One of the key research questions addressed by modern scholarship on Roman art and architecture concerns the visual impact of artistic productions, especially stone sculpture, on ancient viewers. The monumental public buildings of Rome are privileged examples for this type of examination; they can allow the identification of precise ideological and political messages which were conveyed through their architectural language, the lavish architectural decoration and the elaborate sculpture on display. Therefore, understanding the connection between civic patronage and decorative choices, particularly under the Roman Empire, is fundamental for addressing broader questions on culture, society and politics in the ancient world.

Karolina Kaderka offers a detailed description of the architectural sculpture of temple pediments in the city of Rome from the sixth century b.c. to the second century a.d. Her study is based on a careful analysis of the evidence from the buildings themselves and from iconographic representations on stone reliefs and other media. The extant material remains are not particularly conspicuous, but the author carries out a meticulous examination which allows her to identify very specific, as well as more general, decorative patterns. The first two chapters feature a brief outline of the state of research (11–18) and a discussion of the reciprocal influences that characterised the layout and ornamentation of temples in the Greek, Italic-Etruscan and Roman world (19–64).

The evidence recovered from temples in Rome belongs to five buildings: the Temple of Mater Matuta in the sacred area of Sant'Omobono (sixth century b.c.); a temple of uncertain identification along Via di San Gregorio, set somewhere between the Palatine and the Caelian Hills (second century b.c.); the Temple of Apollo Medicus Sosianus by the Theatre of Marcellus in the Forum Holitorium (rebuilt in the late first century b.c.); a shrine of the Dea Caelestis, probably to be located on the Capitoline (mid-first century a.d.); and a small chapel dedicated to Hercules from the area of Porta Portese in Trastevere (first century a.d.). K. describes the decorative features of these pediments, engaging with complex themes of iconography and their significance in each of these five contexts (65–144). For instance, the display of Greek sculptures of the fifth century b.c. on the pediment of the Temple of Apollo Medicus Sosianus is indicative of the choices of the Roman patrons and their architects. K.’s analysis of this particular monument draws from the study by E. La Rocca, Amazzonomachia. Le sculture frontonali del tempio di Apollo Sosiano (1985), but she also re-evaluates part of the original conclusions with particular reference to some fragments of acroteria, whose association with the Temple of Apollo is now called into question.

Observations on the temples’ architectural sculpture are supplemented by the data available from the depictions of sacred buildings on Roman historical reliefs (145–236), from a range of other types of reliefs, as well as from numismatics and literary sources (237–60). The temple representations on the reliefs on the façade of Villa Medici, which show the pediment of the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Forum of Augustus and that of the Temple of Magna Mater on the Palatine, are two of the most renowned examples. Other depictions of temples, for which it is not possible to provide a secure identification, are also thoroughly examined. Such is the case of the Ionic temple depicted on a fragmentary relief datable to the Claudian-Neronian period, which was found in Via del Corso in the 1930s and is now on display in the Ara Pacis Museum.

The final synthesis (271–94) engages with three themes: the techniques and materials used for the decoration of pediments; the iconographic repertoires and the visual messages they conveyed; and the comparison of the ornamental motifs on Roman temples with those from Greek and Italic-Etruscan sacred buildings. Materials from various temples across the provinces of the Roman Empire are also taken into account, such as the pediment decoration of the Capitolium of Thugga (Tunisia, a.d. 166–169), the Temple of the Genius Coloniae at Oea (Libya, after a.d. 183), and the Temple of Sulis-Minerva at Bath (Britain, c. mid-first century a.d.). K. concludes that a distinctive feature of temple pediments in Rome was represented by the direct link between the patron's identity and the images that were chosen to appear on display. Such imagery, unlike that of Greek or Etruscan temples, did not necessarily bear cultural values that were shared by the whole community, but rather symbolised the political and ideological agendas of the individual who commissioned it (i.e. a member of the local elite or the emperor himself).

The importance of similar visual messages of power is explored by Maryl B. Gensheimer in her book on the decorative programme of the Baths of Caracalla. Unlike K.’s book, the main focus of this volume is on a single building complex and the ways in which its lavish ornamentation was meant to impress the viewers. Some parts of the discussion are extended to other imperial baths in Rome and engage with broader aspects of Severan architecture, art, politics and propaganda. In addition to her own on-site research, G. builds upon, and expands on, two fundamental works dedicated to this building: J. DeLaine, The Baths of Caracalla: A Study in the Design, Construction, and Economics of Large-Scale Building Projects in Imperial Rome (1997) and G. Jenewein, Die Architekturdekoration der Caracallathermen (2008). The result is a very useful book that outlines a synthetic, yet comprehensive, history of the Baths in the ancient and post-antique era, providing stimulating insights on issues of Roman imperial decoration, its use and setting, and engagement with the public in antiquity.

Ch. 1 deals with baths and bathing in the ancient world; it presents a short history of the excavation of the Baths of Caracalla and highlights the aims and methodology of this new study. The rediscovery of the Baths’ decorative sculpture and ornamentation through time is discussed in ch. 2. G. draws attention to the movement and recycling of materials: the sculptures of the Farnese collection in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, the capitals reused in Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome and in the Duomo of Pisa, and the colossal column from the frigidarium which now stands in Piazza Santa Trinita in Florence, to cite just a few examples. This chapter includes a short catalogue of all the decorative materials recovered from the Baths, of either known or uncertain setting within the ancient building (62–75). A longer, descriptive catalogue of the freestanding sculpture can be found in a separate appendix at the end of the book (271–388).

The main body of discussion is developed throughout chs 3–5. Bearing in mind that only part of these materials can be associated with specific sectors of the bath complex, G. nevertheless manages to undertake a very scrupulous analysis. Her study is praiseworthy as it looks at the whole of the building's decorative programme, including sculpture, architectural ornament, mosaics and furnishings. Major statuary groups, such as the Hercules Farnese, the Latin Hercules and the Farnese Bull, are not just examined as individual masterpieces of sculpture, but are also set in their respective display contexts together with the rest of the decoration. Images of military power recurred across the entire building, from shield-shaped motifs on the mosaics to thunderbolts and eagles on the column capitals. The author recognises such images as a distinctive feature of Caracalla's political agenda, likening their ideological effect, perhaps quite ambitiously, to those of Augustus’ Res Gestae and Trajan's Column (112–26). Another interesting observation concerns the repetition of images in the various rooms of the Baths (165–72). In the frigidarium, bathers walking from the antechamber into this hall would have seen two statues of Hercules on either side; after raising their heads, they would have spotted a small-size version of the same image on the figured capitals on top of the columns. The existence of groups of other deities (Venus, Bacchus, Mars, Virtue/Roma and Fortuna) on the preserved capitals may suggest the presence of analogous, large-size statues that are now lost.

The strong connection between water architecture and military power is better understood when one considers the Baths of Caracalla within the urban context where they were placed (210–41). In the Severan period, the area of Porta Capena became a fulcrum of imperial building activities with the construction of the Septizodium, the Baths of Septimius Severus (probably to be located along the Via Appia at the foot of the Caelian) and the Baths of Caracalla. These buildings formed a homogeneous group in terms of architectural language and would have been clearly identified by people who entered the city from this direction, including ordinary travellers, members of the urban elites and soldiers, as well as the emperor and his household during the celebration of triumphs over the enemies of Rome.

In conclusion, both books under review address (with different emphases) important aspects of art, architecture, decoration and display in the Roman world. K.’s study of temple pediments in Rome is a fundamental collection of the extant material evidence, which is now made available in a single monograph to the benefit of all scholars. With regard to the Baths of Caracalla, while this building and its ornamentation had been examined in previous studies, G. has the great merit of approaching this topic by looking at the monument, its wide range of decorative materials, urban setting and history as a whole. These two studies are therefore welcome initiatives which mark a clear progress of research in the field of Roman art and architecture.