Emperor Augustus

“From then on, I no longer exceeded anyone in influence but everyone in renown.” These are the words of Augustus, the first Roman emperor (reigned 27 BC – AD 14), and they illustrate the intention behind the creation of a new type of portrait. Scholars connect this with the name given him by the Senate in 27 BC – Augustus (“exalted, sacred”) – and his new position of power.The monumental head very closely resembles that of the famous cuirassed statue of Prima Porta, which is now in the Vatican Museums and gave its name to the principal type of Augustan portrait. It is based on the high Classical statuary of the Greek sculptor Polyclitus: for example, his statue “Doryphoros”. The classicistic quality of the portrait expresses the change in the emperor’s conception of himself and provides a contrast with earlier types of portraiture, which with the pronounced individuality of their facial features were still largely part of the tradition of the late Republican portrait. The head is turned and inclined slightly to the right. Its tense forehead with two short vertical wrinkles above the bridge of the nose gives the portrait an expression of concentration. Only small irregularities lend a sense of liveliness to the face, which otherwise seems composed. Characteristic of Augustan portraits are the forking curls of hair above the nose. Stylistic indications suggest that this copy, which came from Italy, was probably made during the ruler’s lifetime. This portrait image of Caesar Augustus was familiar to people in the Middle Ages from coins and cameos. However, the Roman biographer Suetonius makes it clear that this image had little to do with the actual appearance of the ruler. The emperor had a number of personal defects (bad teeth, eyebrows that met, numerous moles, a hooked nose, unkempt hair and beard), but his charisma overcame it all: he was exceedingly graceful and had clear, bright eyes and a penetrating look.
© Kurt Gschwantler, Alfred Bernhard-Walcher, Manuela Laubenberger, Georg Plattner, Karoline Zhuber-Okrog, Masterpieces in the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities. A Brief Guide to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 2011