Commodus and Caracalla

In Commodus as Hercules I believe that he wanted to put out the statement that he was a god (that we was the reincarnation of Hercules.) However even though he is showing himself off as a powerful figure it is not the same kind of power that the portrait head of Caracalla puts out.

Commodus in his portrait seems smug, like nothing is a challenge for him and that no one can stop him from what he's doing. I see this especially in the way that his eyes have been sculpted. They're not open all of the way and looking off to the side as if he doesn't care about anything because of his power. The way his arms are positioned suggests that as well. With the way he has the club tossed over his shoulder and by the way he is holding the apples casually in his hand. I could picture him lightly tossing them or caressing them in his hand like bobbles.

The whole sculpture also seems very decorative (which demonstrates Commodus' vanity) with the amount of curls and detail that have been put into his hair, and with all of the godly symbols adorning him. The whole thing is very showy, and I think the propagandistic message that he wanted to put out was that he was perfect in every way, and because of that perfection he should be thought of and worshiped as a god.

The portrait head of Caracalla is quite different though. His portrait demonstrates nothing but pure power, strength, and wrath to me. Just by the portrait I would not want to mess with this guy or his country. His eyes and pupils have been carved as if he is staring up at the heavens, in a way that shows that he's not even afraid of the gods, and that even they shouldn't mess with him.

I feel as if someone went and stepped even on the wrong blade of grass in his country that they would be dead before they could even dare to step on the next blade.

Unlike Commodus the lighting on Caracalla's portrait is very harsh and shows off extreme light and darks, giving his face a very stern and sharp look to it. He has a very strong bone structure, and the angry wrinkle lines on his face are emphasized. Also unlike Commodus, his hair is very short and not a lot of detail has been given to it, even his facial hair isn't given a lot of detail, but you can still tell that it's there. He seems to be very well kept, but not in a vain flashy way like Commodus.

I think that the propaganda in Caracalla's portrait is just meant to show off how powerful he is to both his citizens and enemies, while Commodus' portrait is more like that of a spoiled rich kid who thinks that no one can mess with him, and that's why people should follow him, because he's perfect and god like.

I do think though that with both of these portraits that they could be understood by a wide audience, especially Caracalla's. I know that I sure wouldn't mess with the guy, and I never even knew who he was until now, an I can also tell the kind of character that Commodus had just by looking at his portrait.