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Head of Caesar Augustus
Rome, ca. A.D. 30-50
Marble. Height: 21 1/2 in. (55 cm)
Transfer from University Collections. 68.277
Octavian Caesar (63 B.C.-A.D.
14), great-nephew and heir to Julius Caesar (assassinated in 44 B.C.),
defeated the troops of Marc Antony and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt in 31 B.C., marking the end of the Roman Republic. A grateful
Roman Senate bestowed upon him the name "Augustus." He ruled Rome
from 31 B.C. until his death in A.D.
14 as its first emperor. Augustus strove to return peace and prosperity
to the empire, and the period was characterized by a series of new laws
he instituted.
Portraits of Augustus were many, and two general types have emerged: the
earlier "Octavian," and the later "Augustan." This portrait
is an example of the latter, noticeably lacking the wide cranium, heavy
brow, and prominent ears of the "Octavian." "Augustan"
portraits derive their less individualized and more idealized features from
earlier Greek sculpture and mostly date from shortly after Augustus's death
and subsequent deification. This sedate, idealizing form of representation
continued in various forms during the remainder of the Early Empire, which
came to an end in A.D. 284 with the rule of Diocletian.
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