Caligula,Joe Geranio and Re-cut Augustus at The Getty Museum in Malibu- If You Notice- I Am a Little Closer to Augustus- 1986

This is about 20 years ago when I first became interested in Julio Claudian Portraiture. My Julio Claudian buds and myself drove 400 miles; studied the portraits and then drove home and went to work on about 2 hours sleep!! We really knew how to roll!! HERE IS THE SAME PIX 23 YEARS LATER!! www.flickr.com/photos/julio-claudians/2787809461/

Unknown - Caligula Portrait
Roman, Asia Minor, about A.D. 40
Marble
16 15/16 in.
72.AA.155
The Roman emperor Gaius, more commonly known by his nickname Caligula, ruled from A.D. 37 to 41 and was extremely unpopular. In fact, after he was murdered, almost all portraits of him were destroyed.

The Romans had a long tradition of portraiture, but portraits of emperors had a specific propaganda function beyond that of ordinary portraits. The actual appearance of the individual was combined with the political message that the portrait was meant to convey. Portraits of Caligula show a young man with a high forehead, small mouth, and thin lips. He is identifiable as an individual, yet his hairstyle copies that of the emperor Augustus, making a deliberate allusion to his dynastic connection and his right to rule.

The depiction of the emperor in these official portraits bears no resemblance to the unpleasant descriptions of Caligula provided by Roman writers such as Suetonius:

Height: tall -- Complexion: pallid -- Body: hairy and badly built -- Neck: thin -- Legs: spindling -- Eyes: sunken -- Temples: hollow -- Forehead: broad and forbidding -- Scalp: almost hairless, especially on top. Because of his baldness and hairiness he announced that it was a capital offense either for anyone to look down on him as he passed or to mention goats in any context.

Augustus Recut Portrait-

Unknown
Roman, about A.D. 50
Marble
15 3/8 in.
78.AA.261

After many years of civil war, Augustus took complete power in Rome in 27 B.C. He claimed that he was re-establishing the Roman Republic, but he actually founded the Roman Empire. Visual signs emphasizing its power and legitimacy bolstered this new political order.

Portraits of Augustus served as symbols of his political agenda rather than corresponding to his physical features as described in written sources. Augustus is always shown in an ideal, classicizing style, and he never ages over the length of his reign. One constant feature of Augustus's portraits is his hairstyle, with its distinctive forked locks of hair on his forehead.

This portrait was carved about the middle of the first century A.D., after Augustus' death in A.D. 14. Posthumous portraits of Augustus were popular and were often used by his successors to legitimize their rule. This portrait, however, may originally have been a head of Caligula, a later emperor. The head's wide-open eyes and concave temples characterize Caligula's portraits. When the hated Caligula was murdered in A.D. 41, most portraits of him were destroyed, but some may have been re-carved into other, more popular emperors. Joe Geranio
(From Getty text)


If you are interested in Julio Claudian Iconography and portrait study you may enjoy these two links:

Julio Claudian Iconographic Association- Joe Geranio- Administrator at groups.yahoo.com/group/julioclaudian/

The Portraiture of Caligula- Joe Geranio- Administrator- at
portraitsofcaligula.com/

Both are non-profit sites and for educational use only.