ABSTRACT
The basic forms of the public monument—the triumphal arch, the commemorative column or obelisk, and the equestrian statue—were established in Rome in antiquity and have persisted to an extraordinary degree in modern times. They were adapted in a variety of ways by later societies and differed a great deal in their aims, both from the original models and from each other. The statue was destroyed in the Revolution a century later, and Napoleon renamed the square and placed a triumphal column in the center which imitates that of Trajan in Rome both in form—the spiralling reliefs—and function, recounting his conquests. The column in turn was toppled by revolutionaries during the nineteenth century as a tribute to the potency of the traditional message of power. The Corinthian form became popular in the United States: there is a column in Baltimore dedicated to Washington, who was the cause of numerous columns memorializing his dual role as general and first president.
