RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF THE DEIFIED JULIUS CÆSAR—Roman Forum
JULIUS CÆSAR
The Portrait Sculpture and the Reproduction of Buildings in this Number of The Mentor
SIX
In the Rome of Cæsar Hellenic influence was active, not only in literature and philosophy, but also in art. The Roman portrait sculpture of this period reveals Greek knowledge and skill; but its essential character was determined by native tradition. The earliest Roman portraits were waxen death masks formed from a moulding over the face. Hence they were mechanically accurate but utterly devoid of animation. Though this material has perished, the visitor to the museums of Rome will find in relief many a family group in which the faces retain the mask-like quality. Only in a slighter degree does the principle apply to portrait sculpture in the round. At its best the Republican face accordingly is intensely realistic yet with no intimation of the inner spirit. Commonly the hair is indicated by parallel scratches made by firm chisel strokes. By these characteristics many busts and statues may be easily dated. It should be noticed, too, that in the Republican age the portrait heads, as distinguished from statues, include in addition to the head scarcely more than the neck, and that the bust is a gradual development during the subsequent period. With this criterion we are able to assign the Brutus of this number of The Mentor to the administration of Claudius, 41-54 A. D. In the colossal portrait of Cæsar of the National Museum at Naples the bust is a modern restoration, and we may only cherish the reasonable faith that the head is genuine, though somewhat later than his lifetime. The famous Cæsar of the British Museum, comprising head and neck, would satisfy the criterion here formulated, but fails to pass another even more important test. The indication of the pupil in the eye was not devised till after Hadrian, 117-138 A. D., and accordingly this head could be no earlier. Recently it has been suggested, with some reason, that the work is a modern study. If so, it is a great success, as it most admirably expresses the physique and the character of the famous man.
Another aid to identification is the circumstance that a colossus could represent no one but a preéminent person; and this criterion favors the Neapolitan head of Cæsar mentioned above. The colossus statue in the Conservatori Palace seems to be authentic, but was made a half century or more after his death. The face is fuller than the literary description or the coins would warrant, but the difference may well be due to idealization. The images on coins are doubtless true likenesses, but in the case of his sculptured portraits we can only deal in probabilities.
For Pompey we are in a less fortunate condition. The colossal statue in the Palazzo Spada, a detail of which is given in this number, has long passed as the image at the feet of which Cæsar met his death; but the proof is insufficient, and it seems at least as likely that it represents an emperor. Other portraits are equally uncertain. The Madrid bust of Cicero is genuine, and well represents the orator’s great intelligence with a momentary expression of scorn. The better-known Vatican head, the bust of which is modern, is also genuine and stands second in merit. For Cleopatra there are no certain sculptural portraits. The reclining woman of the Ariadne type has been mistaken for her because of the snake, as she is known to have died by the bite of an asp. The illustration is given merely because it long passed for Cleopatra and is a Greek work of rare beauty. Her true image is shown on coins.
The various reproductions of edifices are not creations of the fancy, but have been carefully worked out by archæologists from remains of buildings according to the well established principles of architecture.