roman portraiture
TRANSCRIPT
Art 108: Ancient to MedievalWestchester Community CollegeFall 2016
Roman Portraiture
Capitoline She-Wolf, 5thc BCE
According to legend, Rome was founded in the 8thc by the twins Romulus and Remus – Descendants of Aeneus, who fled the Trojan War
Established Greek origins for the Romans
Italy was inhabited by a variety of Latin and Italic tribes
Etruscan kings ruled Rome, until the Romans revolted and established a Republic in 509 BCE
Significant expansion over the next few centuries
As it expanded the Republic grew wealthy, but also unstable
The Roman Republic (509-27 BCE)Roman society was divided into three classes
The Roman Republic (509-27 BCE)A trripartite government was created to be fair to all classes
The Romans collected and copied Greek and Hellenistic statuary
They used it to decorate private gardens, and public baths, rather than temples or sanctuaries
These copies may tell us a lot about Roman taste, but they really don’t tell us much about what was unique to Roman art
“The development of realistic portraiture is often said by art historians to have originated with the Romans . . . . It is with the Romans, however, that portraiture became widespread among all levels of society.”Power and Authority in Roman Portraiture, p. 29
Anna Sophia Robb flashed a giant smile for a red carpet selfie.
The Romans invented the selfie!
Aule Metele (Arringatore), from Cortona, early 1st c. BCE, Bronze, 5’ 7”Archeological Museum, Florence
This statue portrays a man named Aule Metele
Aule Metele (Arringatore), from Cortona, early 1st c. BCE, Bronze, 5’ 7”Archeological Museum, Florence
He was Etruscan by birth, but his costume identifies him as Roman (the Etruscans were absorbed by the Romans in the Republican period)
Aule Metele (Arringatore), from Cortona, early 1st c. BCE, Bronze, 5’ 7”Archeological Museum, Florence
His arm is raised as if he is about to address an assembly, hence he has been nicknamed the arringatore – “the orator”
Greek Idealism Roman Realism
Nude Clothed
Idealized Realistic portrait
Youthful Older
Generalized Specific
Athletic champion Political role model
What was distinctive about Roman [portraits during the Republican period?
The distinguishing characteristic of Roman political portraiture is its realism
Portrait bust of a man, Roman, Late Republican Period, about 50 B.C.Terracotta, Museum of fine Arts, Boston
Portrait bust of a man, 1st century B.C.; Republican RomanMetropolitan Museum
The portraits usually show older men -- balding, toothless, and wrinkled
Veristic portraiture: “warts and all” realism
Head of a Roman patrician, from Otricoli, Italy, c. 75-50 BCE. Marble, approx. 1' 2" high. Museo Torlonia, Rome.
They are like mug shots -- blunt records of appearances without flattery or emotion
“Classical Greek portraiture had valued an idealizing depiction of the individual . . . . . ”
Why did the Romans choose this “veristic” style – what did it convey?
“Republican Romans desired portraits that [stressed] age, experience, and lack of vanity . . . men were depicted with wrinkles, baldness, and physical imperfections that were thought to convey a sense of their virtus . . . . ”Power and Authority in Roman Portraiture, p. 35
Portrait bust of a man, 1st century B.C.; Republican RomanMetropolitan Museum
Virtus: duty to the state military bravery public responsibility sober morality
Roman Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors (a.k.a. The Barberini Statue), marble, lifesize, c. 30 B.C. (Capitoline Museums, Rome)
Influenced by the Roman tradition of collecting wax death masks (imagines) of their ancestors
Modern masks made of beeswax, imitating ancient Roman practicesImage source: http://io9.gizmodo.com/ancient-roman-funeral-masks-made-from-wax-were-freakish-1496284227
Ancient Roman Funeral processionImage source: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1619933
Masks were worn or carried in funeral processions
Roman Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors (a.k.a. The Barberini Statue), marble, lifesize, c. 30 B.C. (Capitoline Museums, Rome)
More ancestors = higher status
Portrait bust of a man, 1st century B.C.; Republican RomanMetropolitan Museum
Many Roman portraits exist in the form of busts, reflecting the Roman belief that the face was the most distinguishing feature of the individual
Cippus (funerary altar) of Cominia Tyche, ca. 90-95 A.D.; late Flavian Roman Metropolitan Museum
Funerary altars and tombs were adorned with portrait reliefs, or they were displayed in communal tombs known as columbaria
Via Appia (Rome, Italy), the second columbarium of Vigna Codini, west and north sidesImage source: http://aarome.idra.info/index/index2/tsk/pkpr
Columbarium of the family of Augustus, a.D. 20, at Vigna Codini along the Via Appia, RomeWikimedia
Marble funerary relief of Lucius Antistius Sarculo and Antistia Plutia, c 10 BCE – 30 CEBritish Museum
Couples were often depicted together, recalling Egyptian and Etruscan customs
Portrait head of an elderly woman, Late Republican or Early Imperial, Augustan, ca. 40–20 B.CE, .RomanMetropolitan Museum
Roman patrician women were also honored with portraits
Portrait head of an elderly woman, Late Republican or Early Imperial, Augustan, ca. 40–20 B.CE, .RomanMetropolitan Museum
Portrait of an old woman, late 1st century BCE, National Museum of RomeWikimedia
Portrait Bust of Livia, from Arsinoe, Egypt, eary 1st century CE. Marble, Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen
Under the Emperor Augustus a new “classicizing” style of portraiture was introduced
Bust of a Flavian Woman, c. 90 CECapitoline Museum
Hairstyles became more elaborate during the Imperial period
Bust of a Roman woman, ca. 80 CEGlypthotek, MunichWikimedia
But many portraits retained a high degree of realism
Funerary Relief of a vegetable vendor, from Ostia, Italy, 2nd c. CE
The practice of commissioning funerary portraits eventually filtered down to more common people
Funerary Relief of a vegetable vendor, from Ostia, Italy, 2nd c. CE
This plaque exemplifies the style of “plebeian” art that coexisted with official style
Vegetable and Poultry shop sign from Ostia
Imperial Portraiture
When slaves were freed they often had portraits made to proclaim their new social status. This funerary relief depicts three members of a family
Tomb Relief of the Publius Gessius family, c. 30-20 BCEMuseum of Fine Arts Boston
Tomb Relief of the Publius Gessius family, c. 30-20 BCEMuseum of Fine Arts Boston
Publius Gessius
Fausta – freed slave and wife
Primus -- son
Grave Monument of Publius Curtilius Agatus, Silversmith; Roman, made in Italy A.D. 1-25, marble
This freed slave was a silversmith, and is depicted with the tools of his trade
Portrait of a husband and wife, from a house in Pompeii, c. 70-79 CE, Archaeological Museum, Naples
Painting was also used for portraiture, though few survive
Portrait of a husband and wife, from a house in Pompeii, c. 70-79 CE, Archaeological Museum, Naples
This one depicts a baker and his wife, holding a stylus and scroll to show that they are educated
Mummy with an inserted panel portrait of a youth, ca. A.D. 80–100 Metropolitan Museum
In Roman Egypt the veristic style was adopted for mummy portraits
Portrait of a woman, A.D. 100–20, Encaustic on limewood; British Museum
Panel painting of a woman in a blue mantle, Roman, 54-68 CE, from EgyptMet Museum
Portrait of the Boy Eutyches, Encaustic on wood100–150CE Metropolitan Museum
Portrait of a man, ca. A.D. 125–50, Encaustic on wood; Antikensammlung, Munich
Portrait of a priest of Serapis, from Hawara (Faiyum), Egypt, c. 140-160 CE