This article aims to answer the question of which portrait type was used for Germanicus Iulius Caesar in the sculptures erected in his honour during the principate of Augustus. Based on historical-epigraphical considerations and the data emerging from the typological and stylistic analysis of the surviving sculptural replicas (among which we can identify a “youthful series”), I argue that the so-called Béziers portrait type, generally ascribed to the Tiberian period, was actually created during the Augustan age. This version of the official image of Germanicus is thought to have played a key role in the transmission of the dynastic message following the set of adoptions of AD 4, when Germanicus took the title of Caesar, conveyed throughout the empire in literature, coinage, inscriptions and sculptures. The continuing use of the portrait type indicating the unchanged role of Germanicus as Caesar during the Tiberian age helps to explain the large number of replicas that have survived.

L’immagine ufficiale di Germanico Cesare in età augustea e la data di creazione del tipo ritrattistico cosiddetto Béziers / Laura Buccino. - In: ORIZZONTI. - ISSN 1591-2787. - STAMPA. - 19:(2018), pp. 11-27.

L’immagine ufficiale di Germanico Cesare in età augustea e la data di creazione del tipo ritrattistico cosiddetto Béziers

Laura Buccino
2018

Abstract

This article aims to answer the question of which portrait type was used for Germanicus Iulius Caesar in the sculptures erected in his honour during the principate of Augustus. Based on historical-epigraphical considerations and the data emerging from the typological and stylistic analysis of the surviving sculptural replicas (among which we can identify a “youthful series”), I argue that the so-called Béziers portrait type, generally ascribed to the Tiberian period, was actually created during the Augustan age. This version of the official image of Germanicus is thought to have played a key role in the transmission of the dynastic message following the set of adoptions of AD 4, when Germanicus took the title of Caesar, conveyed throughout the empire in literature, coinage, inscriptions and sculptures. The continuing use of the portrait type indicating the unchanged role of Germanicus as Caesar during the Tiberian age helps to explain the large number of replicas that have survived.
2018
19
11
27
Laura Buccino
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Buccino_Laura_Germanico_Orizzonti_2018.pdf

Accesso chiuso

Descrizione: Articolo
Tipologia: Pdf editoriale (Version of record)
Licenza: Tutti i diritti riservati
Dimensione 1.55 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.55 MB Adobe PDF   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in FLORE sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/1129344
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact