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Visual & Performing Arts
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Research on Marble portrait of the co-emperor Lucius Verus (Research Paper Sample)
Instructions:
Students must submit a 6-8-page final research paper on one single object of their choice on display at a museum in New York and created within the time frame of this course. The paper should provide detailed information on the culture, period, materials, uses, meanings, and social impact if it had any. It should also include the reasons why you chose this object and your own response to it. source..
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MARBLE PORTRAIT OF THE CO-EMPEROR LUCIUS VERUS
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Marble Portrait Of The Co-Emperor Lucius Verus
Old statues hold valuable heritage in diverse societies. They symbolize ancient people who help the societies in making transformations in various fields. In the ancient Roman community, emperors held the highest position in the administration of imperial powers. The heritage is stored in museums and other galleries to conserve their historical significance. The portrait of Lucius Verus is located at the Ashmolean Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum and anticipates a range of social and political importance. Some reconstructive appreciation and comprehension are essential in generating a connection with the convention preserved in the portrait. The research presents the diverse aspects of the early urban culture characterized by the statue.
Background
Subsequent to the death of Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Verus shared the imperial powers. Lucius Verus was co-emperor from 161 to 169. He reigned with his adopted brother Marcus Aurelius as co-emperor from 161 until his death in 169. Lucius Verus’ characteristics are distinguished for his abundant beard and hair represented here with intensely sculpted curls. The excessive quantities of the hair and whiskers, strongly sculpted by the sculptor, vary with the alluring sleekness of the appearance. Verus conducted a prosperous warfare against Parthia and apprehended Ctesiphon. In this representation, the face of the co-emperor adopts a reflective manifestation with a noticeable forehead that dominates his heavy-lidded eyes. The portrait was designed during the Mid-Imperial period. The portrait possesses an impressive majesty that offers a little suggestion of his reputation as an indolent and debauched ruler. It is a representative of Antonine style in its employs a lush drill work in the hair and scratched eyes to embellish the essentially realistic image.
The enlarged, larger-than-life measurements of the representation adopted as a design signify that it had apparently been assigned to acclaim the emperor following his bereavement. Lucius Verus' characteristics are common to a representation of Roman portraitures still existing. An example of is the Musée du Louvre, which was designed in the Borghese portrait assortment in Rome till 1807. The grand dimensions of this representation, which represents the transformation from the delicate works of the Antonian time to the more flamboyant baroque technique, helped in glorifying the co-emperor after his demise.
Physical Characteristics.
The dimensions of Verus’ portrait are 28 cm h x 19 cm w x 20 cm d (11 x 7 1/2 x 7 7/8 inches). The head is a statue or bust slightly smaller than life-size. Much of the nose is restored. There are slight damages to the upper lip, the hair, and the beard. The slightly incised pupils gaze straight ahead. Hair and beard are carved out with gouges, and there are traces of the drill, especially in the latter. It has an immense head, positioned on a recent bust, is one of the exceptional existing portraitures of Lucius Verus. The ruler's characteristics are evident from many other representations, notably his dense hair and beard, represented here with strongly sculpted locks. The enlarged representation hints to a posthumous performance, apparently committed by Lucilla, the wife of Lucius Verus and an offspring of Marcus Aurelius. The presentation was thus, between the passing of Marcus Aurelius in AD 180, and Lucilla's demise in AD 183. The representation is excellent both for its breadth and its nature of preservation. It is further one of the outstanding representations of the Baroque technique which was developed in the Roman Empire in the late second centenary. It represents a comprehensive break with classical culture. The excessive quantities of the moustache and hair, strongly carved by the sculptor, compares with the exceptional regularity of the face. The sculpture is skillfully crafted with the effects taken to climaxes in the rule of Commodus between AD 180-92. This was before the Severan administration announced a return to more subdued styles of portrait presentation. Marble carving with its intensely drilled hairs and beard set upon a smooth flawless face. The portrait is made of cast rock, a variety of gypsum mortar whose attributes are much separate from plaster of Paris used in the crafting of most sculpture. Contrary to the plaster, which is fluffy, light and thin, the cast rock is thick, heavy and powerful. Additionally, the cast rock appears heavy like real stones making the sculpture. The portraitures represent the prominent accomplishments of the Roman Art even in their unfinished authenticity.
Traditional Significance
The head of the sculpture is simply crafted and almost summary in treatment, appears to depend on models made in Greece about AD 161-163. The surviving Athenian versions have more drill work and, in one instance, a fuller beard, but this may show a later recension. As Lucius Verus’ years progressed, his hair was organized in a bigger mass of bulging curls, and his beard became longer. The portrait was perhaps crafted in a workshop on an isle such as Naxos or close to the Piraeus. A scruffy marble bust of Lucius Verus is a masterpiece from a luxurious Roman house at Patras which was certainly carved in an Attic or Cycladic workshop. The sculpture is given a point of artistic departure from the Greek replicas for the portraits at Harvard. The beards and hair are organized in identical fashion, manifesting more detail and the characteristic drill work. A marble duplicate head of Lucius Verus, describes him as the heroic leader of the Roman troops. He is credited for having defeated the Parthian Empire as well as the Armenian territory. The original portrait was discovered in a burrowing in Rome, and is presently resident of the Louvre Museum, Paris. In addition, and a distinct copy of the antique is available from the collections in Derbyshire, United Kingdom in Chatsworth House Sculpture. The depiction is the finest and beautiful copy of marble carving. The original has one of the biggest varieties of marble carvings in the world. The sculpture is authentic and of high quality which makes it extremely unique. It is a clear representations of the Roman life and culture, especially in the military front. Additionally, the representation of co-emperor Lucius Verus is ascribed to an unidentified Greek portraitist disparaged by Herodes Atticus.
Deployment of The Portrait
Lucius Verus’ portrait is located at found at Acqua Traversa, near Rome. The portraiture was considered to be an expression of the military force of Rome. In this case, Lucius Verus is displayed as a military chief following the Parthian Victory of 165. He is wearing a tunic and shield emblazoned with a relief cover of the Medusa placed on the breast place. Additionally, there is a thunderbolt on the arms. The strong turning of the head, the wide, straight protrusions, present the perception of self-confidence and might.
The portrait is expertly executed. The cultured marble exterior of the face is finely modeled and varies with the hairs of the moustache and the curls of hair, particularly tugged up using a gimlet. Lucius Verus was very disturbed about his gold like hair that he sprinkled his head with golden glitters so that his hair appears more excellent. An appearance of complacency on his look approves the arguments of the ruler's biographer. In opposition to Marcus Aurelius, who observed the divisions of his philosophy, Lucius Verus was renowned for the slackness of his decency and an exaggerated inclination concerning a wild life. Numerous portrayals of himself have persisted, which showcases the Hermitage bust is a masterwork of 2nd-century authorized art.
The marble head of Lucius Verus was discovered entirely flattened. Skilled conservation successfully overcame this rather a discouraging preservation, but certainly, many nuances of the sculpting and description were forfeited in the process. Though no fragments are novel, the carvings cannot be the identical. However, it is infrequent as an effigy sample of imperial portrait...
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