Similarities Between Danuvius And Aurelius

While the two scenes of the River-God Danuvius seem identical due to broad similarities in content, key differences in the execution small stylistic details distinguish the Column of Aurelius from the Column of Trajan.
The focal point of the foreground in both scenes is the God Danuvius, standing with his back to the viewer and his head raised. His function, granting approval to the Roman military, is the same in both versions, but small physical details are different. In the Column of Marcus Aurelius, Danuvius’ hand is raised as he motions for the army’s advance. However, in the Column of Trajan, the God’s hand is not shown at all. Additionally, the depiction of his hair is also not an exact replication. In Trajan’s column, his hair is thin and highly stylized, and he is
In both scenes, the artists use rocks to shift the perspective from the water to the land. In the Column of Trajan stones are rough, grouped together, and poorly defined in order to break the scene, while in Marcus Aurelius’ depiction, the rocks are highly defined and deeply carved and the stones appear almost as individual rocks. The stones provide a natural transition to the buildings above, which are also in exactly the same in layout on both versions. In the Column of Trajan, the buildings are carved from relief so shallow that the buildings appear two dimensional. Perspective is given in the sharp corners of the buildings that appear almost as if drawn on the stone. However, the in the Column of Marcus Aurelius, the houses are carved in high relief, and the buildings recede into panel to show the corners of the structures. It is evident the content of the background, like the foreground, is the same, but the differences in the style of the two depictions come down to the small details in the rocks and