Roman sculpture comparison
Two portraits, that of a Man and of Emperor Caligula, can be found in the same gallery in Metropolitan Museum of Art, which suggests that both of the busts were created in the same period of time. This, in turn, suggests that they must be stylistically similar, though not exactly the same. At the same time, the portrait bust of a Man was created by either Antonine or Severan at the dusk of the second century, almost two hundred years later that the bust of Caligula. It is apparent to conclude that there must be some difference in the way the creators conveyed the images of the two persons due to development of skills and styles in time.The portrait of Caligula is, in my view, a propagandistic work, created not to visually please but rather to impress and as a carrier of a message of political power. A depiction of political figures aimed for propaganda was typical throughout the history and this bust serves the same purpose. Caligula was a powerful figure with a very distinct character and unlimited power, which, as we will see, is consciously shown on this work.The portrait of a Man, on the other hand, cannot be attributed to the political influence, and is, therefore, a work of creativity and intended as a realistic depiction
Both the busts have heads slightly turned to the right. To conclude, I would like to stress that though a portrait of a Man has a richer realism than the bust of the Emperor, neither one are naturalistic to the fullest extent. The most common feature of many sculptures of that era is the spatial arrangement of a head on a bust. This placement of facial features manifests an image of a strong man, who is not fond of cheerful and forgiving policies and is always in control of any situation. This is another attribute that makes the latter more idealistic and more distant from the reality. This way, the portraits not only have volume themselves, but they also use the space around them to create a richer realism an!d the effect of presence. The first thing that catches the eye is the difference in the depiction of hair. This we do not see in the portrait of Caligula. As a result, we may derive that the work of Antonine/Severan is more true to life than that of Julio-Claudian due to its purpose (realistic versus propagandistic) and due to the fact that the latter one was created earlier in the era. The purpose of this effect is to land fear and obedience to citizens and opponents. If asked to choose between a happy and sad, I would tend more to the latter one, but I must stress that it is more of a melancholy type of face. It is not supposed to carry any message or be idealized due to political reasons. Another detail that I must mention is the facial expression of men depicted in these two portraits. Caligula is shown with a very idealistic, perfectionist hairline and curls.
Common topics in this essay:
Antonine Severan,
Portrait Caligula,
Museum Art,
Emperor Caligula,
portrait caligula,
Metropolitan Museum,
Sculpture Gallery,
,
metropolitan museum,
head positioned,
busts created,
bust emperor,
realism bust,
richer realism,
common feature,
fullest extent,
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Acceptance Essays
