L’immagine del re e la retorica della geometria. Riflessioni sulla Bildgliederung dei rilievi della Sala del Trono di Assurnasirpal II

The present analysis reconsiders the narrative composition of the bas-reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II in his Throne Room in the North-West Palace at Nimrud. In particular, the analysis focuses on the structure of images (how they are composed and set) and on the rhetorical value of geometry applied to visual narrative. As already pointed out by A. Moortgat, Ashurnasirpal's bas-reliefs break the usual symmetrical composition of the images, the central and main subject framed by scenes on either side. The position of the king on the slabs' surface does not only create a new form of arrangement of the images, but it also has implication on the temporal meaning of the narrative. The Bildgliederung of the bas-reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II works to tell a story through images and to visualize the different natures of Time. The rhetoric of geometry represents the way by which the sculptors emphasize the image of the king as the only subject acting in the historical time.