Existing comment:
Roman
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, ca 38 AD
Romans greeted the accession of Emperor Gaius in 37 AD with calls of "our baby" and "our star." (He was also known as Caligula, "Little Boots," because of the soldier's boots he wore as a child.) Yet just four years later, he was assassinated for his cruelty, and virtually all public images of him were destroyed. VMFA possesses one of only two surviving full-length statues of Caligula. It shows him as a statesman wearing a toga and the footwear of an aristocrat. The skillfully carved layers of drapery and finely modelled features indicate the high quality and idealized presentation of an official portrait image. Indeed, recent research suggests that it once stood in a shrine to the ruling family (the Julio-Claudians) near Rome. |