Lecture - Dr. Agnese Pergola

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Artists’ Signatures on Works and Artefacts of the National Roman Museum
This lecture forms part of the programme of events accompanying the exhibition “Artifices: The Creators of Art”.

Although artists’ signatures on ancient works of art are rather rare, several examples can be identified in the Museo Nazionale Romano, engraved on statues, gems, reliefs and frescoes. These often barely legible signatures tell a story of pride and professional identity in an age when art was regarded primarily as a craft rather than as the personal expression we understand today.

In some cases—such as the copy of the Athena Parthenos preserved in Palazzo Altemps, signed by the sculptor Antiochos, or the red jasper intaglio carved by the gem engraver Aspasios and kept in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme—the signature becomes a true declaration of authorship. Even when reproducing celebrated models such as those by Phidias, artists chose to “leave their name,” demonstrating a growing awareness of the value of their own work and technical skill.

These names engraved in marble, hard stone or painted walls allow us to imagine the hands and lives behind the works: sculptors, engravers and craftsmen who, even within a world dominated by workshops and copies, sought a way to be remembered. The signatures are therefore not merely inscriptions, but direct testimonies to the human desire for recognition and memory.

Along the museum route, they invite us to look at the works with new eyes: not only as masterpieces of antiquity, but as objects that still carry the voice of their creators, forever inscribed in the material.

The event is free and open to the public; no registration is required.

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