PATRICIAN CARRYING
BUSTS
Or how to carry your family tree in two
hands
WHAT IS IT ???
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Life size statue of a
Roman Patrician
carrying two busts
(heads).
Finished somewhere
between 10BC and the
start of the first half of
the first century AD.
Who were the Patricians?
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The term patrician
originally referred to
a group of elite
families in ancient
Rome, including
both their natural
and adopted
members.
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According to the
historian Livy, the first
100 men appointed
as senators by
Romulus (founder of
Rome) were referred
to as "father" (patres),
and the descendants
of those men became
the Patrician class.
THE BUSTS
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Both realistic (= Veristic).
Both stop just below the neck (= sign of Late
Republican period).
They are two old men and represent the
patricians ancestors.
They are both held close to indicate the close
relationship to the patrician carrying them.
THE PATRICIAN CARRYING BUSTS
Left Hand Bust - Grandfather
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Style of c.50BC
Probably of the
patrician’s
grandfather
Balding head with
wrinkles under the
man’s neck
Right Hand Bust - Father
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Later than the other;
this one c.40-30BC
Probably the patrician’s
father
Short hair that is
combed forward
towards the forehead
Groves around mouth
Tight thin mouth and
lips
A very severe look
WHAT IS VERISTIC STYLE?
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VERISTIC STYLE = true, ‘warts and all’.
This can be seen by the wrinkles and the
creases shown on the faces:
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Especially on the brow,
At the corners of the eyes,
At the sides of the mouth.
Drapery hangs in irregular folds.
SOME LAST POINTS…
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Great attention to detail, ie: bone structure,
skin, hair and eyes.
The original masks were made of wax as it
was tradition to have wax busts (death
masks) of deceased patrician’s in their
households.
Only patrician’s could have portrait busts
made.
These busts were therefore a status symbols.
Patrician Carrying Busts – Revision
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Write down at least SIX basic facts about the statue
(date, material, subject matter, dimensions etc)
Why has the sculptor included a palm trunk in this work?
Describe the clothing of the main figure. What is the
significance of his wearing this clothing?
What is the style of the statue? Write a definition of the
style including at least FOUR features of the style.
Explain in detail TWO possible influences on the style of
the statue.
Patrician Carrying Busts - Revision
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Identify the objects the main figure is carrying in
each hand. Include the connection of these objects
to the main figure. (be specific about which hand
carries which specific ‘person’).
Explain in detail the social significance of these
objects. Make at least TWO points.
What message is the sculptor trying to convey about
his subject and how does he do this?
Patrician: Comparative Questions
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Compare this statue with the bust of
Commodus. Identify and describe at least
THREE stylistic differences.
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Compare the statue with the bust of Philip the
Arabian. Identify and describe at least TWO
stylistic similarities (See Artus study notes
p100 if you need to).