Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

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The replica of the statue on Capitoline Hill.

Italian Euro coin depicting Marcus Aurelius sculpture on Capitoline Hill.

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Marcus Aurelius

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is made of bronze and stands 11’ 6” tall. Although here the emperor is mounted, it exhibits many similarities to standing statues of Augustus. The overall theme is one of power and divine grandeur—the emperor is over life-size and is holding out his hand in a gesture much like that in the Augustus' portraits. In this case the gesture may also signify clemency as some historians assert that a fallen enemy may have been portrayed begging for mercy under the horse's raised hoof (based on accounts from medieval times which seem to say that a small figure of a bound barbarian chieftain once crouched underneath the horse's front right leg). Such an image was meant to portray the Emperor as an always victorious all-conquering lord of the earth. However, shown without weapons or armor, Marcus Aurelius seems to be a bringer of peace rather than a military hero, for this is how he saw himself and his reign.

It is also worth noting that Marcus Aurelius is riding without the use of stirrups as the stirrup had not yet been introduced to the West.

It should be pointed out that there were many equestrian imperial portraits, but they rarely survive because it was standard practice to melt down bronze statues for reuse as coin or new sculptures (eg in the late empire, following Rome's conversion to Christianity, to make new statues for the new Christian churches), and that is why so few bronze statues, let alone statues of emperors, survive. Also, medieval Christians destroyed them, thinking they were pagan idols. The reason this one was not melted down was that, when in late antiquity or the early medieval period its turn came, it was incorrectly thought to portray the 'christianising' Emperor Constantine. Indeed, it is the only fully surviving bronze statue of a pre-Christian Roman emperor and so survived.

During the Middle Ages, it was one of the few Roman statues to remain on public view. It stood in the Lateran Palace in Rome, and then was relocated in 1538 to the Piazza del Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill) during Michelangelo's redesign of the Hill. Though he disagreed with its central positioning, he designed a special pedestal for it. Currently, the original is on display in a new exhibition room designed especially for this purpose in the Palazzo dei Conservatori of the Musei Capitolini, while a replica has replaced it in the square.

The statue is such a trademark image that it is the subject of a €0.50 Italian euro coin designed by Roberto Mauri.

A replica of the statue has been located on the campus of Brown University in the United States since 1908.