#flavians

[lionofchaeronea]

Denarius, minted between 88 and 96 CE by the Roman emperor Domitian (r. 81-96 CE), marking the deification of his infant son. On the obverse, the laureate head of Domitian himself. On the reverse, Domitian's son, hailed as DIVUS CAESAR IMPERATOR DOMITIANI F(ILIUS), is depicted as a young Jupiter. sitting on a globe and reaching out toward the seven stars that make up Ursa Major. Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

[lostprofile]

IMPERIAL ROMAN PORTRAITURE II: The Flavians

Titus Flavius Vespasianus assumed the throne in AD 69 after a year of civil war precipitated by the forced suicide of Nero and the collapse of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. To consolidate his power and legitimate the new Flavian dynasty, Vespasian assiduously distanced himself flrom his predecessor wherever possible. That distance is clearly communicated by Vespasian’s official state portraits, which, in general, rejects the idealized and depersonalized Hellenism favored by Augustus and his successors. 

To emphasize his particular strengths and abilities, Vespasian revived the naturalistic, highly-individuated portrait style of the republic. Whereas the Augustan portrait type is coolly composed and detached, with the mouth turned slightly downward and the head turned to the left (both conventions of Hellenistic portraiture), Vespasian’s effigy faces the viewer straight on and smiles broadly. With his bald head, hooked nose and wrinkles on display, there was little chance of associating him with his Apollonian predecessors. 

At the same time that Vespasian strove to distance himself from Nero, he carefully avoided the appearance of usurpation by quietly associating himself with the most recent, acceptable Julio-Claudian, the deified Claudius. Portriats of the middle-aged emperor frankly depict his age and unflattering physical defects are depicted within remaining within the outlines of the Augustan Bildtypus. Flavian portraiture essentially reiterates the Claudian formula: images of Vespasian, Titus, and, to a lesser extent, Domitian, are naturalistically individualized but all share a family resemblance.

The portraits of Vespasian’s son, Titus, continue the veristic trend. Along with an accurate record of his facial features, his full-length portraits depict the young emperor’s stocky build, receding hairline and short stature. Domitian’s few surviving portraits have surprising passages of realism, such as the Toledo bust, which depicts the empower wearing a wig to hide his baldness. As his regime became increasingly autocratic, Domitian realized that unflattering realism did little to enhance his image as dominus et deus. Idealization quickly became the order of the day, as seen in his spectacular, full-length cuirass image. The statue takes the Augustus of Primaporta as its point of departure, but replaces the elevated, rhetorical, tone with the swagger and confidence of a young man in perfect physical condition. According to Suetonius, Domitian possessed none of those qualities, but when this masterpiece is compared to representations of Titus in the same guise, the effectiveness of the Domitianic Herrscherbild becomes painfully apparent. Accomplished, successful, admired figures like Titus are diminished by realism. Like Rigaud’s state portrait of Louis XIV, Domitian’s hyperbolic portrait proves that larger-than-life social roles require a grand manner that is beyond individuals and and mimesis..

[ralehale]

The Flavian Messiah

If you’ve been following this blog for even a month then you know the things we discuss and study aren’t exactly popular in mainstream “Churchianity.” We’ve explored topics from Jesus’ mystical teachings on the “third eye” or Pineal gland to the hidden interpretations of the Bible which reveal that Astrotheology may have more truth and science behind it then we may have expected. But today’s post…

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[187o]

period moodboard : Flavians

[douchestrider]

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