First century Roman bust joins Getty Villa collection

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


First century Roman bust joins Getty Villa collection
Bust of Germanicus, 20-40 AD. Marble, 20 1/2 × 15 × 8 1/2 in. Getty Museum, 2021.66.



LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Getty Museum has acquired an early first-century marble bust of the Roman general Germanicus, adopted son of Tiberius and father of Caligula.

“This stunning portrait bust adds an extraordinary sculpture to the Villa’s collection of Roman portraits,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “It is among the finest and best-preserved portraits of the young Germanicus at the time of his adoption in AD 4 by his uncle, the soon-to-be Roman emperor Tiberius and complements nicely other Roman busts in the antiquities collection at the Villa.”

The bust depicts the young Germanicus before the depositio barbae, the Roman ritual first shaving of the beard. While the image, or portrait type, was created at the time of his adoption, this bust is a posthumous portrait of the popular general, who was being groomed to be emperor but died young. Ten copies are known today of Germanicus’ “Adoption type” portrait—identified by the facial features and careful arrangement of the locks of hair over the forehead.

Germanicus (15 BC–AD 19) was a successful general and immensely popular with both the military and Roman citizenry, yet he never ascended the throne due to his death at the age of 33, five years into Tiberus’ reign. The circumstances of his death have been deemed suspicious and linked to his recall of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the governor of Syria. Germanicus received extensive posthumous honors decreed by the senate and was venerated as Rome’s version of Alexander the Great.

In joining the Getty Villa Museum’s collection of Roman portrait sculpture, this bust complements the museum’s strong holdings of Julio-Claudian imperial portraits on display, including the portrait of Germanicus’ grandmother, Octavia Minor; the chalcedony bust of his mother, Antonia Minor; the marble portraits of his son, Caligula, and his daughter, Agrippina the Younger; as well as marble heads of his paternal uncle and adoptive father, Tiberius, and his great uncle, Augustus.

The bust was long part of the collection of the Earls of Elgin and Kincardine and may have been acquired in Rome as early as 1798 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin (1766-1841). It stayed with Elgin’s heirs at Broomhall House in Scotland until 2012 when it was sold at auction in New York to a private collector.

The bust will first be displayed in December 2021 as part of an exhibition highlighting new acquisitions – Recent Acquisitions 2021: Collecting for the Museum – at the Getty Center and then go on permanent view at the Getty Villa Museum in the Early Roman Imperial Sculpture gallery in 2022.










Today's News

December 7, 2021

Carrie Mae Weems sets the stage and urges action

The San Antonio Museum of Art appoints Emily Ballew Neff as new Director

Exhibition on the art of the Neapolitan Baroque opens at Colnaghi

First century Roman bust joins Getty Villa collection

Cortesi Gallery Lugano opens a new exhibition Shaping Colors, dedicated to Francesco Carozza

Christie's Hong Kong Chinese Paintings Autumn Auctions achieved a combined total of US$77,541,686

Shulamit Nazarian presents a solo exhibition of paintings by Daniel Gibson

Striking light sculpture by artist Sharon Lockhart installed on facade of the Middelheim Museum

Heritage Auctions to offer the largest Justh & Hunter gold brick found aboard the sunken 'Ship of Gold'

Exhibition explores the potential of art in the construction of collective memory in a global age

Kunsthalle Friart presents an exhibition of works by artist Ceylan Öztrük

December's Hong Kong coins, currency events arrive right on time

First solo show by Eva Crebolder at Annet Gelink on view in Amsterdam

Alisan Fine Arts opens an exhibition of works by ink master Lui Shou-kwan

Bath Preservation Trust unearths William Beckford's long lost grotto tunnel and plans to restore it

Christie's to auction DONDA bullet proof vest NFT

Banksy's "Girl With Balloon" included in Michaan's December sales

Art Curator Jen Mergel appointed in new role at Emerald Necklace Conservancy

Slow Revolution: Towers that glow-in-the-dark, a new artwork by Liz West

No matter the role, Antony Sher made soaring seem possible

Garment District Space for Public Art presents "Far Side of the Moon" exhibition by New York photographer Hyewon Park

Exhibition at the Hong Kong Central Library focuses on print expressions from the 1970s

Seattle's Museum of History & Industry's Da Vinci - Inventions exhibition extended through March 2022

'Mrs. Doubtfire' review: Nanny doesn't know best

Online Sports Betting: The Integration of Corrosive Technology

Visiting The American Museum of Natural History? Don't Miss These Three Sections of Art

Art Therapy Can Be Valuable in Healing from Emotional Trauma

Getting to Know the Museums of Pennsylvania

10 Common Mistakes Newbies Commit in T-Shirt Printing Business

Top Five Highest Payout Online Casinos




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

sa gaming free credit
Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful