L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2023 L'Italo-Americano W ith all the m u s e - ums and churches t h a t Rome offers, it seems futile to suggest one over another, especially when the average visitor is in Rome for only a few days. But the Palazzo Massimo's superb collec- tion of marbles and bronzes, as well as mosaics, frescoes, and coin collection, should be at the top of any visitor's list in Rome. The collection is vast, so I am limiting my d i s c u s s i o n o n l y t o t h e sculptures. It boasts the most extensive collection of R o m a n s c u l p t u r e s o f a n y museum in Italy or Europe. Only the Torlonia Collection of 619 sculptures will chal- lenge the Massimo when it finally finds a permanent home. Carole and I made our third visit over the years t o t h e P a l a z z o M a s s i m o . Each time we visit, we are bedazzled by the quality of the sculptures, their excel- lent restoration, and intelli- gent arrangement. The first room contains more than a dozen busts, some of famous Roman fam- ilies and others of anony- mous Romans. They repre- sent the dominant realistic style of Roman-era marbles, c a p t u r i n g h a i r s t y l e s a n d clothing for both men and women. At times, some of the busts are unflattering. Facial features are out of bal- ance, perhaps a nose is too l a r g e , o r t h e i r f a c e s a r e ridged with lines and wrin- kles. But the viewer must be on g u a r d : s c u l p t o r s w e r e i n thrall to the power of the a r i s t o c r a c y . O n e p l a q u e identifies the bust of Antonia Minor, the daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia, and the m o t h e r o f C l a u d i u s . H e r curled hairstyle was charac- teristic of aristocratic Roman women's style of hair. Her bust is clearly of a youthful Antonia. However, we are warned that all of her busts depict her as youthful, even when she was in old age. At times, the Roman aristocra- cy overruled artistic style, or else the sculptor might just p a y a h i g h p r i c e f o r h i s craftsmanship. Exile might be the least of the penalties. Augustus, who was some- t h i n g o f a p r u d e , f o u n d Ovid's love poems vulgar and e x i l e d h i m f o r l i f e f r o m Rome. However, nearby is the bust of one unidentified aristocratic woman whose portrait is, well, less than flattering. But I don't want to be mean-spirited with an unbecoming description of her flaws. Germanicus, Augustus's n e p h e w , i s d e p i c t e d a s a young man with a compas- s i o n a t e e x p r e s s i o n . T h e viewer must marvel at the a b i l i t y o f t h e s c u l p t o r t o express such sensitivity with a medium as unforgiving as marble. I am reminded of another anonymous Roman sculpture in the Capitoline Museum of the Dying Gaul. I t s s u b t l e a n d e m o t i o n a l depiction of the defeated and dying warrior has inspired t h e a w e a n d r e v e r e n c e o f admirers for centuries. I t i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c i n Roman artistic style to repre- sent men with a dense and full beard, a sure sign of the subject's virility. The bust of a Roman warrior with his helmet on is sculpted with a full, neatly trimmed beard. His portrait is an expression of the imperial power that created the Roman Empire. Honoring that same male prowess, in another room there is the famous Roman copy of the original Greek Discus Thrower. It is an ide- alized image of the male ath- lete in the flower of his youth and power. But as we soon discovered minutes later in the collection, realism brings u s b a c k t o r e a l i t y . T h e R o m a n s k n e w t h a t s u c h prowess, athletic or imperial, would not last forever. A s t h e v i s i t o r w a n d e r s through the collection, the m a r b l e s a l s o g i v e u s a n insight into Roman reli- gion and culture. A larger- t h a n - l i f e d a u g h t e r o f t h e mythical Niobe is dramati- cally depicted with an arrow in her back. In the Metamor- phoses Ovid tells us that, because of her vanity, the gods killed her seven chil- dren and then turned Niobe KEN SCAMBRAY The bronze statue Boxer at Rest, Hellenistic Greek sculpture in Palazzo Massimo. Phot credit Carole Scambray Palazzo Massimo: Roman life and times Ancient Roman sarcophagus at the Roman National Museum, Palazzo Massimo (Photo: Konstantinos Papaioannou/Dreamstime) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Continued to page 10

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