PATRICIAN CARRYING BUSTS

Or how to carry your family tree in two hands

WHAT IS IT ???

Life size statue of a Roman Patrician carrying two busts (heads).

Finished somewhere between 10BC and the start of the first half of the first century AD.

Who were the Patricians?

The term patrician originally referred to a group of elite families in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members.

According to the historian Livy, the first 100 men appointed as senators by Romulus (founder of Rome) were referred to as "father" (patres),

and the descendants of those men became the Patrician class.

THE BUSTS

Both realistic (= Veristic). Both stop just below the neck (= sign of Late

Republican period). They are two old men and represent the

patricians ancestors. They are both held close to indicate the close

relationship to the patrician carrying them.

THE PATRICIAN CARRYING BUSTS

Left Hand Bust - Grandfather Style of c.50BC

Probably of the patrician’s grandfather

Balding head with wrinkles under the man’s neck

Right Hand Bust - Father Later than the other; this

one c.40-30BC Probably the patrician’s

father Short hair that is

combed forward towards the forehead

Groves around mouth Tight thin mouth and lips A very severe look

WHAT IS VERISTIC STYLE?

VERISTIC STYLE = true, ‘warts and all’. This can be seen by the wrinkles and the

creases shown on the faces: Especially on the brow, At the corners of the eyes, At the sides of the mouth.

Drapery hangs in irregular folds.

SOME LAST POINTS…

Great attention to detail, ie: bone structure, skin, hair and eyes.

The original masks were made of wax as it was tradition to have wax busts (death masks) of deceased patrician’s in their households.

Only patrician’s could have portrait busts made.

These busts were therefore a status symbols.

Patrician Carrying Busts – Revision

Write down at least SIX basic facts about the statue (date, material, subject matter, dimensions etc)

Why has the sculptor included a palm trunk in this work? Describe the clothing of the main figure. What is the

significance of his wearing this clothing? What is the style of the statue? Write a definition of the

style including at least FOUR features of the style. Explain in detail TWO possible influences on the style of

the statue.

Patrician Carrying Busts - Revision

Identify the objects the main figure is carrying in each hand. Include the connection of these objects to the main figure. (be specific about which hand carries which specific ‘person’).

Explain in detail the social significance of these objects. Make at least TWO points.

What message is the sculptor trying to convey about his subject and how does he do this?

Patrician: Comparative Questions

Compare this statue with the bust of Commodus. Identify and describe at least THREE stylistic differences.

Compare the statue with the bust of Philip the Arabian. Identify and describe at least TWO stylistic similarities (See Artus study notes p100 if you need to).