Focus on Green Caesar and discuss the Style.
There is widespread agreement that the individual depicted by the bust is the Roman politician Gaius Julius Caesar, who was one of the most significant figures in the end of the Roman Republic in the first century BC. The only known portraits of him that derive from his lifetime are those on his coins, which are barely idealised and depict him with clearly unique features. They stand entirely in the Republican tradition. All known sculptural portraits were created only after his death. The Green Caesar belongs to a group of late Republican portraits which appear very individualised to the modern viewer, but actually just reproduce various idealised features. These depictions represent values and qualities which were expected of the statesman, using typological forms and normalised formulae. Thus, the signs of old age indicate authority (auctoritas), while the gaze and expression show dignity and strictness (gravitas and severitas) and the tilt of the head shows dynamism and vigour. The viewer sees a serious and dignified man who is fully aware of his position and the duties that go with it, but also of his entitlement to it. The ascetic, sober style imitates the sobriety and endurance of a successful general, even though the clothing is that of a statesman rather than a general.
The actual circumstances of the portrait's creation are unclear. Many archaeologists place it in the first century BC, but the majority prefer the first century AD, in the early Imperial period. It was probably made in Egypt, since the green slate it is made of derives from Upper Egypt. In addition, the engraving of the hair instead of carving it in the round derives from Late Egyptian art, as do the firm, heavy contours of the slate.
slate Upper Egypt Gaius Julius Caesar Roman Republic Julius Caesar Imperial period auctoritas gravitas