Augustus Caesar Statue

This discussion will first describe a marble statue of the emperor Augustus Caesar (27 BC-14 AD) dating from 15 AD during the reign of his successor Tiberius. It is thought to be a copy of an original statue from 20BC, and is located at the Villa of Livia, the then-home of Augustus’ wife, at Prima Porta. The statue portrays an idealised and youthful version of Augustus, as he is shown to have a full head of hair and young facial features, including the traditional Roman aquiline nose and a rounded mouth. This reflects a Greek style of art and subverts the traditional expectation of Roman statues, which usually portrayed their subject as old in order to convey their experience and conservatism. Therefore, this statue of Augustus is a political

Located near Otricoli, Italy, the portrait portrays its subject as aged and haggard, with deep wrinkles, especially around his eyes, a furrowed brow, and sagging jowls. The man depicted has a large, hooked Roman nose, large ears, no hair, and an emotionless expression, which is in keeping with its veristic style, that is, an artistic style characterised by realism. This style was popular in Roman Republican portraiture as signs of age reflected experience and status; it communicated old Republican values of lineage and conservatism, however it didn’t represent people exactly as they were, but as they would want to be seen. This may be the reason why the old man’s aged features are so exaggerated, in order to convey his great status and experience. This is unlike the statue of Augustus; whilst both works portray men of status, the way in which they are presented is vastly different. The statue of Augustus portrays a, seemingly eternally, young man, whose face is youthful and shows little signs of aging in order to convey a new age of Rome, whilst the patrician in the portrait shows signs of aging, which reflect his experience. Even though both men have strong aquiline noses, that is the only real facial similarity they share- Augustus has a full head of hair, small ears, and smooth, unlined skin, which is the complete opposite of the Roman patrician. This could be explained by the fact that the portrait of the patrician was created during the Roman Republic, whilst the statue of Augustus was created (and then re-created) during the Roman Empire, and thus they would have different expectations and conventions placed upon them. In terms of differences, the portrait also only appears to be a bust, whilst the statue depicts Augustus’ full body, with its extremely detailed breastplate and small depiction of Cupid. They both are