He’s Not Mad, He’s Just Important

How do you describe a work of art?

With art terms, of course! We’ve heard you, and we’re here to answer your Frequently Asked Art Questions (FAAQs).

Let’s take a look at Bust of a Man, an ideal work of art to describe with the art term, portrait.

Watch the video, or read on below!

When you have the chance to visit the Getty Villa Museum, you’ll notice many sculptures like it. They’re all called portraits: sculptural representations, usually in marble or bronze, of an individual. Some are full-length statues; some—like the man above—are busts with an abbreviated piece of the chest; and others are heads broken from statues.

Generally, important, or wealthy citizens—emperors, politicians, and other members of the elite—had them made to be remembered after their death or to be recognized in public during their lifetimes.

This portrait bust—which you can find in the Getty Villa’s Early Roman sculpture gallery—is labeled, simply, Bust of a Man. That’s because we do not know the identity of this man. No inscription or identifying information was found with this sculpture.

But when you look at him, it’s hard to avoid the feeling that if you traveled back in time with this bust in hand, you could spot this gentleman walking around Rome.

While his seemingly individual features are indeed realistic, the wrinkles and stern frown that make him appear so recognizable are also symbolic or, if you like, formulaic. In a tradition that started during the time of the Republic (509-31 B.C.E.), ancient Roman sculptors often emphasized wrinkles to represent the wisdom that comes with age and employed frowns to reflect the gravity of their sitter’s occupation. In this case, those facial features may express the concern an official with the Roman Republic or Empire had for the wellbeing of the community. Or what the Romans called the “cura rei publicae.”

Think of it as a VIP filter on TikTok that will give you a frown and a few years so that people can see you have standing in society. So, when you walk around the gallery and see frowning faces, know that they’re not mad, they’re just important.