Roman Art

I find that this era of art is one of my favorites to talk about. I love the old war generals and emperors of Roman history and these two beings are prime examples of great art and culture. Both the portrait head of Caracalla and the bust of Commodus as Hercules reek of proud attributes and power hungry individuals. The bust of Commodus as Hercules is a more obvious example of an over the top representation of a human being. We have Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, in what seems to be a lion or tiger jaw and skin draped around his head and neck. He holds a club in his right hand and apples or small fruit in his other hand. On the base of the bust are two kneeling Amazons though one is missing. Beside the Amazon is a globe with the Zodiac signs; on top are Cornucopias’ with the Amazon’s shield. After doing some research as to what the base represents, I came up with a few different outcomes. All of which concludes with Commodus’ idea of power and heroism. It is said that Hercules solely represents these elements that Commodus is replicating. Commodus had ordered people to characterize himself with Hercules whenever sculpted or painted. He had built a sort of relationship with Hercules by being this power-driven person in the arena; he said that he is the rebirth of Hercules himself and his physical dexterity was greatly seen.

Now Caracalla, son of Septimius Severus, was a Roman emperor from 209 to 217. Caracalla is known to be one of the most notorious and unpleasant emperors of Roman history. Because of the massacres and persecutions Caracalla allowed and initiates throughout the Empire, people feared and hated him throughout the Roman Empire. The marble portrait of Caracalla is subtler than the former art piece of Commodus as Hercules. Significantly more damaged, the portrait head of Caracalla shows his power hungry instincts and personality in the facial expression than Commodus’ actual outer appearance. The first things I notice from Caracalla are the eyes. The eyes are protruding from the face and looking up, almost thinking or plotting of ways to better him. This plus the stern eyebrows and forehead we get a sense of unyielding and demanding actions from his man. Now I find this part of the head most chilling is the relaxed mouth but tense jaw. For me it shows great strength and relaxation in times of many destitution and adversity (and not hardships for himself that is).

I feel that many propagandistic messages can be seen from both pieces of art. We definitely get the sense of power and class from these individuals. Speaking from my own thoughts and imagination I would never want to be alone in a room with either or these men from what I see from their statuesque busts. I can see these propagandistic messages be widely understood by everyone. I feel that that is why these were made like this, to show people from all different kinds of cultures and backgrounds that these guys are not messing around. I feel that everyone will interpret facial expressions in the same way. A menacing and chilling facial expression from Caracalla will only allow so much interpretation from different people that we get the sense of what is being said. It goes for Commodus as Hercules when we see his dead lion skin and spiked club. We know, as human beings with the same natural instincts, when we are being shown something that can deliver harm our way. Both of these men’s busts give off the sense of control, power, supremacy, and rule of hundreds and thousands of people.