The bust of Commodus is one of the most famous masterpieces of Roman portraiture and depicts the emperor as the reincarnation of the hero Hercules. Commodus is seen wearing the lion 's skin over his head, holding the club in his right hand, and the golden apple of Hesperides in his left hand as a reminder of how he is seen to be as the Greek hero Hercules. Two Amazon women are kneeling on the base beside a globe with the sign of the zodiac. These zodiac signs show important moments in Commodus’s life. On top of the globe is a cornucopia with the Amazon’s shield, one long enough to almost cover his torso. Cornucopia, a “horn of plenty” full of fruits and representing prosperity and fertility and abundance. This represents a new golden era that …show more content…
In both sculptures the hair is deeply carved and is a vivid feature of the busts. The detail of realism in David’s left hand we can see his veins on his hands when he is holding the slingshot and his ribs near the chest. In the bust of Commodus we can see the similar detail of his hands especially the joints above the knuckle area and how realistic it looks when he’s holding the apples and Hercules club on his. In both busts chest, arms and face are sooth. In both busts these sculptures have the portrait of emperor Commodus and the small town hero David as musculant where as in real life they weren’t this is done because Romans believed that the god made us humans and by showing David and Commodus as being musculant hey are portraying them as gods and God were portrayed to be musculant and strong. This is also to show power and strength of them and compare them to the gods in their skills and intelligence. This shows how people respected David and Commodus and hot they treated them like god like humans. They both have small lips, moth. In both busts the lips/mouth are shut. This can show how silence is more powerful than words as it’s seen in their action. Both David’s and Commodus’ eyes are pretty similar as they both have eye bags underneath their eyes. David’s eyes are in more detail and are more carved, drilled into the marble when compared with Commodus. Both of them are looking away from the audience with their head slightly tiled up to show power and their place in the society. Commodus is looking/glancing to his right whereas David is looking to his left and it seems like he is concentrating as his eyebrows and forehead has slight wrinkles also is eye bows are cringed together in both of the busts we can see muscles and when David is holding / grabbing the slingshot. They are portrayed as being healthy and
22. a) there is an understated nudity and detail in anatomy. b) it indicates the period from which the statue came. c) the icons are biblical figures associated with Christ. d) it signals the departure from pagan iconography to Christian.
During this time the new emperor Vespasian wanted to distance himself from the last couple of Julio-Claudian emperors that were not well liked, who used the idealized face like Augustus (their predecessor). He began to go back to the some of the Republican styles that had been rejected by his predecessors to suggest he would be a great emperor, who not only was a great war winning military man, but also has older deep set wrinkle lines on his forehead and cheeks, retreating hairline, serious straight mouth and attentive hard working eyes and face, to show his seriousness about the Roman empire. Going back to the Julio-Claudian period, there is one feature not seen in the Vespasian, one that relates to Head of a Man, seen in the portraits of Nero. According to the Kelsey Museum info card, his “carefully arranged wavy coiffure” was originated with Nero and the style lasted even
The Roman Empire, at its height (c. 117 CE), was the most extensive political and social structure of western civilization. Under Trajan, the empire reached its greatest territorial expanse and his admiration for Greek culture spurred new building programs and classicizing works of art throughout the empire. The marble representation of Trajan at the San Antonio Museum of Art known as (The Lansdowne Trajan, 98-117 A.D.) establishes Trajan as a skilled military commander, an affluent ruler and a god that’s why the torso of this sculpture belonged to a statue of a youthful god and later consolidated with Trajan's head. In The Lansdowne Trajan, the unknown artist utilized fine marble, contrapposto pose, shape and line to capture the dynamism of
Augustus’ roman temple inscription exemplifies his modesty in that his titles didn't boast his power and greatness. Nero Cassius, on the other hand was very boastful putting himself on a coin which stated his real name, “Nero Clavd (ivs)” and also in scripted Caesar Augustus showing their connection. The coin also states Ger (manicvs) Caesar” , the adopted father of Nero. Nero being related to Augustus Caesar brought no doubt in the citizen’s eyes that he will be a strong ruler.
The bust depicts Marcus Aurelius as the perfect rule, the “philosopher king”. He wears a cuirass (military tunic and cloak). Capitoline Brutus gives off a serious business-like expression that makes you believe it is an honorary sculpture. Bust of Marcus Aurelius displays a more standard Roman sculpture and his face has softer details. Capitoline Brutus had the characteristics of Italic and Greek sculpture styles
Even though the ivory relief has a religious overtone, both are clearly done in the Old and New Rome classical esthetic. “Cast in glittering bronze, like the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius set up nearly 500 years earlier, it attests to the continuity between the art Old and New Rome, where pompous imperial images were commonly displayed at the apex of free standing columns” (Kleiner 258). Both art pieces are a classic example of power, prestige and clemency during their time of
One arc is formed by both arms, and this is almost perpendicular to the other arc, which is formed by his hips, torso, and head. Another thing to take notice of is that the figure is not only idealized, but he is shown in the nude. This was common in the depictions of male people in Greek art, as a celebration of the greatness and beauty that the human body can achieve. Also, the fact that the subject matter of this sculpture is a person throwing a discus truly embodies the significance of fitness, sports and athletics in the ancient Greek culture, which again brings the ideal human body into
Both pieces are sculptures in the round, meaning they are not carved into a wall; they are freestanding. Both of the kings
The ultimate purpose of the art object until the Hellenistic period is to be a figure of human perfection and the Ideal, most commonly in the form of a ruler or a deity via body politics. Anatomy and physiology of the statue or relief is often used to further the pancultural concepts of the Ideal as opposed to the physical representation of a specific, imperfect person. The conept itself speaks volumes about the culture from which it originates, and what that culture valued most of its people and of their lives. However, as the centuries thundered by and civilizations rose and fell, there is a clear shift in the artist’s attitude towards his or her art, and the artist begins to wean away from an aesthetic realm of perfection to the portrayal of a specific
As alluded to in the previous paragraph, the artist uses texture to contrast between the head and lower body of the sculpture. Concentrated at the head is the textured portions of the sculpture, leaving the rest of the body plain. The contrast between the textured head and the plain body allows the prominent part of the artwork to stand out. An illustration of emphasis is on the sculpture’s face. The sculpture has two faces instead of just one.
The mostly represents that they stand out more. Both kings look upright and with a strong character and personality. From looking at the statue he seems very powerful, respected and obeyed by others. From what I read in the wall text he had a lot of followers that looked up to him and advised him when he needed it.
David is a topic from the Old Testament, which is widely repeated and done by many artists. David is a story where it shows that not only does strength wins in a battle but also wits. Each artist depicts David in different views and moments, like Michelangelo who is an Italian sculptor painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance, another is Gian Lorenzo Bernini who is an Italian architect and sculptor, and he was credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. Although both artists depicted David, but each one had different style where Bernini’s is more expressive then Michelangelo’s. Looking at both sculptures of David, there are some similarities which can be noticed.
The Greek sculptures reach the new height of beauty, not only because the mastery of the technique, but also the fascination of human body. Greek art uses the outer appearance to reflect the inner power, it is the representative pattern of western art. The myth inspires the creation of sculpture. The fantasy of nature and society and the admire of god’s shape and personality makes the sculpture more multiple and abundant.
”(italianrenaissance.org) both pieces were also very detailed and support the characteristic of making the humans look realistic. The detail in Virgin Mary’s face as well as Christ body along with Aphrodite’s body detail is extraordinary. As far as body scaling to life size both statues were a bit bigger. Virgin Mary’s body is bigger that it should be, as her head seems to be smaller compared to her body. They say he did that so that she would be able to support Christ on her lap.
It is the sculpture of a handsome and young ruler, namely, Augustus, sporting an ornamented cuirass and a tunic, with the figure of Cupid riding a dolphin on his side. The face reflects a youthful emperor, even though Augustus was about forty years of age when the statue was built. The Prima Porta style of facial composition comprises of, an expansive skull and slim chin, sharp-ridged eyebrows, hooked nose and a plump mouth and his hair is crowned with what is termed the Primaporta hairstyle. The breastplate is adorned with characters and is a composite of the narration of the Augustan and Tiberian propaganda, while he is barefoot. His right hand is