Re: Images of Alexander
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2010 6:17 am
All very true. However, most public figures wanted their sculptures to be recognizable as themselves even when they were portrayed with the attributes of others. For example, the sculptures of Commodus as Herakles are all immediately recognizable as Commodus. (I've been trying for years to give away a rather large, early nineteenth century etching of one of these statues because the face disturbs me. Not surprisingly, I haven't had any takers!) I do think though that when the attributes of Alexander are combined with facial features strongly resembling other known portraits we can justifiably wonder if a work of art is "an Alexander".Escrivo wrote:To see and interpret a figure as Alexander simply because it has the classic Alexander "pose" (the tilt of the head to right and a little lifted with the fluid gaze) could be misleading. Let us not forget that Alexander's "syntrophos" and the common soldiers saw Alexander not only as their King and Commander but also as a unique "trendsetter" (for want of a better description) of the Hellenistic age. Like the nape length haircut or the clean-shaven face (as opposed to the older Macedonians or men of the other Greek city states inclusive of Athens), his head "pose" set a certain template which not only those who lived and marched with him adapted but as well as some of the roman public figures. It is not difficult to surmise that people saw this pose as a "body language" norm in expressing greatness (possibly also pothos or arete).
Best regards,
