products, representative of sculpture in decline; but as the figures of the Seasons or the Victory spandrels on the same Arch-or indeed the
magnificent contemporary figured sarcophagi commissioned by private patrons-amply demonstrate the sculptors of the period had not forgotten
how to carve naturalistically; they were merely searching for a new and different means of expression. In this they paved the way for the transition
to late antiquity, and ultimately, through Byzantium, to the cathedral sculpture of medieval Europe.
Cavalry Parade on the base of the column of Antoninus Pius (c. A.D. 161). This relief marks a sharp break with the classical style of previous state
sculptures, dispensing with conventional visual perspective and with indications of setting. The foot-soldiers are supposed to be standing in the
middle, with the cavalry passing in front of and behind them.