With its richly figurative friezes, the column of Marcus Aurelius is a key monument of Roman art concerned withrepresenting power. Yet it has always been regarded and interpreted as being overshadowed by Trajan’s column. The present study abandons this point of view. Starting from a systematic analysis of the visual material, it investigates the forms of imperial representation in the reliefs. The findings of the study not only lead to a new aesthetic and historical valuation of the column of Marcus Aurelius but also suggest ways to reconsider other comparable images of Roman art concerned with representing power.