Roman Woman Profile Essay

SHELDON
NODELMAN
 from
 E.
D’Ambra,
ed.,
Roman
Art
in
Context.
NY:
Prentice
Hall.
1993
pp.
10‐20
 Like all works of art. the portrait is a system of signs; it is often an ideogram of “public’ meanings condensed into the image of a human face. Roman portrait sculpture from the Republic through the late Empire-the second century BCE. to the sixth CE -constitutes what is surely the most remarkable body of portrait art ever created. Its shifting montage of abstractions from human appearance and character forms a language in which the history of a whole society can be read. Beginning in the first century B.C., Roman artists invented a new kind of portraiture, as unlike that of the great tradition of Greek

As the millenniums pass and years go by, the world continues to evolve each day. Across the world, in every society, men and women have specific roles that they carry out. During ancient times, in most cultures, women were inferior to men. This is still true in many countries today. It has taken American women many centuries to have gained the rights and privileges they have today. Women have made many immense achievements, fought for their rights and stood up for what they believed in during the past century. It is very important to understand the role of women in history because they have played an imperative part of how each society functioned. In Classical Athens, women and men were citizens however men were superior to the women.

Throughout the ancient world, the aspects to which a successful society thrive under have been skewed, except for that of religion. Although a universal religion has never been adopted, most empires tend to follow a basic outline similar to one another. In relation to Greeks and Romans, this ideology still holds true. Religion between these two societies have had their differences, but for the most part they have kept the same values held high. Women and their impact on Greek and Roman religion is what shaped these regions to flourish and is what held the empires together through all war and turmoil that came their way.

All over the world, societal roles of women are different. This has not changed despite centuries of time passing. Roman and medieval women, though parts of different cultures and separated by distance, were very similar.

Her face is empty and has no meaning because it is what women was for at that time. The face of women was not important to keep the family line or the clan strong. Men wanted women who had more female features which they think can make their children healthy and strong. So then, the women’s body on the statue shows bigger breast and hips because that

Did women have any significant role to play in the world of Roman politics and intellectual culture?

When examining the statue, there is an old woman bent and weary. Her posture helps clue us in, with her age and the state of her health. The figure is dressed in cloth that drapes off her body as she carries a basket that is filled with what we may think are offerings. On her head, there are vines that create a band around the top of her head used to signify the festival that was going on during that time. The specific detail that is seen on this statue persuades us to want to know the story of this woman. Doing so, the process involves lots of research about the time and art. During the hellenistic period, artists begin to introduce more inner beauty than physical beauty. There is an opportunity to learn more about the structure itself, then settle for what is given and seen.

There is little information to be found on this particular bust of a young woman; however, the scarcity of information definitely heightens the allure of this piece of art history. This emblema was made from a single sheet of silver sculpted in high relief to form the bust of a young woman many believed to be Cleopatra Selene II, a daughter of Cleopatra VII Philopator and Marcus Antonius or better known as Cleopatra and Marc Antony. This extraordinary art depicts Cleopatra Selene II wearing an elephant headdress that is thought to evoke Dionysus, the mythical conqueror of India. She is also adorned with more powerful symbols on her lower half, a scorpion on her right shoulder, a cobra on the left, a lioness and a lion on the center of the chest framing fruit and wheat.

The Roman statue of the Julio-Claudian period, The Marble Statue of Old Woman, more commonly known as The Old Market Woman, depicts a mature woman of the Hellenistic Age struggling. This marble sculpture is located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which dates its production within the first century After Common Era. Given that it is a Roman copy of a Greek work from the second century Before Common Era, its classification belongs within the Hellenistic period of art. This period style abandoned idealistic beauty by delving deeply into realism and depicting things as they appear in real life. In addition, the period explored a much greater sense of emotion while moving away from the classical heroic and archetypal portrayals as well.

Concerning color, there is a stark contrast between the figure on the painting and the background. More specifically, the figure of the woman is predominantly delineated in white color, especially pale, ashen white, as far her apparel and facial complexion are concerned, while there are also various hues of grey, with respect to her hair and accessory feather. These white and grey shades are vividly contrasted with the prevailing red and crimson hues of the background (viz. the drape, armchair, and table). Moreover, one can detect colors of dark green (jewelry), some beige on the left (pillar), and darker or lighter shades of blue on the right side of the canvas (sky), which all in concert and in addition to the subtle purple hue forming the sun or moon exude a certain dramatic sentiment. Also, there is brown, which often easily segues into gold (viz. books and attire details respectively). The main contrast of colors between white and red would be interpreted as serving the purpose of rendering the figure of the woman, and especially her face, the focal point of the work, despite, paradoxically enough, the lush red shades at the background. Bearing that in mind, the significance of the woman’s face will be enlarged upon later, when discussing aspects of her identity.

I was drawn to this time period as well as these two sculptures. As I researched both sculptures I was fascinated by how much respect the people of that time had for their women. Not only for what they could do for them, but also for what they looked like. They didn’t see the weight and size as a grotesque thing; but more as a thing of beauty. In

This period housed many depictions of the Virgin Mary, including Cimabue’s Enthroned Madonna and Child. Mary was seen as the perfect example of feminine virtue, showing chastity, piety, humility, and maternity. Images of the Madonna, or Mary, whether sculpture or painting, encouraged women to live up to her. Mary wasn’t the only woman that was looked up to in Renaissance art. Women could be portrayed as witches, saints, temptresses, or members of the working class, and their image would still be an encouragement to dress and behave properly. (Jacobs)

The subject of the artwork is Nefertiti, who was the wife of Akhenaten. In addition to being a wife, Nefertiti was also a queen of Egypt. Nefertiti is posed in a very graceful stance. She looks very calm and put together. Due to the curvature of the very elongated neck, the Bust of Nefertiti is poised into a relaxed pose, while maintaining her eternal beauty at the same time. These features are also noticeable when moving the focus towards the eyes, which are slightly closed enough to see her eyelids in addition to her actual eyes. Her eyes are composed into a very natural state; they aren’t widened as if they are portraying a specific facial expression. Her entire face has a peaceful and very naturalistic look. Although often times portraits in Egypt were made to be exaggerated and never depicted what the person actually looked like, this piece

The cannon of proportions of the Virgin Mary’s face is rather elongated, giving her a slightly melancholy and morose expression. Her facial structure is not very defined, as she has no cheekbones and her chin is very blunt. Also, her mouth is downturned and unsmiling, which creates the impression of seriousness. This shows that the artist was more interested in depicting her as a mother instead of a beautiful woman. Even her nose lacks refinement, as it has a very large base and slightly angled nostrils. Although Mary is not meant to be seen as an elegant lady, her face when viewed as a whole gives the impression of austere otherworldliness. This is in part due to her large and wide-set eyes, which look off into the distance beyond the viewer. The facial features of the young Christ are quite unusual for a child. The seriousness of his expression conveys a sense of wisdom far beyond his age. Even the proportions of his face are more similar to a man’s than a child’s, as his eyes are positioned too far up on his

The portrait is displayed horizontally with a gold trimmed frame. The subject is a female that looks to be in her early 20’s sitting upright on a large brown chair. If the viewer travels up the painting the first indication of the woman’s class is her satin, blue dress. The saturated blue shines and falls in the light like water. Paired with the dress are her exceptionally detailed endings to her sleeves. The lace is even painted as though it is translucent, allowing a little of the blue dress to show through the sleeve. Flowers throughout history have symbolized innocence of a woman and her virginity. The repeating theme of flowers, in the sleeve cuffs and ribbon) in the woman’s attired suggests her purity or innocent nature. Another very details section of the painting includes the corset/torso details. The sewing suggests texture in the torso with small beading in between. Towards the top of the chest in the center, the female seems to bear an extravagant, ribbon piece with a tear drop bead in the center. The light pink