Ara Martis (Altar of Mars) by Bruno Vepkhvadze

“The composition Ara Martis (Altar of Mars) is an allegory of rebirth of the ancient world. The artwork exhibits a combination of old and new, reconstructed brand new Roman armor, placed on the ancient original Roman altar. In this picture, I show how the ancient world and classic culture are given new life, deriving from the deep and solid past. The new Roman armor and old altar symbolically describes this idea, showing the great interest towards antique culture which reappeared in societies regularly throughout the centuries. For the role of this strong and solid base, I have chosen the Altar of Mars, the God of war, and one of the significant Roman mythological figures. The subject of this painting shows an old and mighty soul of the ancient world, which time by time has blown new life to the époques.” – Bruno Vepkhvadze