"With her reputation for viewing Roman history through a feminist lens, Mary Beard may be the most popular classicist in the world. . . . Focusing on images of power throughout the ages, from ancient Rome to the present, [Twelve Caesars] will only grow her fan base."

"This deeply researched account explores how Roman art has shaped the Western world’s understanding of power for two millenniums, from ancient Roman imperial portraits to the work of the 19th-century American sculptor Edmonia Lewis."

"This thoroughgoing survey examines the relationship between ancient imperial imagery and the modern visual imagination. . . . With handsome illustrations of coins, canvases, frescoes, and teacups, Beard brings the prestige and power of these emperors’ half-invented faces into tighter focus."

"Twelve Caesars by Mary Beard is a brilliant and engaging historical account of the lives of twelve Roman emperors. The book is a remarkable feat of scholarship that brings to life the personal and political complexities of these powerful men."

"What better escape from the woes of our present day than rolling around in the intrigues of the Roman Empire? Naughty Caesars! Pictures too! Avidly I plunge in!"

"An enthralling story of how images of Roman emperors have influenced art, culture, and the representation of power for more than 2,000 years. . . . Drawing on a wealth of research, and a multitude of paintings and sculptures, Beard explores the importance of portraits in Roman politics and provides interesting insights into famous pieces of art. A fascinating book."

"A sumptuously illustrated, beautifully designed, gloriously rich work of history from the distinguished classicist with a lively literary voice, an extraordinary eye for telling detail, and a grand sense of humor. Twelve Caesars is a masterful, brilliant work of detection, a joy to read."

"[A] fascinating book, which embarks on a study of not just the Julio-Claudian dynasty of caesars made infamous by Suetonius and Robert Graves but also of their ubiquitous iconography—in statues, on coins, in paintings and sculpture. It’s an eye-catching field guide to these famous ancient rulers."

"A Barnes & Noble Best History Book of the Year"

"A Waterstones Best History Book of 2021"

A CapX Book of the Year

"One of Kirkus Reviews' Best Nonfiction Books of the Year"

"One of Kirkus Reviews' Best Biographies of the Year"

A Library Journal Fall 2021 Nonfiction Must

"This thoroughgoing survey examines the relationship between ancient imperial imagery and the modern visual imagination. . . . With handsome illustrations of coins, canvases, frescoes, and teacups, Beard brings the prestige and power of these emperors’ half-invented faces into tighter focus."

"What better escape from the woes of our present day than rolling around in the intrigues of the Roman Empire? Naughty Caesars! Pictures too! Avidly I plunge in!"

08/01/2021

Images of Roman emperors have been emblems for centuries, even as they change in meaning and medium throughout time, from sculptures to coins to tapestries to paintings. Classicist Beard (Univ. of Cambridge; SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome) argues, with characteristic incisive prose and wit, that we can learn much about an era from its images of the central "Twelve Caesars" and the way they were used and understood at that time (despite disagreement on that canon of caesars). She also argues that in spite of the evolution of the Twelve Caesars in image and concept, some aspects of the narrative never changed. Beard explains that wishful thinking and misreadings of Latin abound in establishing the identities and provenances of artworks and antiquities depicting Roman emperors. When the symbolism of a portrait would seem to go against the ideological tenor of its era, Beard cuts through scholarly speculation; she points out that anachronism might result from simple misidentification or the prosaic decorative and acquisitive aspects of collecting imperial images. Assembling a full set of caesars was, and is, a common pursuit of collectors, Beard writes, and for rich and powerful collectors, it was all the better if the portraits tied their owner's legacy to the continuity of Roman power. Extensive illustrations of emperors and their likenesses are featured throughout the book. VERDICT Based on a series of Beard's lectures, this lavishly illustrated volume will be accessible and interesting to a wide variety of readers; a must-read for anyone interested in classics or art history—Margaret Heller, Loyola Univ. Chicago Libs.

★ 2021-08-25
The renowned classicist and bestselling author of SPQR (2015) considers Rome’s first rulers as they have come down to us in marble, stone, coins, and metals.

During the time of the Roman Empire, artists churned out an avalanche of portraits of Rome’s emperors, a trend that continued after their deaths, beyond the fall of the empire, and during the centuries following up to the modern age. Suetonius’ The Twelve Caesars, which later became one of “the most popular history books of the European Renaissance,” contains the only surviving physical descriptions. Many modern historians, however, consider his stories “the gossip of the palace corridors, or even outright fantasy, but…they have become inextricably part of our view of Roman emperors.” No statue from ancient times has a label; this is not the case with innumerable Roman coins minted during their reigns, but the tiny heads are little help. Beard points out that beginning in the Renaissance, rulers and wealthy patrons not only collected images of emperors and their consorts—or, more likely, a copy, fake, or image of someone else—but they also began portraying themselves as if they were Roman. A leading scholar as well as a writer of bestsellers, Beard, as always, asks important questions: What did the Caesars look like? Did the artists themselves care? Why did European plutocrats, aristocrats, and monarchs like to see themselves in togas? She leads us through the best available evidence (even if it’s not always satisfying) and delivers insightful answers in lucid prose accompanied by dazzling images. Along with a steady stream of commentary on portraits, sculptures, and prints, the author devotes long sections to artistic masterpieces, including tapestries, murals, enormous historical paintings, and Titian’s spectacular room of the Caesars (11 of them, not Suetonius’ 12), now lost.

A lively treatise on Roman art and power, deliciously opinionated and beautifully illustrated.