{"id":1885,"date":"2017-07-19T21:04:30","date_gmt":"2017-07-19T21:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-ncc-zeliart\/?post_type=chapter&p=1885"},"modified":"2018-08-22T20:00:28","modified_gmt":"2018-08-22T20:00:28","slug":"republican-head-of-a-roman-patrician","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-ncc-zeliart\/chapter\/republican-head-of-a-roman-patrician\/","title":{"raw":"Republican: Head of a Roman Patrician","rendered":"Republican: Head of a Roman Patrician"},"content":{"raw":"
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Head of a Roman Patrician from Otricoli<\/em>, c. 75-50 BCE, marble (Palazzo Torlonia, Rome)<\/h4>\r\n
<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nSeemingly wrinkled and toothless, with sagging jowls, the face of a Roman aristocrat stares at us across the ages. In the aesthetic parlance of the Late Roman Republic, the physical traits of this portrait image are meant to convey seriousness of mind (gravitas<\/em>) and the virtue (virtus<\/em>) of a public career by demonstrating the way in which the subject literally wears the marks of his endeavors. While this representational strategy might seem unusual in the post-modern world, in the waning days of the Roman Republic it was an effective means of competing in an ever more complex socio-political arena.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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The Portrait<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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This portrait head, now housed in the Palazzo Torlonia in Rome, Italy, comes from Otricoli (ancient Ocriculum) and dates to the middle of the first century B.C.E. The name of the individual depicted is now unknown, but the portrait is a powerful representation of a male aristocrat with a hooked nose and strong cheekbones. The figure is frontal without any hint of dynamism or emotion\u2014this sets the portrait apart from some of its near contemporaries. The portrait head\u00a0is characterized by deep wrinkles, a furrowed brow, and generally an appearance of sagging, sunken skin\u2014all indicative of the veristic style of Roman portraiture.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Verism<\/h3>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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Verism can be defined as a sort of hyperrealism in sculpture\u00a0where the\u00a0naturally 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. This stylistic tendency is influenced both by the tradition of ancestral\u00a0imagines<\/em>\u00a0as well as a deep-seated respect for family, tradition, and ancestry. The\u00a0imagines<\/em>\u00a0were essentially death masks of notable ancestors that were kept and displayed by the family. In the case of aristocratic families these wax masks were used at subsequent funerals so that an actor might portray the deceased ancestors in a sort of familial parade (Polybius\u00a0History<\/em>\u00a06.53.54). The ancestor cult, in turn, influenced a deep connection to family. For Late Republican politicians without any famous ancestors (a group famously known as \u2018new men\u2019 or \u2018homines novi\u2019) the need was even more acute\u2014and verism rode to the rescue. The adoption of such an austere and wizened visage was a tactic to lend familial gravitas to families who had none\u2014and thus (hopefully) increase the chances of the aristocrat\u2019s success in both politics and business. This jockeying for position very much characterized the scene at Rome in the waning days of the Roman Republic and the Otricoli head is a reminder that one\u2019s public image played a major role in what was a turbulent time in Roman history.<\/div>\r\n
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Essay by Dr. Jeffrey A. Becker<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"
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Head of a Roman Patrician from Otricoli<\/em>, c. 75-50 BCE, marble (Palazzo Torlonia, Rome)<\/h4>\n
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Seemingly wrinkled and toothless, with sagging jowls, the face of a Roman aristocrat stares at us across the ages. In the aesthetic parlance of the Late Roman Republic, the physical traits of this portrait image are meant to convey seriousness of mind (gravitas<\/em>) and the virtue (virtus<\/em>) of a public career by demonstrating the way in which the subject literally wears the marks of his endeavors. While this representational strategy might seem unusual in the post-modern world, in the waning days of the Roman Republic it was an effective means of competing in an ever more complex socio-political arena.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Portrait<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This portrait head, now housed in the Palazzo Torlonia in Rome, Italy, comes from Otricoli (ancient Ocriculum) and dates to the middle of the first century B.C.E. The name of the individual depicted is now unknown, but the portrait is a powerful representation of a male aristocrat with a hooked nose and strong cheekbones. The figure is frontal without any hint of dynamism or emotion\u2014this sets the portrait apart from some of its near contemporaries. The portrait head\u00a0is characterized by deep wrinkles, a furrowed brow, and generally an appearance of sagging, sunken skin\u2014all indicative of the veristic style of Roman portraiture.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Verism<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Verism can be defined as a sort of hyperrealism in sculpture\u00a0where the\u00a0naturally 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. This stylistic tendency is influenced both by the tradition of ancestral\u00a0imagines<\/em>\u00a0as well as a deep-seated respect for family, tradition, and ancestry. The\u00a0imagines<\/em>\u00a0were essentially death masks of notable ancestors that were kept and displayed by the family. In the case of aristocratic families these wax masks were used at subsequent funerals so that an actor might portray the deceased ancestors in a sort of familial parade (Polybius\u00a0History<\/em>\u00a06.53.54). The ancestor cult, in turn, influenced a deep connection to family. For Late Republican politicians without any famous ancestors (a group famously known as \u2018new men\u2019 or \u2018homines novi\u2019) the need was even more acute\u2014and verism rode to the rescue. The adoption of such an austere and wizened visage was a tactic to lend familial gravitas to families who had none\u2014and thus (hopefully) increase the chances of the aristocrat\u2019s success in both politics and business. This jockeying for position very much characterized the scene at Rome in the waning days of the Roman Republic and the Otricoli head is a reminder that one\u2019s public image played a major role in what was a turbulent time in Roman history.<\/div>\n
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Essay by Dr. Jeffrey A. Becker<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t
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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div>