Roman sculpture comparison
Two portraits, that of a Man and of Emperor Caligula, can be found in the same gallery in Metropolitan Museum of Art, which suggests that both of the busts were created in the same period of time. This, in turn, suggests that they must be stylistically similar, though not exactly the same. At the same time, the portrait bust of a Man was created by either Antonine or Severan at the dusk of the second century, almost two hundred years later that the bust of Caligula. It is apparent to conclude that there must be some difference in the way the creators conveyed the images of the two persons due to development of skills and styles in time.The portrait of Caligula is, in my view, a propagandistic work, created not to visually please but rather to impress and as a carrier of a message of political power. A depiction of political figures aimed for propaganda was typical throughout the history and this bust serves the same purpose. Caligula was a powerful figure with a very distinct character and unlimited power, which, as we will see, is consciously shown on this work. The portrait of a Man, on the other hand, cannot be attributed to the political influence, and is, therefore, a work of creativity and intended as a realistic depiction
Even though both busts are created of marble, the portrait of a Man is less polished out than the Caligula's bust. This is another attribute that makes the latter more idealistic and more distant from the reality. I believe that texture is very important for creating a stronger similarity to a human skin, which was not completely achieved by Julio-Claudian. But, according to the reasons listed above, this was the deliberate intention of the master. Metropolitan Museum Roman Sculpture Gallery To conclude, I would like to stress that though a portrait of a Man has a richer realism than the bust of the Emperor, neither one are naturalistic to the fullest extent. In my view, a more detailed depiction of human features is needed to achieve this goal and a masterful use of texturing is one of the most important solutions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Another detail that I must mention is the facial expression of men depicted in these two portraits. The face of a Man is calm, maybe a bit tired but not sorrowful. It is a face that carries no particular strong emotion, a face that is used to hiding its inner thoughts and feelings. If asked to choose between a happy and sad, I would tend more to the latter one, but I must stress that it is more of a melancholy type of face. Thi
Some common words found in the essay are:
Antonine Severan, Portrait Caligula, Museum Art, Emperor Caligula, portrait caligula, Metropolitan Museum, Sculpture Gallery, , metropolitan museum, head positioned, busts created, bust emperor, realism bust, richer realism, common feature, fullest extent,
Approximate Word count = 894
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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