1 AI-Integrated Object Essay and Reflection: Julius Caesar Tusculum portrait Alexander Shives ARTH158-010: Images of Rulers Professor Alison Terndrup September 20, 2023
2 The Tusculum portrait is the only surviving portrait of Julius Caesar. It is one of the two accepted portraits of Caesar (alongside the Chiaramonti Caesar) which were made before the beginning of the Roman Empire. The sculpture is severed at the neck, cracked in a way that speaks about the time it was created. The left side of his head is poking outward. At the top, you can see his receding hairline, where there is only enough hair on the very top of his head to still connect the rest of his hair. Below that there are deeply carved lines in his forehead, depicting his age. His brows are close together, which creates a ridge connecting them. His eyes are wide open, expressing almost no emotion. He also has a narrow and long triangle shaped nose, with a rounded tip. He has sunken cheeks, and you can slightly see his cheekbones. Along with the sunken cheeks, you can see that he has sagging skin. There is also a slight smile present, with smile lines etched on both sides of his mouth. Another thing to mention is that you can see wrinkles on Caesars neck and it is somewhat curved on the left side. This sculpture lives up to the legacy of Caesar by displaying his imperfections, rather than idealizing his image. This can be seen in a number of instances. The wrinkles on his forehead, the sagging skin, the laugh lines, and the receding hairline all show age. This sculpture was not created when Caesar was a young. His head being broken at the base of the neck also indicates that this model was a part of a larger sculpture. This doesn't mean that it was relevant though. Most Roman sculptures used pre-sculpted bodies and then focused the art into the portrait. In addition, it could also explain the slight curve in his neck, he might have had a certain position or posture as a whole statue. It also speaks about the time period it was created in. Before the glory of Rome, the Etruscans ruled much of what is now Italy. There were many battles in which this stature could have gotten caught in the crossfire. The asymmetry of the laugh lines adds to the realism of this portrait. This is because the artist did not choose to simply
3 make the laugh lines even, the variation shows that the artist is most likely trying to go for as much of a likeness to Caesar as he could. The weird shape to Caesar's head also expresses that the sculptor is trying to be as accurate as he can. Caesar was known for having skull deformity and this further supports that. It plays into the artist's realistic approach to this sculpture. However, despite his age being shown, the way his eyes are open, alert, and his mouth