Marcus Agrippa: Right-hand Man of Caesar Augustus (62 page)

The Villa Spigarelli, Anzio (Roman Antium) has an Agrippa which is almost identical to the bust in Florence (inv. 1914, no. 90). Carved from a block of white marble it is an excellent state of preservation. Antium was a resort town frequented by members of Augustus’ family and his successors. The Villa Spigarelli was built on the site of an upscale Roman residence. The bust has also been dated to the reign of Claudius.

In the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen are two busts. The best preserved (inv. 608) is 42cm high. The surface of the white marble is scuffed and the nose is broken. The hair is swept forward, the centre waving to the right. The unfinished rear and neck, scored with rough chisel marks, suggests it was part of a sculpture which stood against a wall where the back would not be seen. The face exudes toughness and confidence, betraying a serious, no nonsense personality. The second bust (inv. 609) shows Agrippa wearing a headband (
corona navalis
). It is also unfinished on the rear and right sides and the random chisel marks on these surfaces indicate the piece was placed against a wall and that it was intended to be viewed only from the front. The fragment measures 48cm high by 24cm wide, the face itself just 21.5cm. The features are badly worn, the chin and nose are broken and the surface texture is marked, but two deep furrows are still clearly visible. The bust conveys both the
gravitas
and modesty of the victor of battles on land and sea yet whose face bears the personal cost of war experienced firsthand.

In the Musée Saint-Raymond in Toulouse is a bust (inv. 30002) which was originally part of a statue group from Colonia Urbs Iulia Baeterrae (modern Béziers, Hérault), a city founded for veterans of
Legio
VII in Gallia Narbonensis. Carved out of white marble, it was probably once part of a togate statue. The fragment is 32cm high, of which the head alone measures 24.5cm, and is missing the nose. The face appears narrower than the Ny Carlsberg (inv. 608) and other examples.

The bust in the Palazzo Spado, Rome (inv. 234) was severed at the neck in antiquity and is fitted to a modern replica of the base for display. Carved of fine grain white marble the face measures just 19.5cm and features a notably narrow face. The bust portrays a composed and calm individual, but the downward
sloping eyebrows and expression of the lips hint at a melancholic mood. On stylistic grounds it has been dated to the reign of Tiberius.

Sharing the same squarish shape of the Copenhagen (inv. 608) bust is the head in the Museum at the University of Bochum, Germany. Cut from white marble with a crystalline composition, the stone has a greenish yellow colouration. Of the many busts to survive, this one, with its heavy eyebrows, cheek dimples and unemotional stare typifies more than most the ‘classic’ look of Agrippa.

A badly damaged head, believed to come from Ancona or somewhere in the Marche region of central Italy, has disappeared since its discovery and is known only from photographs in the archive of the Archaeological Institute of the University of Heidelberg, Germany. The white marble bust is notable for the heavy eyebrows, which arch upwards, and the brow with four deep furrows.

The incomplete bust (statue inv. 91422, head inv. 932) in the Lucus Feroniae Museum at Capena near Rome has been re-assembled from many fragments. It is similar in appearance to the specimens in Bochum and Copenhagen (inv. 608). Carved from Pentelic marble from quarries near Athens, Greece, at 32cm it was originally part of a statue that stood 1.77m tall. It is detailed to a very high standard, particularly the deep eyes, heavy eyebrows and three furrows on the brow. Unusual in busts of Agrippa, there is a dimple in the chin. The portrait conveys strength of character and assured self-confidence. Stylistically it is very similar to the Agrippa (S-28) on the
Ara Pacis Augustae
.

From the Esquiline Hill in Rome, and now in the Jandolo Collection, is a bust carved from white, fine grain marble measuring 34cm high. It was originally part of a statue from which it was severed, and the nose is modern. A serious, almost scowling Agrippa is shown with his head covered with a fold of his
toga
as he does on the
Ara Pacis
.

The bust in the British Museum, London (inv. 1881) also comes from a togate state of Agrippa displayed originally on the island of Capri. Some 46cm high, the portrait is well preserved, and the finish is exceptional. The
toga
, which covers the head, is smashed from the body at the rear of the head, though a long section is preserved on the left side. The tip of the nose is a modern restoration. Agrippa has a slimmer face in this interpretation and the artist has imbued the subject with a calm but authoritative appearance.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York has an exceptional bronze bust (inv. 14.130.2) found on 11 August 1904 in the forum at Segusium (Susa, Piedmont). A full 31cm high, it originally came from a full statue, small pieces of which have been found close to the find site. The accompanying fragmentary inscription indicates it was dedicated to Agrippa by a son of Cottius, the client king and
praefectus
of the Alpine district who died around 13 BCE, providing a
terminus post quem
for the piece. The artist has created a bust of Agrippa as an idealized figure – the eyebrows are narrow and arch upwards, but there is no double chin or dimples in the cheeks and the hair line at the front is a neat fringe. The eyes, which would have been enamelled, are now missing, but even without them, the face portrays an individual who is confidant and commanding.

The Museo Gregorian Profgano in Vatican City has a togate statue (inv. 9951) from the theatre at Caere in southern Etruria which stands 2m tall. The head, measuring 25cm high, is carved of quality Greek marble. Though identified as Agrippa it looks more like busts of Tiberius Caesar (from the side) or Drusus the Elder (from the front), yet the shape of the face, wide downward curving eyebrows and furrowed brow displayed on this statue are characteristics of the Agrippa from Capri in the British Museum (inv. 1881).

The bust (
plate 1
) in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin (inv. 1858), was found in the
pritaneion
or executive building of Magnesia al Meandro, a town near Ephesus in Asia Minor. Carved of white marble, the fine bust, which extends to the base of the neck, is 44cm high and in very good condition, allowing for scuffing on the tip of the nose. The eyes and head turn slightly to the left. Two furrows score the brow and the hair parts above the bust’s left eye. The sculptor has produced a portrait of a man calmly looking into the distance.

Excavations in the theatre (or odeon) at
Colonia Augusta Buthrotum
(Butrint) produced larger-than-life size early Imperial statues of Augustus, Livia and Agrippa. The bust, now in the Archaeological Museum in Tirana, Albania (inv. 583), shows a youthful Agrippa – there is no double chin and the furrows on the brow are light – which is quite different from the other specimens. There is the look of an analytical mind in this face. Carved of white marble, the head is in a good state of preservation, allowing for surface contamination. It measures 36cm from the top of the head to the base of the neck.

Also from Butrint, and on display at the onsite archaeological museum, is a weather damaged bust. It was found in the so-called Tower of Inscriptions. The style of this sculpture is similar to the one from Ancona or in the Palazzo Spada (inv. 234). The bust shows signs of weathering with discolouration on the left side, the nose of this specimen has broken off and there is a chip in one of the ear lobes.

The Six Collection in Amsterdam has a marble bust which came originally from Rome. Measuring 32cm high, the white marble bust has stylistic similarities to the one from Butrint now in Tirana (inv. 583).

Several busts were recarved in antiquity to transform the original subject into another person. One of these (
plate 24
) is the colossal, heroic and muscular statue of Agrippa from the Grimani Collection in the Archaeological Museum in Venice (inv. 11). The lower portion of the 3.17m high nude statue has been assembled from fragments, including the pedestal, feet, legs, thighs as well as the right arm. The face shows distinct signs of having been abraded to alter the brow and eyebrows. It may have originally had the head of M. Antonius based on its resemblance to a bust of him in Narbonne.

The most comprehensive recent analysis of sculptures of our subject is by Ilaria Romeo (Rome 1998). She identifies three distinct and successive ‘types’, which she argues correspond to a ‘phase’ in Agrippa’s career. The first emerges as the man as military commander transitions to becoming associate of Augustus and a member of the
gens Iulia
. The busts found at Vibo Valentia and Gabii (
Ibid
,
pp. 47–55) she proposes date to this period. They are characterized by youthful, somewhat idealized features – thick tousled hair and heavy eyebrows. At the height of his career he appears as a mature individual with a fuller face, an increasingly furrowed brow, crows’ feet around the eyes and the beginnings of a double chin, and presented with the
toga
covering the head, such as he appears on the
Ara Pacis
(
Ibid
, pp. 55–60). The third type she identifies share the characteristics of a bust found at Butrint, displaying a less naturalistic style, where the hair is less dense and the fringe combed forward over the brow, covering a receding hairline (
Ibid
, p. 60).

(c) Cameos

Several cameos produced in the Roman period depict Agrippa. The
Bibliothèque National
in Paris has two cameos. The first is a two-sided cameo carved from agate. Measuring 35mm × 628mm the obverse has a profile of Agrippa facing left wearing his combined
corona navalis
and
muralis
on his head and a commander’s
paludamentum
over his shoulder. The second, measuring 34mm × 648mm, shows a laureate head of Augustus (left) facing a head of Agrippa crowned with a
corona rostrata
and
muralis
(right).

The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England has an onyx cameo (inv. P. 35 (CM)) which measures 95mm × 95mm showing Agrippa in profile facing left wearing a
corona navalis
.

The Medagliere Capitolino, Rome has an exquisite cameo (inv. 6738) of incised carnelian. Measuring 1.9cm in diameter, the finely carved, naturalistic profile of Agrippa shows him facing left wearing his combined
corona navalis
and
muralis
.

Agate was the choice of material of the artist of the cameo in the Pappalardo Collection, Catania. The piece is oval in shape and 60mm high. The beautiful portrait, which faces right, recalls the profile of the Agrippa in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (inv. 608).

Abbreviations

(a)
Modern