Triumphal Arches, Portraits, Coins, and the Language of Power

Imperial Rome was adept at utilizing public-facing art to define its values and exploit achievements. Their language of power included triumphal arches, portraits, and coins to create and reinforce their message. Politicians continue to do what the Romans did, with the addition of social media and a host of other outlets. There is a long history going back to the Romans that informs how public-facing images are used today. Looking back at that history sheds some light on proposed commemorative art for the U.S. 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Gold Aureus of Augustus, 20-19 BCE, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, open access.

Triumphal Arches

Monumental arches celebrated military victories, the emperors, and troops who engaged in battle. Hundreds of triumphal arches were erected in territories conquered by the Romans. There are three surviving in Rome, but ten additional arches in Rome were destroyed or broken down and the stone used elsewhere. The three surviving arches celebrate Emperors Titus, Septimius Severus, and Constantine. The arches celebrate their respective military victories over Jerusalem, the Parthians (present-day Iran), and fellow Roman Maxentius in a civil war.

Arch of Titus, Rome, 81 CE; Arch of Septimius Severus, 203 CE, Rome;

Arch of Constantine, 312-15 CE, Rome, photos Gerriann Brower.

All located in the vicinity of Rome’s Forum, they range from fifty to seventy feet in height. The Arch of Titus has a single arch, and the other two have a central taller arch flanked by two smaller arches. Scenes of battle and victory in sculptural relief covered the surfaces. A quadriga—a sculpture of a chariot drawn by four horses—topped the arch. The quadriga and some of the sculptures are now lost or were repurposed elsewhere. Triumphal arches were positioned in prime real estate along a processional route after a victory. Spoils of war, prisoners, the generals, the emperor, and soldiers marched along the route and through the arch.

Triumphal arches inspired many Renaissance and modern buildings. Church architecture and secular buildings repeat the motif of giant arches as an entryway flanked by columns and smaller arches, decorated with relief sculptures. Rome’s eighteenth-century Trevi Fountain plays on the triumphal arch motif, as do other secular buildings in Europe. Paris’s Arc de Triomphe is inspired directly by the Arch of Titus, with a single opening, and acts as a gateway to the city. Construction began under Napolean I in the early nineteenth century. Building stalled many times as France cycled through a number of kings and rulers, and a number of revolts. Initially conceived to honor Napolean I and his imperial army’s victories, after many revisions the Arc de Triomphe was inaugurated in 1836. It stands as a symbol of national unity, with sculptural reliefs honoring not individuals, but the ideals of the French Revolution.

The Arc de Triomphe is nearly twice as tall as existing Roman arches. President Donald Trump announced plans in 2026 to construct the tallest triumphal arch in Washington D.C. at 250 feet. If constructed, it would be called Independence Arch, to honor the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It would be 100 feet taller than the Arc de Triomphe, the tallest triumphal arch in the world. Various models have the arch topped with a 24-karat gold-plated winged figure holding a Statue of Liberty torch and two eagles. The figure resembles Winged Victory, the Greek goddess Nike, or some say, an angel. The current plan has gold-plated lions at the base, which may be replaced with eagles.

Portraits

With its vast territories, it became paramount to communicate imperial power and benevolence to millions of subjects. During his forty-one-year reign, Augustus (r. 27 BCE-14 CE) created the template for image management, which was followed by successive emperors. There were two key messages he incorporated into his image: as commander-in-chief, and as supreme religious leader.

As head of state, he fashioned himself in marble sculptures as a triumphant warrior, calm and strong, with an idealized body, slim and trim. As head of the state religion, he was the high priest, or pontifex maximus. Augustus organized and codified a Roman state religion for the empire. The new and improved state religion was a tool to unify the empire and its subjects under a common belief system. He commissioned over 80 temples to various gods and goddesses. One of his roles was to perform sacrifices in honor of the gods.

He made the most of being emperor through public art, where his portrait sculptures appeared everywhere: in streets, at temples, in houses. He is always depicted as a young man, although he took control at age thirty-six and died at seventy-seven. With idealized features and a calm expression, Augustus sent the message of someone in complete control: providing stability, prosperity, and successful empire expansion.

His subjects consistently saw images of a youthful, fit emperor with defined facial features, beardless, and never aging during his long reign, the longest of the Roman emperors. Statues of emperors were generic in body type, usually with gym-fit musculature. The heads were customized to the emperor’s features. Sometimes when an emperor died, the previous emperor’s head was replaced with an image of the new leader. Generic body types made mass production of emperor statues easier to disseminate throughout the empire.

Augustus of Prima Porta, Early 1^st century CE, Vatican Museums, Rome, photo Gerriann Brower.

The Augustus of Prima Porta statue incorporates warrior and religious messages. It is carved from Carrara marble, quarried from the same mountain Michelangelo sourced for many of his sculptures. Augustus poses as an orator, with an outstretched right arm, addressing his troops. He wears a decorated cuirass, an armored breastplate. In the center are scenes from his victory over the Parthians. On the top and bottom of the cuirass are the gods Diana, Apollo, sky gods, and Mother Earth. It’s a blissful representation of an ideal leader and empire.

Augustus asserted that his family descended from the goddess Venus. Cupid, Venus’s son, is depicted at his feet, riding a dolphin, alluding to the birth of Venus from the sea. He stands barefoot, the attribute of a god or hero. Augustus initiated imagery of a near-divine status coupled with military victory, themes which are frequently repeated in portraits of succeeding emperors. After his death, he was deified, which changed the role and power of future emperors.   

Coins 

Imperial images were part of commercial transactions. Coins featured the emperor in profile on one side and his attributes on the reverse. Roman coins created an archetype still seen today, with a portrait of an individual on one side of the coin and on the reverse a symbol or attribute associated with the person. For hundreds of years, until the sixteenth century, portraits were depicted in profile, after Roman coins.

Coins held economic and ideological importance in the cult of the emperor. Coins were minted in bronze, gold, and silver. The gold aureus was the most common, measuring about ¾ inch in diameter. There were hundreds of minting facilities throughout the empire, and designs changed depending on where it was minted or what the emperor wished to emphasize. There are thousands of extant Roman coins from Great Britain to Asia Minor. Coins symbolized Rome’s central power and authority in the emperor—a reminder to its subjects and citizens of a ruler with absolute power.

When Claudius unexpectedly became emperor at age fifty in 41 CE, he immediately issued new coins. Claudius descended from Augustus as his grandnephew. With his uncle deified, Claudius claimed divine status for himself by relation to Augustus. In many sculptures, any subtle hints linking the emperor to the gods were replaced with the emperor as a living deity.

Gold Aureus of Claudius with Triumphal Arch with Equestrian Statue and Trophies, 47-48 CE, The Cleveland Museum of Art, open access.

As emperor, Claudius did not have a ruthless personality, or the charisma of Augustus. Born with a limp and a speech impediment, he had no military experience; nonetheless, he was a good emperor by Roman standards. His generals conquered Britian, which is celebrated on the coin. The engraving on the front of this coin makes clear his powers: “Tiberius Claudius Caesar, emperor, high priest, holder of tribunician power for the fourth time, supreme commander for the eleventh time.” The inscription “De Britann” on the back celebrates his victory over Britian with a triumphal arch. Minted in Rome, Claudius is depicted astride a horse between two military trophies.

Claudius’s sudden death in 54 CE remains suspicious as he was about to give his biological teenage son from his third wife additional responsibilities. His son was poisoned one year later. Claudius’s fourth wife, Agrippina, had a son from a previous marriage, Nero, whom the emperor adopted. The calculating Agrippina and Nero quickly took control after her husband’s death. Nero became emperor at age sixteen. He issued new coins with two profiles, one of the new youthful emperor facing a portrait of his mother, Agrippina.

2026 Semiquincentennial One-Dollar Coin Candidate Designs, Portrait of President Donald Trump, U.S. Mint.

Coins for the U.S. 250^th anniversary extend this tradition, portraying the head of state in an image characteristic of his political brand. The U.S. Mint has plans for a nearly three-inch gold one-dollar coin depicting President Trump. He stands with fists on a platform, scowling and bent over the platform. He appears stern and frowning. The inscription reads “Liberty, 1776-2026” and “In God we Trust.” The reverse has an eagle. Other coin designs include three portraits of the president, with one in profile.

Sources

Dyson, Stephen L. Rome: A Living Portrait of an Ancient City. The John Hopkins University Press, 2010.

Hekster, Olivier, Erika Manders, and Daniëlle Slootjes. “Making History with Coins: Nero from a Numismatic Perspective.” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 45, no. 1, 2014, 25–37.

Ramage, Nancy H. and Andrew Ramage. Roman Art: Romulus to Constantine. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.

Zanker, Paul. The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus. The University of Michigan, 1990.

Zanker, Paul. Roman Art. Translated by Henry Heitmann-Gordon. Getty Publications, 2010.