head portrait

Santo Varni 1888, Decreto 3-5 marzo 1 acquisto

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 31

marmo bianco- scultura

Mostra di Arte Antica - Genova, Palazzo Bianco - 1892

The portrait may correspond to the ‘schlichten’ type of Antonia Maior in terms of hairstyle; the portrait may date from the period 37-39 AD when Antonia, as Augusta, received special honours from her nephew Caligula; the stylistic rendering of the surfaces and the workmanship of the hair also date to these years. Historical sources tell us that Livia married the future first emperor of Rome at the age of 18, with one marriage and two children behind her. She played an important role in the political life of Augustus even though some ancient authors accuse her of having killed all his descendants and Augustus himself. Found in the 19th century in the excavations of the city of Luni (possibly from the forum), the portrait came from the auction of the collection of sculptor Santo Varni, purchased in 1887/88 by the Municipality of Genoa. The head, in a 19th-century restoration, was cut to better fit the modern base, but, as with the so-called Caligula, it had to end in an inverted cone to allow it to be inserted into a statue. The characteristics of this head consist of a strong idealisation of the face, emphasised by the slight twisting of the head and a certain lack of strong physiognomic elements, made more evident by the loss of the nose, which, in the case of Livia - known for its aquiline shape - would have been decisive. Added to this are attributes, such as diadem and infula, that are characteristic of the portraiture of Livia, Antonia Minor, Agrippina Maior, etc. It is clear that we are in the presence of a deliberately idealised imperial portrait. The type of the hairstyle may belong to the 'schlichten' type of Antonia Maior; the portrait may date from the period 37-39 AD when Antonia, as Augusta, received special honours from her nephew Caligula; the stylistic rendering of the surfaces and the workmanship of the hair also date back to these years.