Inv. Noi 1
The copy of the gilded bronze statue group representing the Emperor Marcus Aurelius astride a horse has been located in the Piazza del Campidoglio since 1997.
The copy is absolutely faithful to the original and is based on a photogrammetric survey, which allowed the design and building of a model from which the metal reproduction was made after the appropriate integrations.
The original was removed from the Piazza del Campidoglio in 1981 when it was brought to the Istituto Centrale per il Restauro to undergo diagnostic check-ups and conservation treatment in order to remedy the damage caused by the weather and pollution.
Since 2005, the original has been on display in the so-called Exedra of Marcus Aurelius, a large hall in the Area of the so-called Giardino Romano, inside the Capitoline Museums, designed by the architect Carlo Aymonino to hold the Group of Marcus Aurelius and other important bronze pieces from the Capitoline collections.
Among the different techniques available for building a three-dimensional copy from an original, it was decided to use the indirect method of photogrammetry to avoid any risk of damaging the extremely delicate surface, still partly covered by a thin sheet of gold.
The photogrammetric model, carried out in the physics lab of the Istituto Centrale del Restauro in Rome, was made of overlapping sections in polyvinyl chloride 5 millimetres thick each that when overlapped one on top of the other created a surface of tiny steps that was made even by integrating the gaps with plastic material (plasticine).
The faithfulness to the original model was guaranteed by the exact reproduction of the volumes, with the aim of not creating a “forgery”: in fact, it was decided not to reproduce all the marks left on the surface by uncountable interventions (plugs, patches, repairs, etc.) that are a true narration of the vicissitudes the original group has gone through in its almost 2000-year existence.
Small chalk spheres were rolled over the surface of the plasticine, in order to create a “granulated” effect typical of a surface exposed for a long time.
The step following the modelling was the “formation” of the monument according to the 2nd century original cast cuts: 17 for the horse and 14 for the rider. The casting was made with the indirect lost-wax casting.