"This lecture looks at paintings and sculptures of ancient Roman emperors made over the last 500 years. Although they are often treated as rather dull images, as if they were mere badges of status for kings and aristocrats, I shall be arguing that some are far more interesting than that; they question and undermine political power, as well as confirming it. Many of my examples are drawn mainly from work in Spain, with a particular focus on what were once most familiar of all images of Roman emperors. These were Titian's 'Eleven Caesars': originally painted for the Gonzaga of Mantua, bought up by Charles I of England, moved again to the court of Philip IV and destroyed in the Alcázar fire in 1734. How can we reconstruct and understand the changing meanings of these famous paintings?" Mary Beard

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