Analysis Of The Head Of An Old Man

The first Roman emperor, Augustus brought a huge change to Roman life and art in 27 B.C.E. The statue, Head of an Old Man, created between 25 B.C.E to 10 C. E displays the artistic change in physical form which reflects the social and political change of that time. The old man’s short hair, furrowed brow, wrinkled face, and deep bags under his eyes showed a portrait of hard life and hard work unlike the previous portraits of young well-muscled men in their prime. The Head of an Old Man reflected Augustus’s emphasis on moral reforms and hard work during his rule. Before Augustus’s rule, the classical approach to depicting portraits or statues of men at that time were making them look ageless and perfect. They were shown as warriors, in

Created between 25 B.C.E to 10 C. E, the statue was probably originally formed to be part of a bust for a burian niche in a family tomb. The portrait of this unknown male partrician has many distinctive features common for that time. His hair is so short that he almost looks balding. His forehead is extremely lines and there are heavy bags and wrinkles under his eyes. He has large ears and a large nose and his lips are pulled downward in an austere manner. His cheeks are slightly hollowed as well. The man is shown with no emotion, which is characteristic of the veristic style of that Roman period. Verism refers to the portrait style of hyper-realism that exaggerates flawed features to make the males looks aged and worn from hard

Gravitas refers to the dedication to civic duty and responsibility to the Roman Empire. There is a certain look of contempt, seen through the hard edges of his mouth and the contemptuous look in his eyes that also represent how he is from an aristocratic class and he is proud of it. He looks like the model citizen. Virtus refers to excellence of character which also uplifts the man’s image at that time as it was one of the societal values. The embodiment of these societal values meant that the man was a perfect citizen and could be promoted in his role and be seen as someone worthy of that time. Also, it is obvious that the hard-earned features the patricians wanted to show demonstrated that their ambitions prevailed from fighting against the Gracchi, in civil wars, and the advance of the populace. Therefore, Romans valued a different depiction that the Greeks. They focused more on hard work and model citizens rather than physically idealized men. Roman Portraiture was also for propaganda purposes, and to send out ideological messages. Therefore, this incredible realism delivers a clearly political and social message. Thus, the Roman portrait, Head of an Old Man, has features reflecting old age and weariness to demonstrate the Republican’s period of valuing moral reforms, fighting for the love of the country, and hard work. Roman portraiture looked much more