How to Read a Roman Portrait :: Roman Portraiture

Roman portraiture is to a greater extent realistic than previous exaltedistic Hellanistic styles. They better depict each subjects individualisation to a degree never seen before. The purpose of Roman portraiture is to speech communication the audience and convey specific mess epochs to them. Each Roman portrait is an regal commemorative relief and atomic number 18 representations of each subjects political theory in ruling. The Roman portraits allegori beefy communicate these ideologies through the veristic image of the ruler. The portrayals of their emotions are also pragmatic. The room the leaders image is portrayed, (i.e. by the way they choose to stand their hair and beard), depicts how their leadership leave be perceived. Augustuss statue portrayed him as an individualistic faction leader and tended to be more idealistic. For example, although he did start ruling as a youth, at the age of 18, his face was, continually, throughout his life, shown with youthfulness and v ibrancy. He also had an archetypal form type of a hero and is shown with the omission of his boots, a reference to the ideal heroic statue. Lastly, there is a dolphin riding Cupid at his ankle joint which reminded the viewer that he was of divine descent. However, there was a limit to which he could exalt himself. He could not promote his individual character and will above the Roman public which would call for distrust and resentment. On the contrary, other portraits tend to be more veristic in style, humbling the subject. Their portraits tend to call to attention their service to the state and faithfulness to the constitution of the republic as opposed to their individual greatness or divinity. This was shown through their crude images of wear and tear in their expressions. For example, in the portraiture of the unknown republican shows him balding and toothless, aged and wrinkled. His character reflects that of a grim and haggard state from the agonies and idiom of a Roman c ivil war. Although each imperial relief whitethorn differ, there are organized central motifs which surround them. These themes include pietas in the scenes of sacrifice, clementia in the scenes of pardon, extended to supplicating barbarians, virtus in the scenes of military conquest, concordia in the scenes of address and suggest Nodelman, p19, which are the common criteria upon which a emperor is fit to rule.