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Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern
From the bestselling author of SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome, the fascinating story of how images of Roman autocrats have influenced art, culture, and the representation of power for more than 2,000 years
What does the face of power look like? Who gets commemorated in art and why? And how do we react to statues of politicians we deplore? In this book--against a background of today's "sculpture wars"--Mary Beard tells the story of how for more than two millennia portraits of the rich, powerful, and famous in the western world have been shaped by the image of Roman emperors, especially the "twelve Caesars," from the ruthless Julius Caesar to the fly-torturing Domitian. Twelve Caesars asks why these murderous autocrats have loomed so large in art from antiquity and the Renaissance to today, when hapless leaders are still caricatured as Neros fiddling while Rome burns.
Beginning with the importance of imperial portraits in Roman politics, this richly illustrated book offers a tour through 2,000 years of art and cultural history, presenting a fresh look at works by artists from Memling and Mantegna to the nineteenth-century African American sculptor Edmonia Lewis, as well as by generations of now-forgotten weavers, cabinetmakers, silversmiths, printers, and ceramicists. Rather than a story of a simple repetition of stable, blandly conservative images of imperial men and women, Twelve Caesars is an unexpected tale of changing identities, clueless or deliberate misidentifications, fakes, and often ambivalent representations of authority.
From Beard's reconstruction of Titian's extraordinary lost Room of the Emperors to her reinterpretation of Henry VIII's famous Caesarian tapestries, Twelve Caesars includes some fascinating detective work and offers a gripping story of some of the most challenging and disturbing portraits of power ever created.
Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
What does the face of power look like? Who gets commemorated in art and why? And how do we react to statues of politicians we deplore? In this book--against a background of today's "sculpture wars"--Mary Beard tells the story of how for more than two millennia portraits of the rich, powerful, and famous in the western world have been shaped by the image of Roman emperors, especially the "twelve Caesars," from the ruthless Julius Caesar to the fly-torturing Domitian. Twelve Caesars asks why these murderous autocrats have loomed so large in art from antiquity and the Renaissance to today, when hapless leaders are still caricatured as Neros fiddling while Rome burns.
Beginning with the importance of imperial portraits in Roman politics, this richly illustrated book offers a tour through 2,000 years of art and cultural history, presenting a fresh look at works by artists from Memling and Mantegna to the nineteenth-century African American sculptor Edmonia Lewis, as well as by generations of now-forgotten weavers, cabinetmakers, silversmiths, printers, and ceramicists. Rather than a story of a simple repetition of stable, blandly conservative images of imperial men and women, Twelve Caesars is an unexpected tale of changing identities, clueless or deliberate misidentifications, fakes, and often ambivalent representations of authority.
From Beard's reconstruction of Titian's extraordinary lost Room of the Emperors to her reinterpretation of Henry VIII's famous Caesarian tapestries, Twelve Caesars includes some fascinating detective work and offers a gripping story of some of the most challenging and disturbing portraits of power ever created.
Published in association with the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
392 pages, Hardcover
First published October 12, 2021
481 people are currently reading
4543 people want to read
About the author
Mary Beard
69 books4,053 followersWinifred Mary Beard (born 1 January 1955) is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge and is a fellow of Newnham College. She is the Classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement, and author of the blog "A Don's Life", which appears on The Times as a regular column. Her frequent media appearances and sometimes controversial public statements have led to her being described as "Britain's best-known classicist".
Mary Beard, an only child, was born on 1 January 1955 in Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Her father, Roy Whitbread Beard, worked as an architect in Shrewsbury. She recalled him as "a raffish public-schoolboy type and a complete wastrel, but very engaging". Her mother Joyce Emily Beard was a headmistress and an enthusiastic reader.
Mary Beard attended an all-female direct grant school. During the summer she participated in archaeological excavations; this was initially to earn money for recreational spending, but she began to find the study of antiquity unexpectedly interesting. But it was not all that interested the young Beard. She had friends in many age groups, and a number of trangressions: "Playing around with other people's husbands when you were 17 was bad news. Yes, I was a very naughty girl."
At the age of 18 she was interviewed for a place at Newnham College, Cambridge and sat the then compulsory entrance exam. She had thought of going to King's, but rejected it when she discovered the college did not offer scholarships to women. Although studying at a single-sex college, she found in her first year that some men in the University held dismissive attitudes towards women's academic potential, and this strengthened her determination to succeed. She also developed feminist views that remained "hugely important" in her later life, although she later described "modern orthodox feminism" as partly "cant". Beard received an MA at Newnham and remained in Cambridge for her PhD.
From 1979 to 1983 she lectured in Classics at King's College London. She returned to Cambridge in 1984 as a fellow of Newnham College and the only female lecturer in the Classics faculty. Rome in the Late Republic, which she co-wrote with the Cambridge ancient historian Michael Crawford, was published the same year. In 1985 Beard married Robin Sinclair Cormack. She had a daughter in 1985 and a son in 1987. Beard became Classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement in 1992.
Shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Beard was one of several authors invited to contribute articles on the topic to the London Review of Books. She opined that many people, once "the shock had faded", thought "the United States had it coming", and that "[w]orld bullies, even if their heart is in the right place, will in the end pay the price".[4] In a November 2007 interview, she stated that the hostility these comments provoked had still not subsided, although she believed it had become a standard viewpoint that terrorism was associated with American foreign policy.[1]
In 2004, Beard became the Professor of Classics at Cambridge.[3] She is also the Visiting Sather Professor of Classical Literature for 2008–2009 at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has delivered a series of lectures on "Roman Laughter".[5]
Mary Beard, an only child, was born on 1 January 1955 in Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Her father, Roy Whitbread Beard, worked as an architect in Shrewsbury. She recalled him as "a raffish public-schoolboy type and a complete wastrel, but very engaging". Her mother Joyce Emily Beard was a headmistress and an enthusiastic reader.
Mary Beard attended an all-female direct grant school. During the summer she participated in archaeological excavations; this was initially to earn money for recreational spending, but she began to find the study of antiquity unexpectedly interesting. But it was not all that interested the young Beard. She had friends in many age groups, and a number of trangressions: "Playing around with other people's husbands when you were 17 was bad news. Yes, I was a very naughty girl."
At the age of 18 she was interviewed for a place at Newnham College, Cambridge and sat the then compulsory entrance exam. She had thought of going to King's, but rejected it when she discovered the college did not offer scholarships to women. Although studying at a single-sex college, she found in her first year that some men in the University held dismissive attitudes towards women's academic potential, and this strengthened her determination to succeed. She also developed feminist views that remained "hugely important" in her later life, although she later described "modern orthodox feminism" as partly "cant". Beard received an MA at Newnham and remained in Cambridge for her PhD.
From 1979 to 1983 she lectured in Classics at King's College London. She returned to Cambridge in 1984 as a fellow of Newnham College and the only female lecturer in the Classics faculty. Rome in the Late Republic, which she co-wrote with the Cambridge ancient historian Michael Crawford, was published the same year. In 1985 Beard married Robin Sinclair Cormack. She had a daughter in 1985 and a son in 1987. Beard became Classics editor of the Times Literary Supplement in 1992.
Shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, Beard was one of several authors invited to contribute articles on the topic to the London Review of Books. She opined that many people, once "the shock had faded", thought "the United States had it coming", and that "[w]orld bullies, even if their heart is in the right place, will in the end pay the price".[4] In a November 2007 interview, she stated that the hostility these comments provoked had still not subsided, although she believed it had become a standard viewpoint that terrorism was associated with American foreign policy.[1]
In 2004, Beard became the Professor of Classics at Cambridge.[3] She is also the Visiting Sather Professor of Classical Literature for 2008–2009 at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has delivered a series of lectures on "Roman Laughter".[5]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 223 reviews
October 6, 2021
Erudite and full of the enthusiasm of the author for the topic. The varied (mis)representation of the 12 Emperors of Suetonius in the arts is fascinating, but despite my interest in both Rome and art history I found the book at times rather byzantine
If we take the trouble to dig beneath the surface, and it's some trouble, an intriguing story emerges
Mary Beard dives into the depiction of The Twelve Caesars as described by Suetonius in arts of the 13th till 18th century.
Even today Caesars are being recreated and re-energized in modern art, but the highlights in Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern are related to the meandering, sometimes astoundingly intricate and fuzzy, marred by fires and shipwrecked, not to mention retouching by other artists, histories of baroque art pieces through the courts of Europe.
She shows how these marble busts, a typical Roman type of depiction as compared to the full body Greek statues, have been seen as both a backing of absolute monarchical rule as a warning against its excesses. Even more interesting is that due to the proliferation of imperial art and statues as opposed to the earlier republican art, that even staunch republicans have used the imaginary of the Caesars as propaganda means.
A lot of the books dives into how hard it is to correctly attribute finds from the Roman world to the various Caesars. This is also largely dependent on the period that the emperors ruled, with Augustus having 10 times more depictions known than Julius Caesar, and attributions of busts going from Old Man, to Emperor, to Unknown Old Man once more in the span of centuries.
No biological son inherited the imperial throne in the first hundred years of empire.
Augustus is of pivotal importance, with his idealised, forever young portrait like a reversed The Picture of Dorian Grey of the real emperor.
The tidbits about emperors are a highlight of the book. For instance Beard tells us how Vespasianus introducing a tax on urine after a civil war is linked to the the saying “money doesn’t stink”.
The importance of coins as source of depiction and impact on western portraiture is also interesting. Nowadays coin cabinets are decidedly out of fashion to modern museumgoers, but for a very long time these were the pivotal depictions known of each of the emperors.
Another topic touched upon is how the twelve Caesars could be seen as a worldly pendant to the apostles, and how for instance Wedgewood capitalised on a desire of collectors to finish their "set" of emperors by specific production.
Also how historical subjects depicted in then modern dress changed to modern day sitters being depicted in Roman dress in the 16th century is fascinating.
So there is a lot to enjoy in the book, but at times I feel the narrative would have worked much better when Beard would have focused on fewer pieces and had been more clear on the overall narrative to impress upon the reader. Even though I am very much interested in both the Romans and Art History, the book assumes a very firm knowledge aforehand of the reader about both subjects and at time I found the book rather byzantine and confusing, despite all of the zest Mary Beard brings to the tale.
If we take the trouble to dig beneath the surface, and it's some trouble, an intriguing story emerges
Mary Beard dives into the depiction of The Twelve Caesars as described by Suetonius in arts of the 13th till 18th century.
Even today Caesars are being recreated and re-energized in modern art, but the highlights in Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern are related to the meandering, sometimes astoundingly intricate and fuzzy, marred by fires and shipwrecked, not to mention retouching by other artists, histories of baroque art pieces through the courts of Europe.
She shows how these marble busts, a typical Roman type of depiction as compared to the full body Greek statues, have been seen as both a backing of absolute monarchical rule as a warning against its excesses. Even more interesting is that due to the proliferation of imperial art and statues as opposed to the earlier republican art, that even staunch republicans have used the imaginary of the Caesars as propaganda means.
A lot of the books dives into how hard it is to correctly attribute finds from the Roman world to the various Caesars. This is also largely dependent on the period that the emperors ruled, with Augustus having 10 times more depictions known than Julius Caesar, and attributions of busts going from Old Man, to Emperor, to Unknown Old Man once more in the span of centuries.
No biological son inherited the imperial throne in the first hundred years of empire.
Augustus is of pivotal importance, with his idealised, forever young portrait like a reversed The Picture of Dorian Grey of the real emperor.
The tidbits about emperors are a highlight of the book. For instance Beard tells us how Vespasianus introducing a tax on urine after a civil war is linked to the the saying “money doesn’t stink”.
The importance of coins as source of depiction and impact on western portraiture is also interesting. Nowadays coin cabinets are decidedly out of fashion to modern museumgoers, but for a very long time these were the pivotal depictions known of each of the emperors.
Another topic touched upon is how the twelve Caesars could be seen as a worldly pendant to the apostles, and how for instance Wedgewood capitalised on a desire of collectors to finish their "set" of emperors by specific production.
Also how historical subjects depicted in then modern dress changed to modern day sitters being depicted in Roman dress in the 16th century is fascinating.
So there is a lot to enjoy in the book, but at times I feel the narrative would have worked much better when Beard would have focused on fewer pieces and had been more clear on the overall narrative to impress upon the reader. Even though I am very much interested in both the Romans and Art History, the book assumes a very firm knowledge aforehand of the reader about both subjects and at time I found the book rather byzantine and confusing, despite all of the zest Mary Beard brings to the tale.
November 14, 2021
Mary Beard is a brilliant historian. Looking forward to reading her books on the Roman Empire.
Read
February 11, 2024Ao contrário do que é meu hábito, depois de terminar esta leitura decidi ir espreitar as opiniões de outros leitores. De certa forma, aquilo que encontrei foi exatamente aquilo que já suspeitava ir encontrar: choque e desencanto por este ser um livro de história da arte: a palavra "César" vende - e foi isso que me levou a espreitar as reviews -, histórias sórdidas de conspiração, assassínio, incesto e todo o tipo de coisa que passa por entretenimento ao ponto de um subtítulo de duas linhas escapar à maioria das pessoas que compra este livro. E o curioso é que esse factor, como se depreende também da leitura, tem os seus ecos ao longo de toda a história dando origem a interpretações duvidosas, recriações extravagantes e identificações erróneas ao sabor do gosto e aspiração daqueles que enfrentam as imagens imperiais. Parece que os Césares continuam, como desde sempre, a inspirar um atrativo transgressivo que apaga a lógica a qualquer um que se detenha perante eles. E esse, no fundo, acaba por ser o cerne deste livro.
Tendo por base o pressuposto de que as suas imagens perduram ao longo da história precisamente pelas suas associações ao poder, e consequente corrupção, escândalo, usurpação, etc, Mary Beard constrói um livro académico (como as quase 100 páginas de notas e bibliografia no final vêm confirmar) apaixonante - a menos que se procure por um relato escabroso dos vícios dos Césares - um livro sobre arte, arte essa em que a imagem dos ditadores romanos tem um papel de destaque e influência em épocas posteriores como forma de afirmação dinástica, ora na sua vertente de translatio imperii - um dos conceitos mais fascinantes saídos da cultura clássica -, ora na de crítica social, política, individual, coletiva, cultural ou mesmo artística.
Seja a falar sobre genealogia, Heliogábalo a sufocar os seus convivas em pétalas de rosa (esta fica aqui só mesmo para vos tentar levar a descobrir a obra neoclássica de Alma-Tadema), a sala dos Césares no palácio dos Gonzagas, ou as tapeçarias de Henrique VIII, Beard consegue construir pontes, à boa maneira de qualquer historiador (que se preze), e mostrar-nos que tudo, desde sempre, está interligado.
A realidade é que o império romano serviu de modelo ao imperialismo e às ditaduras europeias até aos nossos dias, alimentando-as com uma imagética de poder riquíssima, e essa imagética inunda as páginas deste livro oferecendo a chave que descodifica os códigos culturais, políticos e sociais que ainda nos regem enquanto sociedade - mais ou menos afastada que se encontre destes arquétipos, mais ou menos permeável, mais ou menos sensível a eles.
Este livro não foi lido, foi degustado e absorvido do princípio ao fim. Não sendo, reconheço, um livro para a esmagadora maioria do público (que depois sai daqui desencantada e ultrajada por não ver cumprida uma promessa que inventou para si), acredito que possa ainda assim oferecer uma leitura interessante mesmo para quem apenas sinta curiosidade pela época ou a arte, e ainda que não tenha interesse académico na área.
Para lá de um brilhante estudo sobre a assimilação e adaptação das imagens de poder imperial, Doze Césares oferece uma reflexão sobre a cultura, o colecionismo, os museus, o público e a apreciação artística coeva aos nossos dias, não se esquecendo de dedicar um capítulo inteiro ao contraponto feminino dos Césares, fazendo uma leitura da perceção do poder feminino na época clássica e contemporânea. Junte-se a isso as maravilhosas ilustrações a cores (por vezes de página inteira), o papel de alta gramagem e uma revisão impecável - é tão raro poder dizer isto! - e este é um livro que vale mesmo o esforço de bíceps.
Tendo por base o pressuposto de que as suas imagens perduram ao longo da história precisamente pelas suas associações ao poder, e consequente corrupção, escândalo, usurpação, etc, Mary Beard constrói um livro académico (como as quase 100 páginas de notas e bibliografia no final vêm confirmar) apaixonante - a menos que se procure por um relato escabroso dos vícios dos Césares - um livro sobre arte, arte essa em que a imagem dos ditadores romanos tem um papel de destaque e influência em épocas posteriores como forma de afirmação dinástica, ora na sua vertente de translatio imperii - um dos conceitos mais fascinantes saídos da cultura clássica -, ora na de crítica social, política, individual, coletiva, cultural ou mesmo artística.
Dentro e fora dos palácios reais, e para uma audiência mais vasta, as imagens do poder dos imperadores romanos acompanharam sempre a representação dos seus vícios pessoais - e a sugestão da corrupção sistémica do regime imperial de que esses vícios eram um símbolo.
Seja a falar sobre genealogia, Heliogábalo a sufocar os seus convivas em pétalas de rosa (esta fica aqui só mesmo para vos tentar levar a descobrir a obra neoclássica de Alma-Tadema), a sala dos Césares no palácio dos Gonzagas, ou as tapeçarias de Henrique VIII, Beard consegue construir pontes, à boa maneira de qualquer historiador (que se preze), e mostrar-nos que tudo, desde sempre, está interligado.
Em todos os tipos de regimes, repúblicas, monarquias e pequenos feudos, em zonas de guerra e de de pilhagem e em negociações diplomáticas, antigas e modernas, [as esculturas clássicas] estiveram sempre em movimento: compradas e vendidas, roubadas, trocadas e oferecidas, foram transportadas por todo o continente europeu e até para fora deste. Um bloco de mármore da Grécia podia ser moldado com uma cabeça imperial em Roma, antes de acabar mil e quinhentos anos depois como uma oferenda diplomática ou um suborno elegantemente remodelada, num palácio principesco na Espanha moderna.
A realidade é que o império romano serviu de modelo ao imperialismo e às ditaduras europeias até aos nossos dias, alimentando-as com uma imagética de poder riquíssima, e essa imagética inunda as páginas deste livro oferecendo a chave que descodifica os códigos culturais, políticos e sociais que ainda nos regem enquanto sociedade - mais ou menos afastada que se encontre destes arquétipos, mais ou menos permeável, mais ou menos sensível a eles.
Foi César quem fixou firmemente a tradição, que durou em muitos locais até aos dias de hoje, de a cabeça do governante presente estar nos bolsos dos seus súbditos. Também foi o primeiro a usar múltiplas estátuas de si mesmo para exibir a sua imagem ao público em Roma e noutros lugares muito mais longínquos.
Este livro não foi lido, foi degustado e absorvido do princípio ao fim. Não sendo, reconheço, um livro para a esmagadora maioria do público (que depois sai daqui desencantada e ultrajada por não ver cumprida uma promessa que inventou para si), acredito que possa ainda assim oferecer uma leitura interessante mesmo para quem apenas sinta curiosidade pela época ou a arte, e ainda que não tenha interesse académico na área.
Para lá de um brilhante estudo sobre a assimilação e adaptação das imagens de poder imperial, Doze Césares oferece uma reflexão sobre a cultura, o colecionismo, os museus, o público e a apreciação artística coeva aos nossos dias, não se esquecendo de dedicar um capítulo inteiro ao contraponto feminino dos Césares, fazendo uma leitura da perceção do poder feminino na época clássica e contemporânea. Junte-se a isso as maravilhosas ilustrações a cores (por vezes de página inteira), o papel de alta gramagem e uma revisão impecável - é tão raro poder dizer isto! - e este é um livro que vale mesmo o esforço de bíceps.
November 8, 2021
I didn't even make it halfway through this book before I gave up. The author spent more time telling us what we don't know about ancient art than showing us the fascinating story of the Caesars through art. It could have been so good, but it just got repetitive and boring.
January 12, 2022
This book is quite astonishing. How an author can start with fascinating themes like classical antiquity, the twelve Caesars, roman politics, revolution, and wars, and turn it into such a mind-numbingly tedious digression on paintings, engravings, coins, and what this or that art historian might have thought about the authenticity of this sculpture...OMG who cares....
Message to my two weeks younger self: no, it won't get any less boring after the first chapter.
Message to my two weeks younger self: no, it won't get any less boring after the first chapter.
September 2, 2025
3.5 ✨️, actually. Meticulously researched but too long, and maybe a little bit too dry.
November 27, 2021
I was expecting a discussion of the lives of the Caesars as reflected in art. That is not this book. It’s art history. Abandoned at about the 40% point.
January 2, 2022
Gran decepción.
Aproveché los inútiles días del fin de 2021 y comienzo del 2022 para sentarme muy juicioso a leerlo. Pude terminarlo en dos sentadas (más del 25% del libro son notas) y la verdad quedé triste.
Después de toda la expectativa creada con el libro (que se lanzó con mucha pompa justo a finales de 2021) y también de pagar un precio relativamente alto por él (casi el doble de lo que vale un libro de dimensiones similares), me encontré (como posiblemente lo van a hacer muchos de lo que lo lean con una gran expectativa como yo) con un texto relativamente técnico y árido de historia del arte, producto de un trabajo de investigación de su autora. No es el tipo de divulgación que esperaba.
Para ahorrarles la decepción voy a resumir el libro en unas pocas frases: este no es un libro sobre los emperadores Romanos, ni sobre sus vidas, ni sobre los convulsos hechos que rodearon la Roma autocrática de principios de nuestra era.
"Doce Césares" es un libro (bastante académico para el lector casual) de historia del arte y en particular sobre las representaciones que, especialmente desde el renacimiento Europeo (siglo xv), artistas de todos los tiempos realizaron de las figuras muy influyentes de los Césares, los doce Césares del título, cuyas vidas describe Suetonio en su reconocido clásico (y que será el libro que lea a continuación y con el que debí realmente empezar).
"Pero, si es tan decepcionante ¿por qué lo leyó completo?", me preguntará el lector de esta reseña.
Dos respuestas: 1) porque no acostumbro abandonar ningún libro, por pesado que sea (obviamente no es una regla escrita en piedra, he abandonado y abandonaré libros, pero como algo excepcional); y 2) porque el libro no es completamente "malo" (casi ningún libro preparado con celo por su autor y editores, lo es) o completamente incomprensible.
Por el lado positivo hay que señalar que la edición de Crítica (que fue la que adquirí y leí) es simplemente impecable. Para ser justos, como objeto, ¡el libro si vale la inversión!. El papel es de buena calidad, grueso y blanco (ese tipo de papel que uno sabe nunca se tornará amarillo como muchas de las ediciones de bolsillo que adquirimos los más tacaños).
El texto esta profusamente ilustrado con imágenes de las obras de arte que se describen en las historias que Mary Beard teje alrededor de la influencia de los Césares en el arte (en especial en el retrato) del renacimiento y la ilustración. Las imágenes son a todo color y pueden verse muchos de los detalles importantes. Todas ellas vienen mezcladas con el texto en lugar de aparecer en páginas separadas (una práctica que haría muy incómoda la lectura de un libro como este).
El contenido es también impecable. Mi decepción no está relacionada con el hecho de que sea correcto o no (¡ni más faltaba! ¿quién soy yo para juzgarlo?); sino con el hecho de que no aporta mucha información apasionante o relevante sobre el tema del que "parece" tratar y por el que la mayoría lo adquirimos: la vida de los Césares.
Por supuesto se aprenden muchas cosas al leer con cuidado las casi 350 páginas del texto. Y también sobre la vida de los doce Césares, aunque a fuerza de repetir una y otra vez algunas de las historias sobre ellas recogidas en la obra de Suetonio y que fueron inspiración para las obras de arte de las que si trata el texto.
Hay que ser de "palo" para no sorprenderse (spoiler altert) por el hecho, revelado por las fuentes académicas y por la misma Beard (una de esas fuentes), de que la imagen que hoy tenemos de los 12 Césares, de sus rostros en particular podría ser falsa.
Incluso la imagen del mismísimo Julio Cesar, a las que nos hemos acostumbrado en tantas representaciones en la historia del arte y la cultura pop, es incierta. Aparte de su escueta imagen en monedas de su tiempo y de cuyo origen no hay duda, no hay casi ningún busto del Dictador que pueda certificarse como esculpido en su tiempo o esculpido basándose en la imagen del personaje real.
Y si eso pasa con Julio Cesar, ya podrán imaginarse lo que pasa con los semblantes de otros emperadores o peor aún de las mujeres en sus vidas. Ese es el tema central justamente del texto.
El trabajo de Beard, que siempre ha sido una lectora muy juiciosa de la evidencia arqueológica (y ahora descubro, también de la artística), es impecable. Su análisis del papel que la imagen de los Césares tuvo en la política a lo largo de los últimos 2.000 años, su rol como medios de crítica social y política desde el arte, en tiempos en los que no habían otros medios para expresarse, es muy original y reveladora.
En fin, el libro es decepcionante, por las inadecuadas expectativas, pero muy informativo.
Claro que no hay que culpar de la decepción a Mary Beard o a los editores.
La verdad es que después de leer el libro y releer la descripción o la contraportada, se da uno cuenta de que el contenido es justo lo que se promete desde el principio.
¿Qué es entonces lo que hace que muchos de quiénes como yo, aficionado a la historiografía, la arqueología y los estudios clásicos, caigamos en la trampa de un libro como "Doce Césares"?
Puede ser la fama de divulgadora de su autora. Y es que todo hay que decirlo: Mary Beard es toda una personalidad televisiva, una experta que, como presentadora de todos sus documentales, sorprende por su carisma y capacidad para comunicar a un público muy amplio, contenidos normalmente considerados densos. Para mi, Mary Beard es para la historiografía lo que Carl Sagan fue para las ciencias espaciales.
Ya me ha pasado, con este libro, en dos ocasiones. Atraído por el nombre de la autora he adquirido y leído libros que (siendo más costoso de lo habitual) no están precisamente dirigidos a un aficionado como yo.
Pueden ser entonces los editores.
Es claro que un libro que es resultado de un juicioso trabajo de investigación de una experta clasicista, no debería ser promocionado y vendido como se hace: como un libro de divulgación, apto para todo público.
Mi opinión es que algunos de los libros de Mary Beard los han vendido por lo que no son, lucrándose ciertamente de su fama como divulgadora.
No quiero que esto suene a un juicio moralizante, sino más bien una advertencia; o por lo menos lo es para mí: es claro que para el próximo libro de la Beard, seré mucho más juicioso al verificar su contenido.
Aproveché los inútiles días del fin de 2021 y comienzo del 2022 para sentarme muy juicioso a leerlo. Pude terminarlo en dos sentadas (más del 25% del libro son notas) y la verdad quedé triste.
Después de toda la expectativa creada con el libro (que se lanzó con mucha pompa justo a finales de 2021) y también de pagar un precio relativamente alto por él (casi el doble de lo que vale un libro de dimensiones similares), me encontré (como posiblemente lo van a hacer muchos de lo que lo lean con una gran expectativa como yo) con un texto relativamente técnico y árido de historia del arte, producto de un trabajo de investigación de su autora. No es el tipo de divulgación que esperaba.
Para ahorrarles la decepción voy a resumir el libro en unas pocas frases: este no es un libro sobre los emperadores Romanos, ni sobre sus vidas, ni sobre los convulsos hechos que rodearon la Roma autocrática de principios de nuestra era.
"Doce Césares" es un libro (bastante académico para el lector casual) de historia del arte y en particular sobre las representaciones que, especialmente desde el renacimiento Europeo (siglo xv), artistas de todos los tiempos realizaron de las figuras muy influyentes de los Césares, los doce Césares del título, cuyas vidas describe Suetonio en su reconocido clásico (y que será el libro que lea a continuación y con el que debí realmente empezar).
"Pero, si es tan decepcionante ¿por qué lo leyó completo?", me preguntará el lector de esta reseña.
Dos respuestas: 1) porque no acostumbro abandonar ningún libro, por pesado que sea (obviamente no es una regla escrita en piedra, he abandonado y abandonaré libros, pero como algo excepcional); y 2) porque el libro no es completamente "malo" (casi ningún libro preparado con celo por su autor y editores, lo es) o completamente incomprensible.
Por el lado positivo hay que señalar que la edición de Crítica (que fue la que adquirí y leí) es simplemente impecable. Para ser justos, como objeto, ¡el libro si vale la inversión!. El papel es de buena calidad, grueso y blanco (ese tipo de papel que uno sabe nunca se tornará amarillo como muchas de las ediciones de bolsillo que adquirimos los más tacaños).
El texto esta profusamente ilustrado con imágenes de las obras de arte que se describen en las historias que Mary Beard teje alrededor de la influencia de los Césares en el arte (en especial en el retrato) del renacimiento y la ilustración. Las imágenes son a todo color y pueden verse muchos de los detalles importantes. Todas ellas vienen mezcladas con el texto en lugar de aparecer en páginas separadas (una práctica que haría muy incómoda la lectura de un libro como este).
El contenido es también impecable. Mi decepción no está relacionada con el hecho de que sea correcto o no (¡ni más faltaba! ¿quién soy yo para juzgarlo?); sino con el hecho de que no aporta mucha información apasionante o relevante sobre el tema del que "parece" tratar y por el que la mayoría lo adquirimos: la vida de los Césares.
Por supuesto se aprenden muchas cosas al leer con cuidado las casi 350 páginas del texto. Y también sobre la vida de los doce Césares, aunque a fuerza de repetir una y otra vez algunas de las historias sobre ellas recogidas en la obra de Suetonio y que fueron inspiración para las obras de arte de las que si trata el texto.
Hay que ser de "palo" para no sorprenderse (spoiler altert) por el hecho, revelado por las fuentes académicas y por la misma Beard (una de esas fuentes), de que la imagen que hoy tenemos de los 12 Césares, de sus rostros en particular podría ser falsa.
Incluso la imagen del mismísimo Julio Cesar, a las que nos hemos acostumbrado en tantas representaciones en la historia del arte y la cultura pop, es incierta. Aparte de su escueta imagen en monedas de su tiempo y de cuyo origen no hay duda, no hay casi ningún busto del Dictador que pueda certificarse como esculpido en su tiempo o esculpido basándose en la imagen del personaje real.
Y si eso pasa con Julio Cesar, ya podrán imaginarse lo que pasa con los semblantes de otros emperadores o peor aún de las mujeres en sus vidas. Ese es el tema central justamente del texto.
El trabajo de Beard, que siempre ha sido una lectora muy juiciosa de la evidencia arqueológica (y ahora descubro, también de la artística), es impecable. Su análisis del papel que la imagen de los Césares tuvo en la política a lo largo de los últimos 2.000 años, su rol como medios de crítica social y política desde el arte, en tiempos en los que no habían otros medios para expresarse, es muy original y reveladora.
En fin, el libro es decepcionante, por las inadecuadas expectativas, pero muy informativo.
Claro que no hay que culpar de la decepción a Mary Beard o a los editores.
La verdad es que después de leer el libro y releer la descripción o la contraportada, se da uno cuenta de que el contenido es justo lo que se promete desde el principio.
¿Qué es entonces lo que hace que muchos de quiénes como yo, aficionado a la historiografía, la arqueología y los estudios clásicos, caigamos en la trampa de un libro como "Doce Césares"?
Puede ser la fama de divulgadora de su autora. Y es que todo hay que decirlo: Mary Beard es toda una personalidad televisiva, una experta que, como presentadora de todos sus documentales, sorprende por su carisma y capacidad para comunicar a un público muy amplio, contenidos normalmente considerados densos. Para mi, Mary Beard es para la historiografía lo que Carl Sagan fue para las ciencias espaciales.
Ya me ha pasado, con este libro, en dos ocasiones. Atraído por el nombre de la autora he adquirido y leído libros que (siendo más costoso de lo habitual) no están precisamente dirigidos a un aficionado como yo.
Pueden ser entonces los editores.
Es claro que un libro que es resultado de un juicioso trabajo de investigación de una experta clasicista, no debería ser promocionado y vendido como se hace: como un libro de divulgación, apto para todo público.
Mi opinión es que algunos de los libros de Mary Beard los han vendido por lo que no son, lucrándose ciertamente de su fama como divulgadora.
No quiero que esto suene a un juicio moralizante, sino más bien una advertencia; o por lo menos lo es para mí: es claro que para el próximo libro de la Beard, seré mucho más juicioso al verificar su contenido.
September 7, 2024
I love you queen Mary but this was so boring
August 5, 2024
Stumbled onto Mary Beard because she was at the Galle Literary Festival 2024 but I didn't buy a ticket for her sessions because I didn't know who she was. But picked up her book SPQR at the festival, haven't read it yet. Twelve Caesars makes me wish I had attended one of her sessions because this woman knows how to take a boring tale of ancient roman iconography and how it shaped the world and tell it in a way that is riverting.
June 29, 2022
"Mary Beard", need I say more.
May 18, 2022
Brilliant book. Read and listened on audible.
February 11, 2022
Having read other books by Mary Beard, I expected this one to be one of her excellent works bringing ancient history to life, extrapolating the likely from the known facts, and clearly delineating between the two. Instead, "Twelve Caesars" examines the ways the images of Roman emperors were used during their reigns and then later in Western art, from medieval through modern times. It turns out there is an enormous amount of confusion and error in identifying exactly which emperor is depicted in a lot of this art; the most reliable images are the tiny profiles shown on coins, since they nearly always bear the emperor's name, and even those who occupied the throne for mere months managed to mint coins. Beard goes beyond problems in identification, examining the messages later artists were trying to communicate by using imperial images; in this case, while the messages could have been clear to contemporary audiences, they are mostly lost to our modern culture, whose only knowledge of the Caesars comes from movies, or at best, a translation of Suetonius. Besides being interesting, the book itself is gorgeous, filled with color plates and printed on luxurious coated stock.
December 11, 2023
First: I get what everyone's saying! This isn't really a book suited to a wider audience, the writing is dense and the contents are very detailed and overall it's just a proper academic book. But I don't think it's fair to rate this solely on the way it was published and I am exactly the target audience! I'm doing my history degree, I love Mary Beard, and I find depictions of historical rulers fascinating.
I have to say, I didn't know much about most of the Caesars in this book, nor had I ever noticed or heard of the phenomenon of the "Twelve Caesars" but I found that Beard explained it very well and led us through a history of the phenomenon from antiquity up to modernity. It's so interesting to see how these people and their faces and stories have enthralled viewers for millemnia and how they're continuing to do so.
I was already really liking this when Beard did one of the last chapters on the way the women in the lives of the Caesars were and still are prepared and that really sold me. Here we see loads of points that can be made for female consorts throughout all of his history like how, no matter how little power they have legally, their biggest power is being able to birth an heir, something that their husband will never be able to do.
I listened to the audiobook for this, it's read by the author and it felt like I was listening to her just lecturing and I really loved that and I think it added that extra something!
I have to say, I didn't know much about most of the Caesars in this book, nor had I ever noticed or heard of the phenomenon of the "Twelve Caesars" but I found that Beard explained it very well and led us through a history of the phenomenon from antiquity up to modernity. It's so interesting to see how these people and their faces and stories have enthralled viewers for millemnia and how they're continuing to do so.
I was already really liking this when Beard did one of the last chapters on the way the women in the lives of the Caesars were and still are prepared and that really sold me. Here we see loads of points that can be made for female consorts throughout all of his history like how, no matter how little power they have legally, their biggest power is being able to birth an heir, something that their husband will never be able to do.
I listened to the audiobook for this, it's read by the author and it felt like I was listening to her just lecturing and I really loved that and I think it added that extra something!
July 4, 2025
Een goed staaltje cultuurgeschiedenis, die niet alleen de afbeelding van de keizers in de Romeinse wereld ontleedt, maar ook de obsessie die opeenvolgende generaties na de beruchte datum van 476 n.Chr. hadden met de Romeinse imperatores. Het legt bloot hoe een bonte verzameling leden van de Italiaanse elite die allemaal bijna twee duizend jaar dood zijn, er toch nog in slagen te bepalen hoe wij naar macht kijken en het uitbeelden.
May Beard laat zien waarom zij vandaag de dag verdiend een van de meest vermaarde classici is, door het boek op een erg toegankelijke manier te schrijven, zonder daarbij in de valstrikken te stappen die nogal vaak de kop opsteken bij het schrijven van geschiedenisboeken die niet enkel op mede-historici gericht zijn. Ze bevraagt alle bronnen kritisch, heeft een uitgebreide selectie aan werken geconsulteerd (zie haar bibliografie en voeten), maar slaagt die nauwkeurige geschiedkunde te combineren met een erg amusante en plezierige schrijfstijl, waar ik enkele keren hard heb om moeten lachen.
Rome werpt haar schaduw al eeuwen op de praktijk van de macht, maar Beard onthult met dit boek wat precies al eeuwen die schaduw werpt.
May Beard laat zien waarom zij vandaag de dag verdiend een van de meest vermaarde classici is, door het boek op een erg toegankelijke manier te schrijven, zonder daarbij in de valstrikken te stappen die nogal vaak de kop opsteken bij het schrijven van geschiedenisboeken die niet enkel op mede-historici gericht zijn. Ze bevraagt alle bronnen kritisch, heeft een uitgebreide selectie aan werken geconsulteerd (zie haar bibliografie en voeten), maar slaagt die nauwkeurige geschiedkunde te combineren met een erg amusante en plezierige schrijfstijl, waar ik enkele keren hard heb om moeten lachen.
Rome werpt haar schaduw al eeuwen op de praktijk van de macht, maar Beard onthult met dit boek wat precies al eeuwen die schaduw werpt.
March 4, 2024
art is so cool! i love art!
December 31, 2021
Twelve Caesars ha sido una lectura pandémica ideal, ya que hace casi dos años que no piso un museo. Este libro bellamente ilustrado no se centra en la biografía de los doce Césares agrupados por primera vez por Suetonio, sino que recupera la historia de su representación en el arte desde la antigüedad hasta nuestros días. Estas imágenes siguen sorprendiendo por su ubicuidad, pero para llegar a establecer un diálogo con ellas y percibir todo aquello que evocan es necesario aprender su lenguaje.
Mary Beard investiga las vicisitudes que han atravesado estos objetos, desde las controversias con respecto a su origen y antigüedad hasta la manera en que se han usado para legitimar todo tipo de discursos. Es verdad que la exposición puede parecer desordenada, pero hay una clara razón para ello:
Personalmente me pareció muy entretenido seguir a Mary Beard en su labor detectivesca entre museos, archivos, y colecciones particulares, y descubrir el poder de la mirada espectadora para crear categorías como emperador/emperatriz, virtud, o decadencia.
“There have always been plenty of people who did not know or care anything about the ancient classical world, or did not have the time, inclination, resources or cultural capital to engage with these ancient rulers and their stories, any more than with curiosities of Ovid. Even if Classics was never quite so exclusively the privilege of rich white males as is often claimed (the British tradition, for example, of working-class Classics is a rich one), the classical heritage never is, or was, the be-all and end-all. The fact remains, though, that much of European art speaks to us in more interesting, complicated and surprising ways if we do engage with that heritage, emperors included.”
Mary Beard investiga las vicisitudes que han atravesado estos objetos, desde las controversias con respecto a su origen y antigüedad hasta la manera en que se han usado para legitimar todo tipo de discursos. Es verdad que la exposición puede parecer desordenada, pero hay una clara razón para ello:
“No doubt these works of art were viewed and valued differently as they moved around (and that will be one of my concerns), but they certainly did not belong to any one place. Nor did many of the sculptured images belong to any one time either. The restorations, the imitations, the hybridity and the uncertain boundaries between modern and ancient undermine any straightforwardly chronological treatment. Part of their pleasure is that, as ‘works in progress’, they refuse to be pinned down to a single date. They are, to adopt a favourite term of some modern historians of the Renaissance, anachronic: they resist and transcend linear chronology.”
Personalmente me pareció muy entretenido seguir a Mary Beard en su labor detectivesca entre museos, archivos, y colecciones particulares, y descubrir el poder de la mirada espectadora para crear categorías como emperador/emperatriz, virtud, o decadencia.
January 8, 2022
The view I sometimes held of Classicists was that they were likely old white men who had taken up the study of ancient lusts and violence as a framework to hang a lifetime’s telling of rosary beards of their own sins upon.
But that is not the reason I took up Twelve Caesers by Mary Beard the Don with the quiet hair and the nice smile.
It was because I could never read the iconography of the heads I saw in the British Museum posed on plinths. Who were these guys? And what was the point of them? . As Beard mentions in an interview talking of them ‘they’re some of the nastiest people in the history of humanity’
Having all kinds of cobwebby thinking swept away by the ever diligent Don, made this a book that an amateur can read and come out with some small ability to read statuary, those puzzling males in roman frocks with plant parts, laurels? On their heads.
But for me the most exciting moment was having the Don at this readers’s shoulder considering the tapestries on the Kings staircase at Hampton Court To know the original weavings were based on designs from Lucan’s Pharsalia , but became gradually reinterpreted as a series of illustrations of Suetonious ‘Life of the Caeser’
The Pharsalia by Lucan, tells the story of the great Roman civil war between Julius Caesar and his legions on the one side and Pompey the Great and his supporters in the Senate on the other.
Lucan was a close friend of Nero’s who secured him the post of Quaester. He was forced to commit suicide by opening his veins , after involvement in a plot. The book is dedicated to Nero, and a denunciationof civil war.
How different then the story of Henry VIII’s tapestry origin's after the eagle eyed Don has looked them over.
Nietzsche argued philologists were completely unfitted for their task since they were one and all incapable of entering into the spirit of antiquity.
But the Don puts that to rest, and informs for me a radical lively engagement with images in public places.
A work of a considerable sleuth coupled with serious erudition, gave me a new dynamic relationship to those guys on plinths and my views of them.
What those statues I looked at were all about , the dynamics of them in context of the times and conversations we are having about power and authority and most of all it was delightful to understand the story of Henry VIII tapestries. And learn about Lucan in the time of Nero.
But that is not the reason I took up Twelve Caesers by Mary Beard the Don with the quiet hair and the nice smile.
It was because I could never read the iconography of the heads I saw in the British Museum posed on plinths. Who were these guys? And what was the point of them? . As Beard mentions in an interview talking of them ‘they’re some of the nastiest people in the history of humanity’
Having all kinds of cobwebby thinking swept away by the ever diligent Don, made this a book that an amateur can read and come out with some small ability to read statuary, those puzzling males in roman frocks with plant parts, laurels? On their heads.
But for me the most exciting moment was having the Don at this readers’s shoulder considering the tapestries on the Kings staircase at Hampton Court To know the original weavings were based on designs from Lucan’s Pharsalia , but became gradually reinterpreted as a series of illustrations of Suetonious ‘Life of the Caeser’
The Pharsalia by Lucan, tells the story of the great Roman civil war between Julius Caesar and his legions on the one side and Pompey the Great and his supporters in the Senate on the other.
Lucan was a close friend of Nero’s who secured him the post of Quaester. He was forced to commit suicide by opening his veins , after involvement in a plot. The book is dedicated to Nero, and a denunciationof civil war.
How different then the story of Henry VIII’s tapestry origin's after the eagle eyed Don has looked them over.
Nietzsche argued philologists were completely unfitted for their task since they were one and all incapable of entering into the spirit of antiquity.
But the Don puts that to rest, and informs for me a radical lively engagement with images in public places.
A work of a considerable sleuth coupled with serious erudition, gave me a new dynamic relationship to those guys on plinths and my views of them.
What those statues I looked at were all about , the dynamics of them in context of the times and conversations we are having about power and authority and most of all it was delightful to understand the story of Henry VIII tapestries. And learn about Lucan in the time of Nero.
September 5, 2023
Beard applies her usual approach to art: reception history motivates (i) skepticism about our ability to know Rome and (ii) sketchy discussions of other ages.
March 11, 2022
I loved reading Mary Beard’s SPQR - A history of Ancient Rome. “Twelve Caesars” is another history book that focuses on the Roman Empire, but it is not a typical one.
It is really a book about the history and influence of another book - “The Twelve Caesars” by Suetonius. That book is a collection of accounts of the lives of the first 12 Emperors - actually 11, since the book also includes Julius Caesar, who was not an emperor but established pattern. Suetonius was widely read in antiquity and continued to be read up ;through the Renaissance and the rise of modern dynasties in Europe. Beard develops this idea to show the influence of ideas about emperors on the art, culture, and politics of the West well into the modern era. The Romans produced lots of coinage, most of which had images of emperors, as well as identifying text. As art developed, these coins were linkages to pictures, tapestries, and sculpture. She makes the case that sculptures of emperors, often in sets of 12, were highly prominent examples of popular art, indeed so popular that’s many tourists fail to realize the important place that images of emperors have held. That images of emperors are all around us in some places does not mean that the details of their lives are well known or that the background of particular images are well understood. One of the more interesting parts of the book concerns the mistakes that supposed experts have made in understanding the details of these emperors. Many of us have encountered the lives of Caesar, Augustus, or even Vespasian. Details on the other bios run thin quickly, except perhaps if you have read the “I, Claudius” or watched it on Masterpiece Theater in the 1970s. Beard concludes with a discussion on the relative lack of coverage and standard accounts for the wives of the Emperors.
The writing is engaging and clear. There are lots of examples. Professor Beard has a skill and making what could be very dry material come alive. I suspect that this book might also be valuable as background to travel to Europe, which seems to be opening up. My only issue now is that I have to go back and reread Suetonius.
It is really a book about the history and influence of another book - “The Twelve Caesars” by Suetonius. That book is a collection of accounts of the lives of the first 12 Emperors - actually 11, since the book also includes Julius Caesar, who was not an emperor but established pattern. Suetonius was widely read in antiquity and continued to be read up ;through the Renaissance and the rise of modern dynasties in Europe. Beard develops this idea to show the influence of ideas about emperors on the art, culture, and politics of the West well into the modern era. The Romans produced lots of coinage, most of which had images of emperors, as well as identifying text. As art developed, these coins were linkages to pictures, tapestries, and sculpture. She makes the case that sculptures of emperors, often in sets of 12, were highly prominent examples of popular art, indeed so popular that’s many tourists fail to realize the important place that images of emperors have held. That images of emperors are all around us in some places does not mean that the details of their lives are well known or that the background of particular images are well understood. One of the more interesting parts of the book concerns the mistakes that supposed experts have made in understanding the details of these emperors. Many of us have encountered the lives of Caesar, Augustus, or even Vespasian. Details on the other bios run thin quickly, except perhaps if you have read the “I, Claudius” or watched it on Masterpiece Theater in the 1970s. Beard concludes with a discussion on the relative lack of coverage and standard accounts for the wives of the Emperors.
The writing is engaging and clear. There are lots of examples. Professor Beard has a skill and making what could be very dry material come alive. I suspect that this book might also be valuable as background to travel to Europe, which seems to be opening up. My only issue now is that I have to go back and reread Suetonius.
November 10, 2023
比起說這是本歷史書，這更像是一本藝術歷史書。十二位君王包括我們常聽到的凱薩、奧古斯都aka屋大維、還有尼祿，有興趣的可以參考蘇維托尼烏斯的《羅馬十二帝王傳》。書中引用的資訊很多、尤其各種彩圖，讓我看了很過癮，這本真的要買紙本書，不然看電子書應該會哭哭。
書中聚集的這段時間可以說是羅馬最輝煌的時光，也因此皇帝們的肖像常常成為藝術創作的素材，連當代的現代藝術也可以看到不少。「在二十世紀之前，現代藝術家、歷史學家和古物學家並未意識到，從奧古斯都以來的帝王肖像大多關注的是政治身分而非個人特徵。」書裡其實花了很大的篇幅來解釋不同時期與藝術品上的帝王相，但我最驚訝的是作者花了一個章節來分析帝王們的老婆，即使資訊不多，還是讓這些鮮為人知的女子擁有自己的舞台✨
身為臉盲症患者的我不免佩服起歷史學家們，明明全部的頭像看起來都很相似，但他們卻可以依細微的特徵來辨別大部分的作品，不然把路人當帝王展示就搞笑了哈。如果要說缺點的話，那就是作者喋喋不休的風格依舊，請務必要耐著性子閱讀。
書中聚集的這段時間可以說是羅馬最輝煌的時光，也因此皇帝們的肖像常常成為藝術創作的素材，連當代的現代藝術也可以看到不少。「在二十世紀之前，現代藝術家、歷史學家和古物學家並未意識到，從奧古斯都以來的帝王肖像大多關注的是政治身分而非個人特徵。」書裡其實花了很大的篇幅來解釋不同時期與藝術品上的帝王相，但我最驚訝的是作者花了一個章節來分析帝王們的老婆，即使資訊不多，還是讓這些鮮為人知的女子擁有自己的舞台✨
身為臉盲症患者的我不免佩服起歷史學家們，明明全部的頭像看起來都很相似，但他們卻可以依細微的特徵來辨別大部分的作品，不然把路人當帝王展示就搞笑了哈。如果要說缺點的話，那就是作者喋喋不休的風格依舊，請務必要耐著性子閱讀。
December 4, 2021
Lo adquirí pensando en el rigor histórico de la autora y llevado por la experiencia en la lectura de anteriores obras. Una desilusión, trata de describir la influencia , en el arte , escultura , numismatica, pintura , etc de los 12 Cesares.
Ningún interés, absurda salvo para eruditos , no pude pasar del primer capítulo
Ningún interés, absurda salvo para eruditos , no pude pasar del primer capítulo
October 25, 2021
Mary Beard siempre resulta apasionante. Aquí investiga cómo se han representado las imágenes de los doce primeros césares a lo largo de la historia, desde los bustos que la arqueología devuelve hasta el cine y el cómic, y qué dice esa representación de cada momento histórico y de la imagen que tenemos del poder. Crítica ha acompañado la edición de decenas de imágenes, reproducciones de cuadros y fotografías de detalle para acompañar el texto de la historiadora, en lo que supone un apasionante viaje a las fuentes del rostro del poder.
February 11, 2022
It’s an interesting account of the representation of imperial power and Roman emperors in Western art trough centuries. Mary Beard, as usually, tells an interesting story illustrated by many artistic examples, some of which reveals author’s keen interested in the topic and the fascination of the Classics. The only thing bothering me, that sometimes it was quite visible the basis of the book was public lectures that had been later edited into this book. I.e. sometimes examples or topics seem a bit disconnected from the main argument of the book.
December 12, 2022
A genuinely fascinating look at the history of the 12 Caesars through art. Mary Beard is one of the most engaging historical writers I have ever read. She has the ability to succintly and brilliantly share the vast depths of her knowledge in a way that brings the ancient world vividly to life.
April 24, 2024
My bad, I thought this book was about the Roman Empire.
December 7, 2022
I was looking for a copy of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair and accidentally stumbled on a book on the history and constantly reinvention of the artistic rendering of the Roman emperors. Twelve Caesars is a fascinating read, though it often feels like an anecdotal appendix to a subject matter too widely ranging for a single text.
Though there were others after them, the first twelve dictators in Roman history are the ones who committed the most heinous crimes and attracted the most memorable rumors. Throughout modern history, these twelve have variously been lauded, condemned, and used for all sorts of propaganda purposes, both as a collective group and as individuals. But with thousands of coins and all sorts of other sculptures repudiated to be from their own lifetimes, what true information do we have about their appearances? Twelve Caesars is a case by case study of what artists and historians have gotten right and, more famously, wrong in their assertions about the historic significance on art works and texts concerning these men. Monarchs and dictators tend to love them while rebels and republicans revile everything they stood for. Christians have often identified them as both persecutors and noble characters.
This book was full on interesting stories, but I personally would have appreciated something a little more beginner in contextualization the emperors and something with a little more of a fluid through line. Audio was definitely not ideal for this one, but in paper I think it would feel more like a reference material than a read through text. Even so, all of it was fascinating.
Though there were others after them, the first twelve dictators in Roman history are the ones who committed the most heinous crimes and attracted the most memorable rumors. Throughout modern history, these twelve have variously been lauded, condemned, and used for all sorts of propaganda purposes, both as a collective group and as individuals. But with thousands of coins and all sorts of other sculptures repudiated to be from their own lifetimes, what true information do we have about their appearances? Twelve Caesars is a case by case study of what artists and historians have gotten right and, more famously, wrong in their assertions about the historic significance on art works and texts concerning these men. Monarchs and dictators tend to love them while rebels and republicans revile everything they stood for. Christians have often identified them as both persecutors and noble characters.
This book was full on interesting stories, but I personally would have appreciated something a little more beginner in contextualization the emperors and something with a little more of a fluid through line. Audio was definitely not ideal for this one, but in paper I think it would feel more like a reference material than a read through text. Even so, all of it was fascinating.
May 13, 2022
I do love Mary Beard.
Right off the bat, a beautiful book (full colour pictures, creamy paper) and highly readable. The middle got a little into the weeds, talking about where this painting went and which Duke commissioned that painting, but the beginning and ending more than made up for it.
The very fact that all ancient representations of imperial characters are identified based on hunches and more often than not turn out to be "an unidentified Roman", but also the fact that it doesn't matter. Food for thought. A great read for anyone interested in the Ancient Roman world, and for anyone interested in how art and power go hand in hand.
Right off the bat, a beautiful book (full colour pictures, creamy paper) and highly readable. The middle got a little into the weeds, talking about where this painting went and which Duke commissioned that painting, but the beginning and ending more than made up for it.
The very fact that all ancient representations of imperial characters are identified based on hunches and more often than not turn out to be "an unidentified Roman", but also the fact that it doesn't matter. Food for thought. A great read for anyone interested in the Ancient Roman world, and for anyone interested in how art and power go hand in hand.
August 12, 2025
Het was leuk en interessant om eens een keer een boek te lezen over kunstgeschiedenis. Ik vond alleen de ondertitel (“De verbeelding van de macht van de antieke wereld tot nu”) een beetje misleidend: Mary Beard schrijft eigenlijk vooral over hoe de antieke keizersbeelden verkeerd geïdentificeerd werden in de periode tussen 1500-1900. Dat is wel een lange periode, maar niet “de antieke wereld” en ook niet “nu”.
Verder vond ik dat ze iets te veel verwijzingen maakt naar vrij obscure historische figuren zonder verdere toelichting. Dat zorgt ervoor dat dit boek niet toegankelijk is voor iedereen, en dat je vaak je telefoon erbij moet pakken om extra informatie op te zoeken.
Verder vond ik dat ze iets te veel verwijzingen maakt naar vrij obscure historische figuren zonder verdere toelichting. Dat zorgt ervoor dat dit boek niet toegankelijk is voor iedereen, en dat je vaak je telefoon erbij moet pakken om extra informatie op te zoeken.
March 14, 2022
What began as an interesting look into a subject-matter area about which I knew very little--slowly transformed into a boring drag that barely held my interest. I'm fascinated that there are historians who focus on something with as little consequence as the depiction of Roman emperors throughout time--although I know that Mary Beard focuses on much more than this. I'd give this 2.5 stars if I could, but I'll round up to be nice.
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