Portrait of a Man, on a modern bust
This bust was mentioned in the Palazzina Borghese for the first time in 1833, when it was displayed along with six others in circular niches in the wall of the Portico.
The head, which is set on a modern bust, portrays a man with a lean face and a severe, determined expression.
Although heavy restoration work modified the physiognomy and in particular the position of the jaw, the sculpture seems to be linked to the iconography of late Republican or early Imperial portraiture, which was marked by accentuated and crude realism.
Object details
Inventory
Location
Date
late 1st century B.C.–early 1st century A.D.
Classification
Medium
Dimensions
height with bust 56 cm; head height 30 cm
Provenance
Borghese Collection, reported in the Portico in the Inventario Fidecommissario Borghese 1833, C, p. 41, no. 9. Purchased by the Italian State, 1902.
Conservation and Diagnostic
- 19th century Marble restoration in the lower part of the neck, the lower lip and the
nose. Heavily reworked surface and modern bust.
- 1990–91 I.C.R. (educational worksite)
- 2008–2009 Consorzio Capitolino di Elisabetta Zatti ed Elisabetta Caracciolo
- 2022 Research and educational worksite: Nobili - Fabrica - Antonelli (associated firms)
Commentary
This head, which is set on a modern bust, is portrayed frontally. The clean-shaven face is elongated with a triangular jaw area. The furrowed brow, deep line running horizontally across the forehead and the closed mouth accentuate the man’s severe, stiff expression. He has small, short curls and is clearly balding.
The ancient portions of the sculpture are the lower half of the face and the upper part of the neck. According to Moreno, the mouth, which has heavily lined, thin lips, and the projecting chin and lower lip are the result of restoration (Moreno, Viacava 2003, p. 99, no. 60). The sculpture seems to fall within the category of late Republican portraiture, characterised by hard features meant to express the sitter’s steadfast, resolute character. According to Zanker, this portraiture formula was used by the aristocratic class to express their superior status (Zanker 1976, p. 604). Bianchi Bandinelli held that the iconography of Republican portraiture was indebted to Hellenistic art, reformulated to meet the needs of Roman society (1965, p. 718).
The hollow face with protruding cheekbones and lean cheeks of the Borghese sculpture are also found in a portrait in the Naples Museum and a bust unearthed in Pompeii (Bonifacio 1997, pp. 73–74, 115–116, nos 23, 46).
Because it is so heavily restored, it is not possible to accurately read the sculpture, although stylistic analysis suggests that it can be dated to the end of the Republican period and beginning of the Imperial one. The sculpture was mentioned for the first time in the Palazzina Borghese in the Inventario Fidecommissario Borghese in 1833: ‘Sixteen busts on as many shelves, which protrude from the walls (C., p. 41, no. 9). In 1893, Venturi reported a smaller number: ‘14 busts on shelves along the walls’ (p. 12).
Giulia Ciccarello
Bibliography
- A. Venturi, Il Museo e la Galleria Borghese, Roma 1893, p. 12.
- R. Calza, Catalogo del Gabinetto fotografico Nazionale, Galleria Borghese, Collezione degli oggetti antichi, Roma 1957, p. 13, n. 111.
- R. Bianchi Bandinelli, J. Auboyer, s.v. Ritratto, in “Enciclopedia dell’Arte Antica”, 1965, p. 718.
- P. Zanker, Zur Rezeption des hellenistischen Individual-porträts in Rom und in den italienischen Städten, in “Hellenismus in Mittelitalien” II, Gottingen 1976, pp. 581-619.
- P. Moreno, S. Staccioli, Museo e Galleria Borghese. La collezione archeologica, Roma 1980, p. 8.
- R. Bonifacio, Ritratti romani da Pompei, Roma 1997, pp. 73-74, 115-116, nn. 23, 46
- P. Moreno, A. Viacava, I marmi antichi della Galleria Borghese. La collezione archeologica di Camillo e Francesco Borghese, Roma 2003, p. 99, n. 60.
- Scheda di catalogo 12/01008305, P. Moreno 1976; aggiornamento G. Ciccarello 2020.
