ROMAN SCULPTURE, Part 1: Free Standing Portrait Sculpture
Roman sculpture goes back to the Etruscans in the 6th century BC who moulded terracotta (baked
clay) figurines of their dead on funeral urns or tombs.
In addition, the ancient Romans preserved wax facial images of their ancestors which were
kept in the atrium and paraded in funeral processions.
Facial portraiture in Rome may have been helped by the Roman custom of worshipping a man’s
genius. This guardian spirit of the dead man was naturally depicted by a portrait scuplture and
these imagines (likenesses) displayed in the atrium then were not simply statues but believed to
be visual presences of invisible presences. The statue was alive in some way.
Greek sculpture naturally influenced Roman sculpture. Greek craftsmen had been coming to
Rome since the 3rd century BC and in the 2nd century BC, when Greece became a province of
Rome, many antique sculptures were taken back to Rome from Greece. A lively replica industry
flourished at this time where copies of the classical masterpieces could be bought by wealthy
Romans; though the copies were executed mainly by Greek master sculptors. In fact there is no
evidence that the great Roman sculptures were made by Roman sculptors. Though surely
the Roman market influenced the Greek sculptors to change style. Many of the originals were
lost, so the Roman copies survive as the only echoes of classical Greek sculpture, e.g. Pericles.
Greek sculpture however is typified by idealism. Greek portrait statues are more beautiful,
younger and symmetrical than anyone could ever be. They are also typically expression, so much
so that they look “brainwashed” as Wheeler puts it.
Whilst Roman sculptors often made their subjects more handsome than they really were, they did
not sacrifice their uniquely personal characteristics, hence Roman sculpture is typified by
realism.
The first thoroughly Roman portrait sculptures didn’t appear until as late the first century BC and
the realistic style reached its climax during the reign of the dictator Sulla 75-65BC. Idealism
dominated again during the reign of Augustus 31BC – 41AD
These portraits, executed in stone, marble and bronze, expressed to perfection the Roman notions
of dignitas et gravitas. Dignitas meant rank, prestige, honour, respect. As an artistic convention it
was a reaction to the Greek aesthetic of nudity. Roman statues wore clothes. Gravitas meant depth
of character, solemnity, seriousness. Roman statues never smile or portray any emotion other than
gravitas yet they do look like people with whom you could hold a conversation, unlike the Elgin
Marbles of the Parthenon at Athens.
WHEELER, P.170
This photo is
NOT the
same as the
one in
Wheeler
PORTRAIT BUST OF OLD WOMAN
Executed “in callously realistic style”
Dates to 75BC – climax of Roman realism under
the reign of the dictator Sulla
harsh features are accentuated by the thin hair
(etched on rather than a separate wig) which is
pulled into a tight bun at the back of the head called
a nottus
Wedge shaped termination of the neck suggests the
bust was originally set into a monument; probably a
tombstone
Her eyes however do not engage us. They
are blank like the Pericles of Cresilas.
WHEELER, P.171
Another head of an aged woman, from Tripoli in Libya, dates from around 200-300 AD. and still shows the
Roman fondness for realism. Here we see an extremely realistic rendering of the eyes by the use of a
solid V-shaped segment to imply the reflection of light off the pupil. Note also the wrinkles, the ears and
the intricate pattern in the skull-cap.
Wheeler: ‘The head….is characteristic of the cruder portraiture of the third century AD’.
WHEELER, P. 170
BUST OF THE EMPEROR COMMODUS
A contemporary (it was made during his reign) portrait bustof Commodus (182192AD)
Portrayed as the hero Hercules bearing his trademark club in his right hand.
The ‘principle of abbreviation’ - Wheeler
His wearing of the pelt of the Nemean Lion is symbolic of Hercules’ first labour
for immortality whilst the fact that he is holding a golden apple from the garden
of the Hesperides in his left hand is symbolic of Hercules’ last labour. The pelt
and the apple act as brackets: the other labours are implied. Commodus is
Hercules.
The emperor’s hair is especially striking. The curls were rendered by a drill
and left rough whilst the skin was polished to a fine sheen. The hair was also
originally painted in gold leaf, which would have struck a sharp contrast to his
beautiful snow-white complexion.
The sculptor has also rendered muscles, veins, bone structure and hair in vivid
realism.
Above: Commodus
Below: Greek vase painting depicting
Heracles.
These photos are NOT in Wheeler
The sculptor however must have felt very sure of his patron’s “blind vanity”
because he has presented the youthful Commodus as a dreadful parody of the
hero Hercules.
Notice the weak arms, the effeminate manner and the air of superiority in his
face.
“No doubt it delighted, as it revealed, the sadistic pervert
whom it has so faithfully immortalised.” - Wheeler
No doubt it delighted, as it revealed, the sadistic pervert whom it has so
faithfully immortalised.’
By this time also the portrait bust
had become popular. The benefit of
only representing a man from the
waist up means that the stress on
the stone legs is eliminated.
In a free standing statue the limbs
are the weakest parts of the statue
and they often broke, e.g. Venus de
Milo.
This piece is contemporary, which means Commodus probably
commissioned it; possibly to commemorate his re-enactment of
Hercules’ deeds in the Circus. Commodus loved gladiator games
and performed himself. He famously clubbed several Roman
beggars made up and dressed as serpents to death with a club
much like the one he is holding. Talk about rubbing it in …
WHEELER, P.171
PHILIP THE ARABIAN (244-249AD)
The marble bust mercilessly reveals “the anxious, shifty, irate,
opportunist character of this insignificant ruler” (he was
allegedly the son of a notorious Arabian brigand).
If the artist was no flatterer, it may have been because his patron
asked to be shown “warts and all.”
The turned head was a formal device employed by sculptors of
the early emperors in portraits to suggest being caught in a
moment of time, but Philip’s eyes do not engage the viewer.
Instead they look up as if seeking divine inspiration.
We see a trace of humanity in this brute’s eyes - a dignity even that
demands recognition.
Philip’s image is severe. We see the lines of a face weathered by
sun and worry and his tightly cropped hair. This man was anything
but vain.
Photo NOT in Wheeler
WHEELER, P.161
PORTRAIT BUST OF PERICLES by CRESILAS
The Pericles of Cresilas is typical of Greek idealism, which is why Wheeler includes it in
his book: to contrast with Roman realism. Cresilas was a contemporary of Phidias in fifth
century BC (classical period) Athens.
The bust is a herm (a kind of bollard, erected originally in the Athenian agora)
On the point of Greek idealism, Wheeler says of Cresilas’ Pericles that it is “intellectually
a barber’s dummy” because it looks “brainwashed”.
Worth comparing Perciles here to Philip of Arabia
The helmet also cleverly conceals the elongated skull of the subject to present Pericles in
an ideal symmetrical way, quite different to how a Roman realist would have approached a
portrait of the famous Athenian statesman of the classical period.
Photo NOT in Wheeler
WHEELER, P.163
STATUE OF A PATRICIAN WITH BUSTS OF HIS ANCESTORS
This sculpture recalls the image of pious Aeneas carrying
his father Anchises and leading his son Ascanius out of
Troy. Here again we have three generations of the one family
represented in one image. Notice the family resemblance of
the three faces: father, son and grandson?
Remember the procession of the souls in Aeneid 6. This statue
has a funerary function.
These three images are genii of one patrician clan. They
probably stood in the atrium of a villa.
Note the clever use of the post to stabilise and re-enforce the
marble statue.
Also the complicated network of realistic folds in the toga that
are carved with precision.
Dignitas et gravitas
Dates to 1st century BC/AD, probably the reign of
Augustus.
Photo NOT in Wheeler