Free Essays

Statue of Augustus of PrimaPorta vs.
The Colossal Head of Constantine the Great

Roman portraits in general seem to represent not just the mere appearance of the people portrayed, but particularly their identity. This feature seems to be closely connected with the concept of physiognomics, developed by Aristotle and his pupil Theophrastus in the fourth century BC, in which they demonstrated the close connection between the appearance of a person and his character¹. Portraits of emperors also had a distinctive purpose to them. They intended to impress as well as to communicate the message of the powerful ruler and of his achievements.

Here, we will look at two vivid examples of such a pattern in the art of the ancient Rome: the statue of Augustus of Prima Porta and the colossal head of emperor Constantine. Even though it is rather difficult to compare this colossal head with another statue on a much smaller scale, we will examine features communicating a message of powerful and godlike ruler in the both figures.

The first sculpture we will look at is Augustus from Prima Porta, a marble copy based on a bronze original dating about 20 BC. It is 2 feet and 7.5 inches tall, and is now displayed in Vatican Museum.

In his autobiography Res Gestae, Augustus had publicly rejected the eighty silver statues representing him in Rome. This creates the image of a good and humble ruler. Still, the fact that those figures existed at all, in such a great number and in precious metal makes us wonder about why were they created in the first place. However, Augustus did not destroy all the images of himself.

In the statue of Prima Porta he is idealized, looking both godlike and human. His face bears close resemblance with all the other portraits of him and is most likely a realistic portrait, while his body is obviously idealized. Augustus' biographer Suetonius is being quite vivid in his physical description:

Augustus was remarkably handsome and of very graceful gait. His teeth were small, few, and decayed; his hair, yellowish and rather curly; his eyebrows met above the nose; he had ears of moderate size, a nose projecting a little at the top and then bending slightly inward, and a complexion intermediate between dark and fair.

Suetonius mentions that Augustus cared so little about his personal appearance and particularly his hair, that sometimes he would have two or three barbers working on it together to save time. The hair of the statue, conversely, is carefully arranged.

We also know from the ancient writers, that Augustus was not a strong person physically. Moreover, we know about at least three cases of him being the verge of death. It is very unlikely that such a weak man would be so perfectly built. The perfection of his physique reveals his divine nature.

While toga wrapped around the waste emphasizes him being a nobleman of Rome, the armour and the spear in his left hand (the scepter is a modern restoration)² convey him as a general. The cuirass statue of Augustus from Prima Porta is one of the best examples of a record of the emperor's great deeds. Augustus' ancestry from Venus is suggested through the Cupid at his side and the presence of god Apollo along with Diana, Venus and Mars on his armour breastplate. Augustus was not known as a good soldier. Most of the decisive battles in his youth were won for him by his general Agrippa, later on - by his stepsons Tiberius and Germanicus. Augustus concentrated on governing and perfecting the existing Rome, not on expanding its borders. Painting the return of the standards on his breastplate, with a soldier receiving them, suggests that the standards were gotten back as a result of warfare. This creates an impression that it was Augustus the General, and not the Politician, who won them back. This was not true, however. The standards were given back by the Parthians as a result of a treaty. The final element of the breastplate is the sphinxes on the shoulder flaps. They stand for Egypt conquered by Augustus, which was the most abundant source of wealth for the Empire. Even before the statue was made, he had used sphinxes as his seal for a couple of years³.

Even though the statue was made after Augustus had passed the middle age, he is still being portrayed as a very young man. During the Republic the naturalism was common in representation of people, while idealism was more usual in portrayal of deities. By depicting himself to be ever young, Augustus puts him in the same line with the gods from whom he was descended. He is also represented barefoot, which suggests him standing on holy land, and therefore, being a god.

Augustus makes a gesture with his right hand that could be both of an orator addressing his people and of a general leading his troops into battle. The face of Augustus has an "inspired" expression. The tradition of portraying an idealized "spiritual" ruler started under Augustus and lasted many years. Later, we will see its reflection in the colossal statue of emperor Constantine. For Augustus, however, the dazzling look was part of his everyday image. Suetonius tells us: "Augustus' eyes were clear and bright, and he liked to believe that they shone with a sort of divine radiance: it gave him profound pleasure if anyone at whom he glanced keenly dropped his head as though dazzled by looking into the sun."

Continued here: Collossal Head of Emperor Constantine