STAFF SOURCES: JON COULSTON, UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS, SCOTL.A.NO: LYNNE LANCASTER, OHIO UNIVERSITY
