Portrait of Severus Alexander

[Jona Lendering]

It's not very often that I am impressed by the beauty of ancient art, but this is an exception: a bronze bust of Severus Alexander from Ryakia (just north of Mount Olympus), now in the Museum of Dion:

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

It's not very often that I am impressed by the beauty of ancient art

Just to clarify, in a scale of 100, how much sarcasm is there in this phrase?

[Jona Lendering]

how much sarcasm is there in this phrase?

An unexpected question! And a very good one, that deserves some serious thought. No, I was not sarcastic. I hope this piece explains my artistic tastes.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

Your response is clear,to me. However,i think that a discussion on how beauty can be objectional or not,and what does this refer to,would save us a lot of discussion without common base, if we started discussing wether one should be impressed by ancient art. And not only art,for that matter.
Of course there isn't such thing as an "obligation" to be impressed by anything, but still if we could define beauty,we might manage to ensure an expected admiration,to say the least.
Khaire
Giannis

[last_roman]

Severus Alexander and me

No doubt - the Dion museum, and the archaeological site near it are full with interesting objects and artifacts representing roman art in it's full beauty, like remnants of this Hydraulis:
http://picasaweb.google.com/LastRoman81 ... 2390520098

[SigniferOne]

Well, speaking strictly within the standards of Classical art, the Alexander bust is very impressive, and conveys the sense that Classical art could still be produced during that difficult period. Of course it is clear that Classical art went out of vogue, and forever, as we can determine from the sarcophagi, and sundry statues and mosaics. The Gallus statue is notorious for this. But every now and then we come across a statue or a bust or a relief that strikingly demonstrate a residue, and a continued ability to produce art on Classical standards. Along with the above Alexander bust, we have the bust of the Septimius Severus:

[Vindex]

It's not very often that I am impressed by the beauty of ancient art, but this is an exception: a bronze bust of Severus Alexander from Ryakia (just north of Mount Olympus), now in the Museum of Dion:

Is is Severus Alexander or an artistic impression? These appear fairly similar in style...doesn't necessairly mean it is not just as beautiful to the beholder...

[M. Demetrius]

The cheeks and chin are different, and the angle of the nose, but presuming that's just artistic variance, they could well be the same person. It's very nice art, and shows considerable skill with color blending and realistic impression.

[SigniferOne]

The similarity in those portraits comes from the fact that those paintings come from Fayyum and depict mostly African/Egyptian/Arabic facial types. At the same time, Severus Alexander and thus the whole Severus family came from Leptis Magna, and Septimius Severus is sometimes called Rome's "African Emperor".