The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is opening "Art and Life in Imperial Rome: Trajan and His Times," an exhibition exploring the artistic and cultural legacy of Emperor Trajan (AD 98–117). The show features loans from major Italian institutions including the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli and the Vatican Museums, with standout works such as a 2-meter marble statue of Trajan and a colossal portrait of his wife Plotina. The exhibition, conceived in 2021 with Italian consultancy StArt, will travel to the Saint Louis Museum of Art in March 2026, with each venue offering a different focus—Houston emphasizing large-scale objects like a recreation of Trajan's Column, and St. Louis delving into the port city of Ostia.
This exhibition matters because it brings rarely loaned ancient Roman masterpieces to the United States, offering a fresh perspective on an era of imperial peak and civic beneficence. It also taps into the recent viral fascination with Ancient Rome on TikTok, aiming to attract both discerning museumgoers and a broader audience drawn to the period's "macho gravitas." By highlighting the distinct artistic characteristics of Trajan's reign—simpler lines, soldierly depictions of the emperor, and more restrained portrayals of women—the show challenges conventional views of Roman art and underscores the enduring relevance of classical antiquity in contemporary culture.