In 49 BC, Julius Caesar fearlessly led his army to Rome and assumed control of the strife-torn city. Now, almost 2000 years later, Caesar has taken the city by storm once again, this time as the subject of an exhibit examining his life and legacy. Titled, “Julius Caesar – Man, Feats and Myth,” the exhibit can be seen at the Cloister of Bramante, adjacent to the church of Santa Maria della Pace. Touted as the first show ever to focus solely on Caesar, “Julius Caesar – Man, Feats, and Myth” showcases some 200 objects, ranging in date from antiquity to the 20th century.
The exhibit begins by recounting Caesar’s biography through the presentation of objects related to his life and achivements. Marble portrait busts of the great dictator and his contemporaries, Greek-influenced luxury objects of types common in Rome during Caesar’s life, arms and armor from the Gallic Wars, Egyptian and Egyptianizing objects testifying to his stint in Egypt and his affair with Cleopatra, and fragments from the public architecture he constructed in Rome paint a vivid picture of Caesar’s life and achievements.
But this exhibit goes beyond biography to examine how the myth of Caesar developed in the centuries since following his assassination in 44 BC. It first examines his divinization and the cult that sprang up in the immediate years after Caesar’s death, and then moves on to document the legends about him that survived the Middle Ages and attracted fresh attention during the Renaissance, when the Roman noble, Cesare Borgia, honored his namesake by commissioning an intricately crafted sword with the motto “Aut Caesar, aut nihil” or “Caesar or nothing.”
The exhibition also shows how, in the Neoclassical era of the 18th and 19th centuries, Caesar became newly popular, winning the admiration of such military greats as Napoleon Bonaparte, who was fascinated by the achievements of his imperial forerunner. A host of paintings by such artists as Rubens and Tiepolo remind the viewer of the ways in which Caesar served as a role model in the era of European nation building.
Finally, a small theater attests to our continued fascination with Caesar. Running in a constant loop are excerpts from famous films that made Caesar a star on the silver screen in the 20th century.
Julius Caesar: Man, Feats, and Myth. On exhibit until 3 May 2009. Via della Pace. Tue – Fri 10:00 – 20:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 -21:00. 10 euro entrance fee. On Tuesdays, entrance is reduced to 7 euro.
