This is a sculpture of Livia Drusilla also known as Julia Augusta. She is the wife of Augusta whom was her second husband. She is described as being one who enjoyed the status of priviledged counselor of her husband. It was said that she petitioned on behalf of others to influence his policies. This was such a great feat for her because it is was an unusual role for a Roman wife in a culture dominated by paterfamilias, which are the head of the Roman family.
This sculpture stuck out to me because I could tell that she was royalty. I am a little disheartened that her left arm is cut off however from the angle that she is sitting I cant see if anything else is out of place. Im unsure if that happened during a time of war to show disrespect or if through time natural things happened that runied the sculpture. She gives off this heir of security. I also like the fact that she is covered instead of naked. I sometime find that offensive. Her face commands the sculputure even though most of it is her clothes.
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good discussion of the subject as an individual and a person, esp. your analysis of the importance of being dressed/undressed and what that tells us about the person. Her calm, dignified posture and serene expression convey wisdom and status ( and maybe power?)
ReplyDeleteOn a formal or stylistic level, it would be helpful to have the dimensions of the sculpture, as size does count! A more important person would merit or be able to afford a larger sculpture.