Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

• World Regions

  All regions

  Select a region

  • North America
  • Europe
  • Central and North Asia
  • East Asia
  • Central America
  • South America
  • Africa
  • West Asia
  • Oceania
  • South and Southeast Asia

  Select a time period

  • 8000–2000 B.C.
  • 2000–1000 B.C.
  • 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
  • 1–500 A.D.
  • 500–1000 A.D.
  • 1000–1400 A.D.
  • 1400–1600 A.D.
  • 1600–1800 A.D.
  • 1800–1900 A.D.
  • 1900 A.D.–Present
• Timelines

  by Time Period 8,000–2,000 b.c. 2,000–1,000 b.c. 1,000 b.c.–1 a.d. 1–500 a.d. 500–1,000 a.d. 1,000–1400 a.d. 1400–1600 a.d. 1600–1800 a.d. 1800–1900 a.d. 1900 a.d.–present

  by Geographical Region Africa   Central America   Central and North Asia   East Asia   Europe   North America   Oceania   South America   South and Southeast Asia  West Asia

• Thematic Essays
  • Recent Additions  |  All Thematic Essays
  • 
    Select a Thematic Category African Art American Art Ancient Near Eastern Art Art of the Americas Asian Art Byzantine Art Egyptian Art European Art Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Medieval Art Modern and Contemporary Art Oceanic/Pacific Art Prehistory Select a Department American Decorative Arts American Paintings and Sculpture Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Asian Art The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Education Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art The Libraries Medieval Art and The Cloisters Musical Instruments Nineteenth-Century, Modern, and Contemporary Art Objects Conservation Paintings Conservation Paper Conservation Photographs Robert Lehman Collection Scientific Research Textile Conservation

    ---

  • Select a Geographical Region Africa Central America Central and North Asia East Asia Europe North America Oceania South America South and Southeast Asia West Asia All Geographical Regions Select a Time Period 20,000–8000 B.C. 8000–2000 B.C. 2000–1000 B.C. 1000 B.C.–1 A.D. 1–500 A.D. 500–1000 A.D. 1000–1400 A.D. 1400–1600 A.D. 1600–1800 A.D. 1800–1900 A.D. 1900 A.D.–Present All Time Periods
    
• Works of Art
  Recent Additions
  
  

  Title Description
  Artist
  Material and Technique
  Credit Line
  Accession Number

• Index

  Artist (A–Z) | All Artists

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

  ---

  Subject (A–Z)

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

The Antonine Dynasty (138–193)

• 
  Support for an oblong water basin, 2nd century a.d.
  Roman
  Porphyry

  L. 58 1/2 in. (148.6 cm)
  Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1992 (1992.11.70)

• 
  Portrait of Emperor Antoninus Pius, 138–161; Antonine
  Roman
  Marble

  H. 15 7/8 in. (40.4 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1933 (33.11.3)

• 
  Portrait bust of a bearded man, ca. 150–75 a.d.; Antonine
  Roman
  Marble

  H. 22 in. (55.9 cm.)
  Rogers Fund, 1998 (1998.209)

• 
  Relief portrait of the emperor Lucius Verus, ca. 166–170; Antonine
  Roman
  Marble

  H. 14 1/2 in. (36.8 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1913 (13.227.1)

• 
  So-called Antioch Mosaic, second half of 2nd century; Late Antonine
  Roman
  Mosaic

  H. 7 ft. 5 in. (2.26 m)
  Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1938 (38.11.12)

• 
  Strigilated vase with snake handles and lid, second half of 2nd century a.d.; Antonine
  Roman
  Marble

  H. 17 3/8 in. (44 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 2007 (2007.31a,b)

View SlideshowView Thumbnails

Antonine rule commenced with the reign of Antoninus Pius (r. 138–61 A.D.) and included those of Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–80 A.D.), Lucius Verus (r. 161–69 A.D.), and Commodus (r. 177–92 A.D.). Their dynasty reflects the connections between wealthy provincial and Italian families. They were successors of Trajan (r. 98–117 A.D.) and Hadrian (r. 117–38 A.D.), both from respectable provincial families in Spain; Hadrian had secured the line with the adoption of Antoninus Pius, who in turn adopted Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

The theme of victory became dominant in official art, as conquests were commemorated by triumphal arches and monumental columns erected in Rome to celebrate the military achievements of the dynasty.

Related

Cited Works of Art or Images (1)

• 

Timelines (2)

• Italian Peninsula, 1–500 A.D.
• Western and Central Europe, 1–500 A.D.

Primary Thematic Essays (3)

• Barbarians and Romans
• List of Rulers of the Roman Empire
• The Roman Empire (27 b.c.–393 a.d.)

Other Thematic Essays (15)

• Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition
• Art of the Roman Provinces, 1–500 a.d.
• Augustan Rule (27 b.c.–14 a.d.)
• Classical Antiquity in the Middle Ages
• The Flavian Dynasty (69–96)
• Han Dynasty (206 b.c.–220 a.d.)
• Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus
• The Idea and Invention of the Villa
• The Julio–Claudian Dynasty (27 b.c.–68 a.d.)
• The Rediscovery of Assyria
• The Rediscovery of Classical Antiquity
• Roman Copies of Greek Statues
• Roman Egypt
• Roman Portrait Sculpture: Republican through Constantinian
• Roman Portrait Sculpture: The Stylistic Cycle

Maps (2)

• Europe, 1–500 a.d.
• World, 1–500 a.d.

Index Terms (20)

Art Movement/Style

• Antonine Art in Ancient Rome
• Early Imperial Art in Ancient Rome

Geography/Place

• Rome (Ancient)

Material and Technique

• Marble Sculptural Relief
• Mosaic
• Relief Sculpture from Europe
• Rock Crystal
• Sculpture in the Round from the Balkan Peninsula

Object

• Tall Vessel (Vase, Pitcher, or Bottle)
• Tall Vessel from Europe
• Vessel from the Italian Peninsula

Subject Matter/Theme

• Allegorical Figure
• Archaeology from Europe
• Feline
• Lists of Rulers
• Portrait Sculpture from the Italian Peninsula
• Ruler from Europe
• Serpent
• Stone with Floral Motif
• Trade (1–500 A.D.)

Share

| More

Antoninus Pius, who was from southern Gaul, restored the status of the Senate without compromising his imperial power. With succession assured, he quietly furthered the centralization of government. In addition to his own knowledge of law, he surrounded himself with a coterie of legal experts. One result of their revision of Roman law was the ruling that a man must be considered innocent until proven guilty. Antoninus Pius was the last emperor to reside permanently in Rome; his reign was relatively peaceful and benevolent. Military campaigns, such as the one that led to the construction of the Antonine wall in Scotland in the 140s A.D., were conducted by imperial legates, not by the emperor in person. Temples were erected in honor of Antoninus and his wife Faustina, in Rome and throughout the provinces, and many statues and portraits of the imperial couple were produced.

After Antoninus' death, imperial power was for the first time shared between two co-emperors, his adoptive sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Verus waged a successful war against Parthia and captured Ctesiphon, but died early in 169 A.D. The continuing reign of Marcus Aurelius, however, was marked by incessant warfare with the Germanic tribes along the Upper Danube frontier, later known as the Marcomannic Wars (167–75 A.D.). The theme of victory became dominant in official art, as conquests were commemorated by triumphal arches and monumental columns erected in Rome to celebrate the military achievements of the dynasty. The constant campaigns, however, eventually drained imperial revenues.

Marcus Aurelius' devotion to duty, protecting the frontiers of the empire, was in marked contrast to the behavior of his son, Commodus. In 180 A.D., Commodus abruptly abandoned the campaigns on the German frontier and returned to Rome. There, however, he alienated the Senate by resorting to government by means of favorites and identifying himself with the semidivine hero Hercules. By the time of his assassination in 192 A.D., Rome was in a chaotic state of affairs.

Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation

Department of Greek and Roman Art. "The Antonine Dynasty (138–193)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/anto/hd_anto.htm (October 2000)

Further Reading

Grant, Michael. The Antonines: The Roman Empire in Transition. New York: Routledge, 1994.

Marcus Aurelius. Meditations. Translated by Gregory Hays. New York: Modern Library, 2002.

Robertson, Anne S. The Antonine Wall: A Handbook to the Surviving Remains. 4th ed. Glasgow: Glasgow Archaeological Society, 1990.

Rutherford, Ian. Canons of Style in the Antonine Age: Idea-Theory in Its Literary Context. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Related exhibitions and online features

Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)

The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions