Powerpoint slide presentation

1. Roman Portraiture

2. The Roman Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum can be confusing

3. Although the galleries are labeled on the map as “Roman,” most of the statues
are copies of Greek, Late Classical, and Hellenistic statues

4. The Romans LOVED Greek art, and they commissioned copies of famous works of
art in great quantities

5. For example: these two statues are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of
Art (they are displayed side by side in the Greek galleries)
Image source: https://www.photoblog.com/shyaman/2010/08/11/new-york-city-metropolitan-museum-of-art-greek-roman-art/

6. Fragments of a marble statue of the Diadoumenos (Youth tying
a filet around his head), Roman copy of a 5th century bronze
statue by Polykleitos, c. 69-96 CE
Metropolitan Museum
Marble statue of the Diadoumenos (Youth tying a filet around
his head), Roman copy of a 5th century bronze statue by
Polykleitos, c. 1st-2nd century CE
Metropolitan Museum
When seen together, it becomes apparent that the statues are very similar; in fact,
they are really similar

7. Fragments of a marble statue of the Diadoumenos (Youth tying
a filet around his head), Roman copy of a 5th century bronze
statue by Polykleitos, c. 69-96 CE
Metropolitan Museum
Marble statue of the Diadoumenos (Youth tying a filet around
his head), Roman copy of a 5th century bronze statue by
Polykleitos, c. 1st-2nd century CE
Metropolitan Museum
That’s because both statues are Roman copies of an original bronze statue
attributed to Polykleitos

8. The Vaison Diadoumenos, Roman copy of an original bronze by
Polykleitos, c. 118-135 CE
British Museum
Terra cotta statue of the Diadoumenos (Youth tying a filet
around his head), Hellenistic, 1st century BCE
Metropolitan Museum
Here’s another copy in the British Museum, and on the right is a terra cotta copy of
the same statue that was made in the Hellenistic period

9. So the Romans commissioned a LOT of copies of Greek and Hellenistic statues

10. They used these statues to decorate private gardens and public baths, rather than
temples or sanctuaries (the way the Greeks did)

11. So the Romans were in many ways the first “art collectors” who collected art for
aesthetic enjoyment and pleasure, rather than for religious or funerary purposes
Image source: http://www.christies.com/features/How-a-collector-of-Modern-and-Contemporary-Art-got-switched-on-to-Antiquities-7113-1.aspx

12. So when we visit the Roman galleries at the Metropolitan Museum, the works on display
may tell us something about their taste in art, but they really don’t tell us anything about
what is unique to Roman art

13. To discover this, we must look at Roman portraits — for here, the Romans
created something that was entirely their own.

14. “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

15. Aule Metele (Arringatore), from Cortona,
early 1st c. BCE, Bronze, 5’ 7”
Archeological Museum, Florence
This statue represents a man named Aule Metele. He was Etruscan by birth, but his
costume identifies him as Roman (the Etruscans were absorbed by the Romans in the
Republican period)

16. 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”

17. It is a familiar gesture even today

18. Aule Metele (Arringatore), from Cortona,
early 1st c. BCE, Bronze, 5’ 7”
Archeological Museum, Florence
The artist who made it clearly learned a lot from Greek sculptors: the figure is standing
in the contraposto pose, and the drapery clings to his body, giving a convincing sense of
the body underneath

19. Aule Metele (Arringatore), from Cortona,
early 1st c. BCE, Bronze, 5’ 7”
Archeological Museum, Florence
But the statue is also significantly different from Greek statues, making it uniquely
Roman in style

20. Greek statues were typically nude and idealized, depicting youthful athletes and
warriors, with 6-pack abs, and flawlessly perfect features

21. But the Roman statue is clothed, and it depicts a middle aged man with a receding
hairline and slack physique

22. It is also a recognizable portrait — that is, it represents a specific individual — rather
than a generic ideal

23. So while the Greeks favored “idealism,” the Romans favored “realism” in their art,
reflecting the very different values of these two cultures

24. Like our own culture today, the Greeks worshipped youth and beauty – but the Romans
valued age, wisdom, and experience

25. “Republican Romans desired portraits that would express the individual’s identity by
stressing his age, experience, and lack of vanity. Thus men were depicted with wrinkles,
baldness, and physical imperfections that were thought to convey a sense of their virtus,
the quality of selfless duty and sober morality.”
Nancy L. Thompson, “Power and Authority in Roman Portraiture,” in Roman Art: A
Resource for Educators (Metropolitan Museum), p. 35

26. 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

27. Portrait bust of a man, 1st century B.C.;
Republican Roman
Metropolitan Museum
The portraits usually show older men -- balding, toothless, and wrinkled

28. 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

29. Portrait bust of a man, 1st century B.C.;
Republican Roman
Metropolitan Museum
Historians refer to this style as “veristic” because of the unflattering way in which
sculptors seem to magnify every detail and flaw

30. “Verism can be defined as a sort of hyperrealism in sculpture where the naturally
occurring features of the subject are exaggerated, often to the point of absurdity. In the
case of Roman Republican portraiture, middle age males adopt veristic tendencies in
their portraiture to such an extent that they appear to be extremely aged and care worn”
Dr. Jeffery A. Becker, “Head of a Roman Patrician” (Khan Academy)

31. Roman patrons chose this style because it expressed what the Romans called virtus:
maturity, wisdom, experience, responsibility, and the determination to uphold strict
Republican moral values

32. Roman Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors (a.k.a. The Barberini
Statue), marble, lifesize, c. 30 B.C. (Capitoline Museums, Rome)
The realistic style of Roman portraiture was influenced by the Roman tradition of
collecting wax death masks (imagines) of their ancestors

33. Modern masks made of beeswax, imitating ancient Roman practices
Image source: http://io9.gizmodo.com/ancient-roman-funeral-masks-made-from-wax-were-freakish-1496284227
A sheet of soft beeswax would be molded to the face of the deceased family member to
achieve a likeness (this photo shows modern masks that were made imitating the
ancient practice)

34. Ancient Roman Funeral procession
Image source: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1619933
The masks were displayed in a family shrine in the home, and they were worn or carried
in funeral processions; a large number of ancestors was a sign of prestige

35. Roman Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors (a.k.a. The Barberini
Statue), marble, lifesize, c. 30 B.C. (Capitoline Museums, Rome)
This statue represents a Roman patrician carrying the busts of his ancestors

36. Roman Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors (a.k.a. The Barberini
Statue), marble, lifesize, c. 30 B.C. (Capitoline Museums, Rome)
He wears the long woolen toga that identifies him as a member of the patrician class,
and we can see the influence of Greek Classical sculpture in the contraposto pose, and
the “wet drapery” style

37. Roman Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors (a.k.a. The Barberini
Statue), marble, lifesize, c. 30 B.C. (Capitoline Museums, Rome)
But what makes the statue uniquely Roman is the veristic style of portraiture:

38. Roman Patrician with Busts of his Ancestors (a.k.a. The Barberini
Statue), marble, lifesize, c. 30 B.C. (Capitoline Museums, Rome)
All three men are older, with wrinkled faces, balding heads, and sober expressions on
their faces – and there is even a family resemblance to the faces

39. Portrait bust of a man, 1st century B.C.;
Republican Roman
Metropolitan 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

40. Cippus (funerary altar) of Cominia Tyche,
ca. 90-95 A.D.; late Flavian Roman
Metropolitan Museum
Many portraits were made for funerary altars, such as this one, which was erected by
the woman’s husband after she passed

41. Via Appia (Rome, Italy), the second columbarium of Vigna Codini, west and north sides
Image source: http://aarome.idra.info/index/index2/tsk/pkpr
Portrait busts were also displayed in communal tombs known as columbaria

42. Columbarium of the family of Augustus, a.D.
20, at Vigna Codini along the Via Appia, Rome
Wikimedia
The Romans cremated the dead, and their ashes were stored in funerary urns

43. Marble funerary relief of Lucius Antistius Sarculo and Antistia Plutia,
c 10 BCE – 30 CE
British Museum
Couples were often depicted together, as in this funerary relief of a husband and wife

44. Imperial Portraiture
Tomb Relief of the Publius Gessius family, c. 30-20 BCE Museum of Fine Arts Boston
And when slaves were freed they often had portraits made to proclaim their new social
status

45. Tomb Relief of the Publius Gessius family, c. 30-20 BCE Museum of Fine Arts Boston
This funerary relief depicts three members of a Roman family: the wife was a former
slave, and married her former owner

46. Portrait head of an elderly woman, Late Republican or Early
Imperial, Augustan, ca. 40–20 B.CE, .Roman
Metropolitan Museum
Roman patrician women were also honored with portraits

47. 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, as in this terra cotta relief of a vegetable vendor from Ostia

48. Funerary Relief of a vegetable
vendor, from Ostia, Italy, 2nd c.
CE
Lacking the refinement of the more expensive portraits commissioned by the wealthy,
this plaque exemplifies the style of “plebeian” art that coexisted with official style

49. 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

50. Portrait of a husband and
wife, from a house in
Pompeii, c. 70-79 CE,
Archaeological Museum,
Naples
This portrait depicts a baker and his wife, holding a stylus and scroll to show that they
are educated

51. Mummy with an inserted panel portrait of a youth, ca.
A.D. 80–100 Metropolitan Museum
In Roman Egypt, traditional practices of burial were combined with the Roman taste for
portraiture

52. 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 Egypt
Met Museum
Known as “Fayum portraits,” these realistically painted likenesses were painted in
encaustic (a wax-based medium) and placed on coffins

53. 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
They represent an excellent example of the merging of cultural influences: a Roman-
style portrait, together with traditional Egyptian funerary practices

54. Portrait of a priest of Serapis, from
Hawara (Faiyum), Egypt, c. 140-160
CE
This portrait depicts a priest of the Egyptian god Serapis, who became a popular deity
during the Hellenistic period

55. Portrait of a priest of Serapis, from
Hawara (Faiyum), Egypt, c. 140-160
CE
If the portrait looks a lot like Jesus Christ, it is because the first icons of Jesus were
made in Egyptian monasteries, so they were influenced by Roman-Egyptian mummy
portraits!

56. Thanks for listening!