Twelve Caesars by Mary Beard

 Suetonius, a Roman historian, wrote a very influential book called De Vita Caesarum that included biographical sketches of twelve Caesars from Julius to Domitian. His writing has caught the attention of artists from early in the Roman imperial age until the present. Mary Beard is a professor and researcher who has studied the "theme" of the twelve Caesars in art and its implications in different periods and settings. She starts out explaining the difficulty of even identifying the Caesars because no contemporary portraits of them survive except inscriptions on coins. Then she focuses on some famous representations of the Twelve Caesars theme in art, including Titan's Room of Emperors, and Henry VIII Caesar tapestries and many others.  She sees in each political messages, misidentification, and the power people feel when gazing into the faces of the famous and powerful. 

This book is published by Princeton University and is based on a series of lectures given by Dr. Beard.  I think most people would find it dry, but being both an art aficionado and a classical history buff, I found it fascinating. The book is read by the author, and her enthusiasm for her subject is evident throughout.  I had never thought deeply about the difficulty in actually identifying people in ancient art.  Some of the faces we currently associate with Julius and Augustus, are from artworks that may not have any connection to those men at all. I was also interested in what political messages the different images might suggest and how most modern viewers will miss them because they are unfamiliar with history. It made me want to read Suetonius before I travel to Italy in the fall. I appreciated her chapter on the Emperor's wives which explored both how they are portrayed in art, and what influence they wielded in life. If you are a humanities nerd like me, you may enjoy this.  If not, you might want to give it a pass. (2021, 392 p.)