Masaccio's "Holy Trinity": A True Early Italian Piece

    Masaccio created a beautiful piece that now hangs in the Church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. In his depiction of the "Holy Trinity," we see many characteristics that tell us this piece belongs to the Early Italian Renaissance. Through the color palette used as well as the texture and the use of depth and illusion that Masaccio's painting contains, one can infer that the "Holy Trinity" does belong to the Early Italian Renaissance. 
 
  Many pieces within the early Italian Renaissance seem to have the same dull colors that are used the "Holy Trinity." Of course many other pieces done by Masaccio stand out in the early Italian Renaissance and have nearly the exact same pallet such as his piece, "The Expulsion of Adam and Eve From Paradise." But most of the other pieces viewed in our book as well as the lectures look as if the colors used within the painting were all mixed with grey to create that dullness and the use of similar colors. We  see a very similar pallet used in Sandro Botticelli's painting of the "Birth of Venus." Again, the colors have a dull look to them and there is a lot of grey throughout the painting. The color that is used in both of these paintings that I find interesting is the coral color. We see it above Jesus in the "Holy Trinity" and we see it again used for the cloak and the flowers in the "Birth of Venus." This coral color is also seen randomly throughout other pieces such as in the "Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds" and in the "Baptism of Christ." This coral color is just the use of red with one or two more colors, which also supports the fact that many paintings in the Early Italian Renaissance contain a lot of reds and blues. Looking at a lot of the paintings, a lot of the people are dressed in either red, blue, or white. We also see the sky in the background of most of the paintings which usually  use the lighter blue and white. 
 
 One commonly used medium in early Italian art was Fresco. Fresco was when artists would paint over plaster; either wet or dry. When looking at the paintings, they all seem to have more of a rough texture to them which I assume is from the use of plaster. The "Holy Trinity" contains this rough look. It looks as if there is a sort of texture there that was not necessarily painted by Masaccio. We see the same textured look in Fra Angelico's "Annunciation" and again in Piero Della Francesca's "Baptism of Christ." Looking closely at each of these paintings and many others, there appears to be little cracks within the painting which I am assuming to be related to the use of the Fresco. Some paintings have a clearer picture but that does not mean that there was no use of plaster. Painters would sometimes paint using Wet Fresco, which was just wet plaster. Once the plaster would dry, the painting would dry with it and the pigments would be within the plaster. When using Dry Fresco or dry plaster, the paint would just dry on top but was more likely to chip. Either way, I feel that the use of Fresco contributes to the rough an texturized look of each painting. I feel that it also might have had something to do with the dullness in color. I have worked with plaster before and it has a grey tint to it. Especially when working with wet plaster, I could see how the pigments might have gotten more dull in color. Also, most of the early Italian paintings contain that dullness in color so I feel that in someway the use of Fresco might have had something to do with it. 
   
 Although naturalism was not at it's peek in the Early Italian Renaissance, there was a great use of illusion and depth that contributed to the little bit of naturalism that was there. Masaccio's work of the "Holy Trinity" contains this exact illusion and depth. The way Christ pops out from the building behind him gives the painting that sense of depth. The background behind Christ and the Father gets darker and smaller giving us that sense of depth. That small use of depth can also be seen in paintings such as Piero Della Francesca's "Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro." Both figured in this piece show depth as they stand out from the background. The figures themselves lack a bit of naturalism but because of the background being so small and darker than the two figures, we get that small sense of naturalism. To me it looks as if they are being standing on a hill or a balcony but just like the "Holy Trinity," we get a small sense of naturalism from Francesca's painting. Another painting from the Early Italian Renaissance that has the same minor use of depth and illusion is Giovanni Bellini's "Virgin and Child Enthroned." This painting is very similar to the "Holy Trinity" because of the position that all of the characters take as well as the focal point being directly in the middle of the painting, surrounded by an arched pathway to what looks like a building. We see nearly the same depth and illusion in this painting as we do in the "Holy Trinity." The Virgin and the Child show the most naturalism as they appear to pop out of the scene a little bit. Both figures look as if they were given much detail and compared to the dark background, they really stand out. The lines in the painting help create that sense of depth and illusion as they move back, creating a vanishing point. One other interesting factor that supports the "Holy Trinity's" sense of illusion is Gene Brucker's "Secrion Diagram of the Illusionistic Spatial World Portrayed in Massaccio's Trinity." Through a diagram depicting the "Holy Trinity" from it's side, Brucker's shows how space is suggested within the painting allowing us to receive that sense of depth and illusion. In his chart, we can clearly see the different layers and points of illusion that are created. One last point that I would like to made that somewhat relates to illusion is the triangular composition that was common in Early Italian Renaissance. The creation of a triangle can be clearly seen when looking at the placement of each person. The people in the painting rise up to a single point which is God the Father. The triangular structure was popular because it created balance and gave a sense of harmony. We see this triangular composition again in Perugino's "Crucifixion With Saints." Again we have a depiction of Christ on the cross and the top of the cross created the tip of the triangle and the two people below, create the bottom tips of the triangle. Even in Early Italian sculptures we see the use of triangles. For example, in Donatello's "St. George," we see a triangle surrounding the statue of St. George. Above him is the top point of the triangle and then we have two points on either side of him that create that balanced feeling. 
   
 All in all, Masaccio's "Holy Trinity" is a great piece and just by looking at its use of color, texture, small amount of naturalism, and minor use of depth and illusion, it is clear to see that this piece originated from the Early Italian Renaissance. 

Norther Renaissance: The Supreme Art

After watching the documentary and pondering over all of the pieces viewed and facts heard, I feel that there were several different values in the Northern Renaissance. From the beginning of the video until the end, I felt like with each topic there was an important value that the Northern Renaissance culture had. The first value that caught my attention was religion. Van Eyck's "Figure of Adam" was very popular for its overall composition and the fascinating use of detail and depth but I also think that the religious aspect behind the painting also made it more ideal for their culture. Van Eyck created many pieces dedicated to religion, including the "Virgin with Chancellor Rolin," which hung on the wall of a hospital that Chancellor Rolin was a benefactor for. In this painting, sacred objects were shown. People believed that if they looked at a painting with sacred objects, the sacred objects could enter the soul through the eye. This was also known as visual communion. We viewed prayer books and the great detail that was put into their illustrations. Borders were created, making the pictures within look as if they were in a world of their own. The pictures looked real and gave a sense of comfort as the owners of these prayer books could read and also feel close to the sacred characters that they were reading about.

The second value that I feel the Northern Renaissance culture had was their class and where they stood on their cultures social ladder. I feel that their taste in the artwork that was created grew and they became more aware of what they were purchasing and whom they were purchasing it from. When Van Eyck became well known, he was the primary artist for the Duke of Burgundy. The Duke of Burgundy spent a ton of money on work done by Van Eyck and claimed that he felt he was helping his people by spending so much money. The pieces took time and a lot of labor yet many people wanted them especially from Van Eyck. Old documents infer that Van Eyck may have eventually had workers under him, helping to create and manufacture some of his work to please the people who were demanding work from him. Paintings as well as tapestry were well crafted and citizens were willing to spend more money on them. Especially on silk tapestry depicting religious scenes on them. Religious scenes became a sort of artistic style in the Northern Renaissance and people were willing to pay the price for it. Eventually self portraits became popular and as it was stated in the video, a portrait was a lasting memorial of the person having the portrait done. It was also more appealing when one could brag about who painted their portrait which, to me, shows that class was important. Also, paintings done by prestigious artists such as Van Eyck, were well crafted. Van Eyck used many different types of mediums to emphasize areas of his paintings and gave them a more realistic effect. Purchasing a painting done by Van Eyck was purchasing a painting from one of the Northern Renaissances top artist, which meant that it had to be expensive. If one could afford precious art or if one could have a painting crafted by Van Eyck, then they must have been wealthy. Many of Van Eyck's paintings also show wealth with the crowns, the gems and jewels, and the clothing that those in his portraits wear. Gems and stones are even seen in religious paintings, pairing them up with their cultures other important value.

The art that was produced in the Northern Renaissance culture seemed to be based a lot around religion and many self portraits were done. The style behind these paintings was very fascinating in the fact that everything appeared to be so realistic. Through the use of oil paints, artists were able to layer and grasp the full effect of the human face and body as well as the objects around. In Van Eyck's "Figure of Adam" we can see how painting had evolved as Adam appears to nearly be stepping out of the canvas, with his left toe rising a bit. The style seemed to greatly revolve around humans in the Northern Renaissance. All of the paintings that were viewed in the documentary revolved around the human form. I think this was because the human form became more detailed and alive. The human form not only became more alive in paintings but also in sculpture. Claus Sluter creating many religious scenes using stone. He too created human forms with great detail and depth and managed to make them look real.

One famous painting that was created using the stylized depth and detail seen through all of his paintings is Van Eyck's, "The Arnolfini Portrait." The portrait looks as if one could walk right into the scene that is being depicted. The painting is said to be a depiction of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife perhaps on their wedding day. In the documentary, one art historian digs deeper into the meaning behind the painting. Through documentation she finds that Arnolfini couldn't have had this portrait done with his wife because she died nearly a year before this portrait was done. She said that the only possibilities would be that the portrait was done with another wife that was not documented, that she found documentation of another Giovanni Arnolfini, or that the painting was done in remembrance of his deceased wife. I found that she had good evidence to support that this painting was done as a memorial to Giovanni and his deceased wife. One clue being the mirror in the background that resembled death. The mirror also had the Passion of Christ around it showing the birth of Christ on Giovanni's side and the death of Christ on his wifes side. Above the couple is a chandelier and above Giovanni is lit candle and above his wife is an unlit candle. This painting is one of Van Eyck's greatest pieces and although the exact meaning behind it remains unknown, it was beautifully crafted and shows the common style seen in Northern Renaissance art.

Week 1: Introduction

After doing a little browsing through our textbook, I feel that Renaissance art is so significant to our culture in the fact that so many pieces contain a lot of detail and I feel that our culture tends to be very aware of details. Most of the paintings that I glanced at appear almost three-dimensional and realistic. I think that our culture is sometimes more comfortable with what we see as normal and the realistic paintings portray what seem like mostly everyday activities or humans in their natural settings. Many of the paintings also seem to have an almost straightforward point to them when you just glance at them and I feel that our culture enjoys this because time is so precious that we want to get straight to the point, as fast as possible. We enjoy knowing answers and we enjoy knowing them even more when they are right in front of us and although I'm sure many of these paintings do have a deeper meaning, they show a great deal of naturalism. 

 

Renaissance art also seems to have a great deal of religion involved. I came across many religious painting in our book and I'm sure that they greatly appeal to our culture seeing as many people cherish religion. Most of the pieces specifically involved Christianity and portrayed Jesus on the cross or were found in Cathedrals and Churches similar to those from the early Christian period. Christianity made its breakthrough and within our culture, it seems to be practiced everywhere so of course, I feel, that pieces promoting Christianity and telling stories about the Christian belief are going to be popular. 

Overall, I think the the Renaissance era opened many doors to creativity which our culture loves. Not only in art but also with music and writing, the Renaissance era brought about different techniques for creation. It was also the time for furthering math and science. The 15th and 16th century, i feel, helped lead our culture to many of the hobbies, careers, and lifestyles that we have today. I think that the art created within the Renaissance period by prominent figures has also raised a lot of questions to our culture making it so important to us. For instance, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da VInci. This painting has brought up many questions within our culture regarding who Mona Lisa was. I have heard so many different theories behind this painting throughout our society which leads me to believe that we are so intrigued with the Renaissance period because of the normalcy it portrays but also the mystery. 

Extra Credit: The Woman or Goddess with Snakes

When thinking about what we went over this quarter, I remembered one figure that really stood out to me which was the "Woman or Goddess with Snakes." Her face, her clothing, along with the items such as the cat and the snakes all made her very interesting to me. She is interesting to look at and she is interesting to wonder about. Because of my fascination with her, I decided to look up more about her and how she has come to exist. 

According to witcombe.sbc.edu, the Minoan Snake Goddess was discovered in 1903 by Arthur Evans on the Aegean island of Crete. When she was found, she was apparently missing her head, most of her hat, her right arm, the lower part of her left snake, and parts of her skirt. Some of these pieces were later recovered within the same area that she was found but those that were not, were reconstructed, by Evans, based on other Snake Goddesses that he has seen. On this website, there are photos of her when she was first found without her head, arm, etc. 

She greatly reflects the Minoan culture through her colors as well as her clothing. According to our book, the red, blue, and green colors were common in clothing from Minoan weavers. Also, the geometric layers were often seen in the Minoan culture. And as stated in the article by Witcombe, she shows elegance high intelligence, beauty, fashion, and a forthright personality like many other Minoan creations. 

She becomes more interesting when it comes to interpreting her meaning. Just like the Venus of Willendorf, the Snake Goddess contains many theories as to what her meaning is. In WItcombe's article, the girdle that the Snake Goddess has around her waist is discussed as possibly being related to the Goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite, in one story, lends her girdle to Hera so that she can seduce and distract Zeus from the Trojan war. This event just happened to take place on Mount Ida on Crete island. Could the Snake Goddess possibly be an interpretation of Aphrodite herself? Or perhaps the girdle just resembles strength and power. 

Another theory is that the Snake Goddess might be an interpretation of a spirit of the Nether World or in other words, evil. It has been thought that maybe the snakes found in many Minoan pieces stands for a cult. This can be understood as the Goddess herself has a very powerful yet controlling and manipulating look on her face. Also, when I think of snakes, I think of them as usually being evil creatures. A snake is used in the Christian religion to resemble satin, Medusa with her head full of snakes is an evil character in Greek mythology and there seem to be many movies where snakes are depicted as evil and harmful. When I first saw the Snake Goddess, I thought of her as being evil. 

A more common interpretation of the Snake Goddess is that she resembles fertility. This is common for may women figures just like the Venus of Willendorf. In Witcombe's article it discusses how the Snake Goddess might not have any meaning regarding women and their power. The creation of the Snake Goddess could just be a resemblance of deity and ensuring the growth of crops, animas, and human beings. The fact that she is revealing her breasts is more evidence towards this theory. The breasts, the hips, and the torso area seem to be the main areas of a woman's body that resemble fertility and in this case, we see the Snake Goddesses breasts and her hips have a wide structure to them. So perhaps she was a symbol of fertility for the land of Crete. 

T

he existence of the Snake Goddess also suggests that the Minoans lived in a matrilineal or even a matriarchal society. According to WItcombe, many pieces such as the Snake Goddess are evidence of this. The women created within these pieces show much dominance and seem fearless. Witcombe also explains how usually the absence of women in art means that they were not as important as men. Many Minoan pieces revolve around women, therefor supporting the idea of either a a matrilineal or matriarchal society. 

Overall, the Snake Goddess is a beautiful figure and is very eye-catching. After doing more research, I find her to be just as interesting as her appearance. I like that she has mystery behind her and could be interpreted in many ways. I also enjoyed reading more about the condition she was found in and how she was put back together, yet I still wonder what her face originally looked like. 

Source: http://witcombe.sbc.edu/snakegoddess/fertility.html

Visually and Historically Interesting Periods

Throughout this quarter we have gone over a lot of very unique and interesting periods full of many eye catching and important works of art. When reviewing my notes and looking through each chapter in our books, I found that the Prehistoric period was the most visually interesting to me and Jewish, Early Christian, and Byzantine period was the most historically interesting to me. 

Looking at the Prehistoric age, my favorite pieces were those that represented humans. In prehistoric art, the human figure was represented in such an abstract way which I found to be very appealing. Figures represented in the book as well as lectures that have the abstract appearance include the Venus of Willendorf, the Woman From Brassempouy, the Human Figure, and the Figures of a Woman and a Man. I find these pieces to be so intriguing because of how they portray different parts of the human body. They leave my mind with questions as to what humans looked like back in the prehistoric period and why certain areas of the body were more emphasized than others. We have already studied the Venus of Willendorf and know that most theories suggest that her larger hips and breasts represent fertility. Yet this is not a fact, just a theory. The human figures found in the Prehistoric period, one could say, are mysterious which creates an everlasting impression on me. I like to look at the pieces and come up with theories of my own as well as read what others have to say. All in all, I just like the fact that human figures in the prehistoric period raise questions and have a little mystery behind them. I also find that they can be a bit disturbing to the eye but in an intriguing way. When looking at the Human Figure on page 21, it scares me a bit yet it also grabs my attention. I love the fact that this figure has no mouth and that its eyes are emphasized. I think that overall, the lack of mouth and the dark eyes make the figure intriguing and again, raise questions as to why there is no mouth and what was meant to be told within the eyes. The lack of a mouth scares me a bit and it is shown again on the Woman From Brassempouy on page 7. A lot of the human figures are missing important parts of a natural human body yet the fact that they are lacking these parts, i feel, makes them more visually interesting. 

When thinking about what was historically interesting to me, I thought that they Jewish, Early Christian, and Byzantine Art was the most historically interesting. I have never known a lot about any kind of religion because in a way, I was never too interested. When looking into Judaism, Christianity, and the Islamic religion through art, it became more interesting to me. A lot of the pieces that we talked or read about, I knew bits and pieces about but not a whole lot. in the last blog, I chose to look at the Hildesheim Cathedral Doors and I knew a bit about the fall of Adam and Eve and Christ being crucified but I learned a lot more from just looking over and reading about the Hildesheim Cathedral. I also found the doors to be very interesting with how they related each story from the old testament to a story within the new testament. The stories that each religious piece tells is mostly interesting to me because i am somewhat familiar with each religion and at times, these religions are brought up in my life and I usually have no input on them nor do I have any idea about what is being said but now because of this section that we went over, I am a little more familiar. It was interesting to learn more about these religions and see what they actually have in common with one another. Each religion had a place of worship, whether is be a temple, a synagogue, or a cathedral, they were all decorated with work representing their beliefs. We can see the crucifixion of Christ depicted in many ways and hist story is placed all around churches and different houses of worship on walls and in paintings. For instance, in Jonah and the Whale, we are seeing a story that represents Christ. Jonah is cast overboard on a boat and is swallowed by a great fish. Three days and three nights later, the fish spits Jonah out. This story is parallel to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ where he too rises three days and three nights later. Through Jonah and the Whale, we are given two different historical stories, one being obvious and the other being more hidden. The Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus is also a very interesting piece depicting very important scenes within monotheistic religion. In this piece we are seeing how Christianity is rising up and is appealing more to rich Romans. We see the defeat of polytheism taking place in this piece. It is interesting to me how shameful it was for people to convert to a monotheistic religion. I had no idea that such a change created so much drama and chaos among people. Overall, i think the movement from a polytheistic to a monotheistic religion was very historically interesting. I think that he art work involved with this transformation and the art work used to promote Christianity was very historically interesting in the stories that were told and how they informed me even more about what I feel was somewhat familiar but still very unclear to me. Christianity is still big and is still around and because of the art work that we have discussed, I feel like I am a little more in the know with this belief. 

We have learned about many great types of art and overall there is something interesting to me about each of types that we have learned about. The human figure in the Prehistoric period specifically stood out to me and has made an impression on me and historically, the Jewish, Early Christian, and Byzantine Art chapter served as the most interesting and attention grabbing for me. 

The Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve Versus Crucifixion

On the Hildesheim Cathedral Doors are readings of the Old and the New Testaments. Scenes are shown on the Bernward Doors, the left side, containing the story of Adam and Eve from the Old Testament and the right side containing the story of Christ from the New Testament. Although each side tells a different story, when matched up, side by side, they have a lot in common. The left side also tells the story from top to bottom where as the right side tells the story from bottom to top. Even with this difference, the scenes that are side by side still have many similarities and can relate to one another. 

I have chosen to look at the Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve versus Crucifixion. The Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve shows Eve giving into temptation by listening to the serpent and eating the fruit off the tree. Adam also ate the fruit and from this, Original Sin was brought into the world. Crucifixion shows Christ being crucified on the cross, sacrificing his life to bring salvation to mankind. On the right of him is Christ's mother, the Virgin Mary and on the left is John the Beloved. We also see on one side, a roman guard stabbing Christ in the side with a spear and on the other side, one is offering Christ some vinegar to drink. 

When looking at the two scenes and thinking about why they were put together, side by side, it is quite interesting to me. I realized that the Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve depicts the situation that began sin and eventually led up to Crucifixion where Christ died for the sins of mankind. Both scenes revolve around sin which is why I believe they were put together. One shows the creation of sin and the other shows Christ trying to end sin. WIth just these two scenes, we are given the beginning and the end to a story, which is the story of sin. It could also be said that the Temptation and Fall of Eve and Adam created Crucifixion. The two panels show scenes that give off such opposite feelings. In the Fall of Eve and Adam, one might get a sense of anger because of the mistake that Eve and Adam made by giving in to temptation. With Crucifixion, one might feel grateful or happy to see that Christ was willing to sacrifice his life for mankind. Where as Adam and Eve brought about the evil of sin, Christ was trying to take sin away. There is also the fact that Adam and Eve's story goes from top to bottom, or falls and Christ's story goes from bottom to top, or rises. We already get a negative feeling from the left side as the scenes fall down and we get a more positive feeling from the right side as the scenes rise up. These two compositions are opposite in their meanings and emotions but they are similar in the fact that they both deal with sin. 

When looking at the compositions, i noticed that the main object within the scene is in the center. We have the fruit, that is the start of sin, in the middle of the scene on the tree and then we have Christ, trying to end sin, on the cross in the middle as well. The two main objects that affect sin are the center of attention in each composition. They also have a good balance of other objects around them. Christ has two people on either side of him and the fruit has a tree on either side and Adam stands on the right and Eve stands on the left. With having two objects on either side, both of the more important objects stand out in the middle. Even the body language in each composition, draws the eye straight to the middle. Both Adam and Eve are gesturing towards the fruit on the tree. Both of their arms are extended, reaching for the fruit and leading us to focus on what is in the middle. In Crucifixion, the two Roman guards are gesturing straight up to Christ on the cross while the Virgin Mary and John the Beloved also stand facing Christ on the cross. The Virgin Mary holds out her hands towards Christ and through it all, our eyes are drawn to what is in the middle. It also appears to me that Adam, Eve, and the fruit stand out more than the rest of the scene just as Christ does too. They all look as if they are given deep cuts or more detail so that they appear more vivid and alive than the rest of the figures in the two scenes. 

Overall, when looking at the two scenes, it is clear that they both revolve around sin. One depicts the beginning of sin and the other depicts an attempt to end sin. After looking over each composition, it can be inferred that they were paired together to show two different scenes depicting sin in two opposite ways. 

The Bust of Commodus as Hercules and the Head of Caracalla

When looking at the Bust of Commodus as Hercules and the Head of Caracalla side by side, I see two completely different men yet they both still have such a similar meaning behind the creation of their statues. 

The Bust of Commodus as Hercules appears to have  what looks like a lion wrapped around him, The mouth of the lion covers Commodus' head with its sharp teeth lining Commodus' head. The paws of the lion rest on Commodus' chest, and Commodus holds a bat his right hand as if he had just dominated this lion. He wears the lion skin as if it is his trophy to show his courage and strength. The way he holds his bat over his shoulder makes him look as if he is showing off and showing those, perhaps under his rule, that he is capable of taking charge. Just like the sculpture of Augustus of Primaporta, Commodus is portrayed as a God. Augustus was barefoot giving him the appearance of a God while Commodus is given the appearance of Hercules. With a God-like appearance, they would probably be more appealing to others around them or the people under their control. Below Commodus is a head-less and arm-less figure. They figure has features that could resemble either a man or a woman.Their breasts are shaped more like a woman's breasts yet the leg and the foot looks very masculine. Next to the figure is a sphere, leading up to what looks like a shield with the Sun in the middle of it. On top of theses objects, rest the powerful looking Commodus. His body is very muscular and even his facial air is given an orderly look to it. Overall, with his bat, perfect hair, muscular body, a God like face, and trophies surround him, Commodus appears to be a strong and courageous ruler. 

The Head of Caracalla is very similar to the Portrait Head of an Elder statue. They both show a mans face and in each sculpture, we see men who look aged and worn out. Caracalla has fine lines or perhaps wrinkles on his forehead and cheeks. Because of these lines, his cheeks appear to be saggy. He has his eyebrows creased as if he is angry or unhappy. He looks as if he has been defeated with such a stern look on his face. Also, his jaw looks clenched as if he is angry. The fact that his eyes are looking up makes me think that he is looking up to someone who has defeated him. Normally throughout the pieces that we have viewed so far, those who defeat look down upon their enemy but Caracalla is looking up. He also has creases below his eyes making them look tired and saggy. Unlike, the Bust of Commodus as Hercules, the Head of Caracalla gives off the impression of defeat and a real man, not a man seen as a Godly figure. Caracalla depicts a real man who has done his time as a ruler. 

Although both of these sculptures depict two different men in two opposite forms, they are both similar in a sense that they both portray propaganda. Commodus being viewed as a God, Hercules, a man that he is not, probably made people believe that he was a God-like man with the great courage and power. The fact that he is also seen with trophies around him such as the lion skin that he wears and the headless figure below him. makes him also seem powerful to the viewers of this statue. One can propagate from this bust that Commodus was the perfect ruler. The Head of Caracalla's old and defeated look still makes him look appealing to his viewers giving a sense that he was a hard worker and gave it his all as a ruler. Just like the Portrait Head of an Elder, he looks as if he has the wisdom and experience of a powerful and successful ruler. I feel that both of the statues appeal to the same audience which would be those who they ruled, future generations, and enemies. The fact that they are both almost praising these men as rulers shows that they wanted people then and now to see them the way they are depicted in these sculptures. 

All in all, even though both of these sculptures portray two different men, one full of strength and one very fragile looking, they both show a sense of courage and strength through their propagating features.