Influences on Roman Art on the Bronze Statue of an Aristocratic Boy

Bronze Statue of an Aristocratic Boy, a free-standing life-sized Roman sculpture, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. No.14.130.1), was found on the eastern Mediterranean island of Rhodes, whose ancient Greek cities were centers of commerce and culture under the Romans (museum label). The Bronze statue sculpted around the time 27 BCE- 14 CE resembles a young prince in the family of Augustus, specifically, the sculpture looks like the statue of Augustus of Prima Porta. The boy, in a contrapposto stance, stands, wearing a Greek cloak covering half of his body, raising his right hand in a speech giving manner. Imperial Rome’s time in history caused its art to be influenced by Greek art, Greek culture, and desire for wealth, this is represented by the artist's use of features such as form, posture, dress, and material.
Greek art certainly had a powerful influence on Roman art as seen by the perfect proportions and muscular torso of the sculpted young boy. His body is idealized, showing that this is the ideal way in which the body should be. This whole idea was taken from the Greeks, who prided themselves in man being able to achieve perfection. Doryphoros, a free-standing life-sized sculpture with an idealized body, made in 450- 440 BCE as a model figure for others to use for their sculptures, is the perfect example of this (class notes). The Greeks were interested in the body and what muscles can do, which then concerned the Romans after gaining control of the land.

Another aspect of Greek art was the ability to have the sculpture appear as though there was naturalistic movement, the Romans were influenced by the Greeks and it is shown by the posture selected for the figure. Contrapposto was how the Greeks chose to depict this and thus chosen by the sculptor to be the posture for the aristocratic boy sculpture. Standing in contrapposto the boy appears weightless and is standing very at ease. His right knee is slightly bent, thus making an imprint in his cloak while still giving the cloak the appearance of being thick and full of volume.

The drapery that the artist chooses to dress the boy in shows the Romans concern with the Greek culture. The bottom half of the boy’s body is swathed in elegant drapery. It appears to be light as a feather but also filled with creases making it appear like real drapery. The strange thing about the clothing in which the adolescent is wearing is that it is the cloak of the Greeks, instead of a Roman toga (museum label). Greek culture had a huge impact on the Romans and that is seen because the boy is wearing this cloak. The artist wanted to show the fascination that the Romans had with the Greeks.

The Romans did not only have a captivation with the Greeks, they also had an allure towards wealth and showing off their wealth as seen by the material chosen for the figure. The sculpture is made of bronze, a very expensive material, yet the artist chose to use it. The bronze material is a dark grey color like the sky on a stormy day. It is so smooth making the skin look perfect, without any blemish.

Additionally, this sculpture shows off the wealth that the people had with the way in which the sculptor decided to position the arm. The boy raises his right arm in the air with his hand in a fist except for his index and pinky fingers which are pointed upward. This strange hand formation is also known as a speaking pose and is the same pose that Augustus is making in the sculpture Augustus of Prima Porta. The implication of this is that the boy was taught public speaking, which is a skill only wealthy families were able to learn, consequently by choosing this form it is showing off the boy’s wealth. Furthermore, these similarities between Augustus of Prima Porta and the Aristocratic boy must be to show that he is a descendant of Augustus and is therefore very wealthy. The artist thus makes sure to draw this connection between Augustus and the young boy to show his status and wealth.

Through this piece, the sculptor is showing the immense fascination that the Romans had with the Greeks and the influence that they had on their art because they came right after them in history. The sculpture has various aspects from Greek art that show that it was impacted by it. Even more so, the overall Greek culture impacted the Roman art as seen by the dress that the artist chose to use for the aristocratic boy to wear. Furthermore, after the Romans gained control they were interested in wealth and showing off their wealth and power in the art of their time.