A Look At Roman Imperial Portraiture - 1572 Words

Portraits of Vespasian and Trajan: A Look at Roman Imperial Portraiture The Roman tradition of art, particularly architecture and sculpture is rooted in adopting styles of the past to convey a particular message. The combination of Greek and Etruscan styles, such as in the Temple of Portunus in Rome, ultimately culminate to reference a new meaning and style that is independently roman. Similarly to architecture, the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, chose to liken both is architecture, by using stone and the orders, and his portraiture back to the Greeks. Romans emperors ultimately tend to use style association to portray propaganda for their particular platform, as a form of associative mass media. Two emperors that exemplify this†¦show more content†¦The depth of such wrinkles as well as the deep set and hooded eyes allow for a stark contrast within the lighting of the piece, further emphasizing the importance of such areas. Furthermore, Vespasian chooses to depict himself as bald, or at least balding. While other emperors, such as Vespasian s su ccessors, will choose to falsify a head of hair in order to capture some ideal of the self, Vespasian chooses to keep some of his key features in order to preserve and distribute his identity, all while hyper-emphasizing his age. Through his efforts of individualization and emphasizing his age, Vespasian ultimately directly references the old versitic style of the Roman republic in order to present himself as a common, hardworking man and politician. The traditional Roman Republican style of portraiture has been nicknames veristic or truth-like. Its name stems from the apparent hyper- realistic portrayal of its subjects. When looking at a single republican portrait, it appears to be individualized and puts emphasis on the physical effects of age upon the body, much like Vespasian s portrait. However, the distinction between realistic and veristic is important. While the republican portraiture style seems to be realistic and individualized when viewing one of them, it is in collective view of these portraits that one can see the commonality between them, and see these attributes create a new idea: an ideal ofShow MoreRelatedTemple Of The Olympian Zeus And Flavian Amphitheater932 Words   |  4 Pagescharacter istics, both of structure and decoration. Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but differed from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The Corinthian Temple of Olympian Zeus, located in the lower city of Athens was designed by the Roman architect Cossutius, but it was not completed until three centuries later, under the patronage of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Viewed through these huge columnsRead MorePortraiture Depictions Of Queen Elizabeth I1578 Words   |  7 PagesPortraiture Depictions of Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth Tudor or Queen Elizabeth I was and is one of the greatest monarchs in English history. Obtaining the crown at a young age of twenty-five, she seized a bankrupt country caused by previous rulers, a country with an unstable religion, and loose ties with other great powers of the world. Elizabeth I ruled for nearly half a century granting her the remembrance with reigning with stability, the flourishment of the arts, and increased trade. Elizabeth’sRead MoreRoman Empire And Christian Art1539 Words   |  7 PagesRome. Constantine is often credited with primarily introducing and converting the Roman empire to follow the christian faith. His rule brought about the conversion of citizens from different social standings. His religious influence culturally enriched christian art, adding different styles to the works of the greco- roman world. Combining the early abstraction of christian art and diminishing the use of roman imperial realism. Constantine s faith in christianity was founded much later in his lifeRead MoreHow†©to†©Read†©a†©Roman†©Portrait†©3451 Words   |  14 PagesHow†©to†©Read†©a†©Roman†©Portrait†© SHELDON†©NODELMAN†© from†© E.†©D’Ambra,†©ed.,†©Roman†©Art†©in†©Context.†©NY:†©Prentice†©Hall.†©1993†©pp.†©10†20†© Like all works of art. the portrait is a system of signs; it is often an ideogram of â€Å"public’ meanings condensed into the image of a human face. Roman portrait sculpture from the Republic through the late Empire-the second century BCE. to the sixth CE -constitutes what is surely the most remarkable body of portrait art ever created. Its shifting montage of abstractions fromRead MoreThe Era Of The Republic Essay2052 Words   |  9 Pagesinstitutions of this changed world was the household of Gaius Octavianus, better known by his title of Augustus, and its supremacy. This resulted in the promulgation of the notion that it was both an exemplum to be admired and imitated, synonymous with the Roman state itself. In The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, Paul Zanker e xamines the role of images in the cultural program of Augustus, arguing that a new visual language developed to express the ideals of the monarchy and to bolster the social changesRead MoreThe Representation Of Roman Children1612 Words   |  7 Pagestake a similar close look at Roman art to examine its validity in ancient Rome of whether childhood is simply an extension of adulthood or a distinctive phase of its own. Children and childhood as a subject matter can be commonly found in Roman iconography, as could be seen from the terracotta sculpture of Anchises, Aeneas and Ascanius, the procession relief on Ara Pacis, and the Amiternum relief depicting funeral cortege. This paper intends to explore the representation of Roman children primarilyRead MoreWhat Are The Similarities Between Perikles And Caracalla1348 Words   |  6 PagesPersonality and Power in Art† In the age of ancient civilizations of the Greeks and Romans, image was everything. Art, especially those on display in the public sphere, was ubiquitously exploited as propaganda by emperors, politicians and individuals of power to underscore their own political agendas, propagating specific, ideal public images within and beyond their ruling realms. In examining the public portraitures of Perikles and Caracalla, clear parallels can be drawn from the respective artists’Read MoreThe Role Of Images Within The Context Of Byzantine Art1297 Words   |  6 Pageswas produced being controlled tightly by church theology. This control is one reason why most works are uniform and anonymous and not varied by personal expression. The art and architecture reflects differences between the Roman Catholic religion which develops in the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox religion which thrived in the East, in the Byzantium Empire. The development of the style of Byzantine Art was developed during the fifth and sixth centuries were created for the Eastern OrthodoxRead MoreThe Role Of Images Within The Context Of Byzantine Art1044 Words   |  5 Pagesis one reason why most works are uniform and anonymous and not varied by personal expression. The church had a large power in what was produced for the public eye. The art and architecture reflects differences between the Roman Catholic religion which develops in the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox religion which thrived in the East, in the Byzantium Empire. The style of Byzantine Art was developed during the fifth and sixth centuries and were created for the Eastern Orthodox Church.Read MoreAnalysis Of The Marble Portrait Of Caracalla1947 Words   |  8 Pagesand the neck and a portion of the chest and shoulders. They are usually fragments from a full body statue that are created to be inserted into an existing body. According to Paul Zanker’s ‘Roman Portraits’, public sculpture included honorific portrait statues of political officials erected by the Senate in the Roman Republic. These statues were typically erected to celebrate a noted military achievement, usually in connection with an official triumph, or to commemorate some worthy political achievement