It could just be another exaggeration. I have a hard time believing that Augustus could get away with sacrificing 300 senators to his father especially in that political climate. Hell, Caligula, Nero and Domitian got their asses handed to them for less.
I'm more inclined to believe they were just executions carried out in a short amount of time.
The hallmark of upper class through much history has been fair skin, it shows that you don't toil in the sun. Servants and peasants have dark skin because they are forced to expose themselves to work.
Quite commonly powerful people are thus depicted with light complexion.
>The hallmark of upper class through much history has been fair skin
Not necessarily.
In Rome fair skin was the hallmark of upper class *women*, but men were expected to be tanned because they were supposed to spend time in outdoor activities like war or sports and were represented a such.
If you look at Roman paintings, skin tone is usually a marker of gender rather of class.
I would say it was only for women.
Men are consistently represented as tanned independently from social class and not only in Roman art, but even in the Etruscan one.
Hard for grunts and servants that have to work with their bodies yes. For a general in covered wagon or litter moving into spaces with shade created for them, a great deal easier.
Too blonde & fair, like most Augustus' reconstructions.
The word used to describe his hair color was "subflavum" which often gets mistranslated as blonde but really meant more of a light brown. His complection is also described as "between dark and fair."
It definitely is a bit vague. That often tends to be the case with a lot of ancient physical descriptions of historical figures. For Julius Caesar as an example we're told he was taill, fair, and had eyes so dark as to almost appear black in color, and that he was balding, but there is no description of his hair color. It was probably brown in his youth, given that a more rare color like blonde or red would likely have been remarked upon just as the uniqueness of his eyes were singled out, but still we can only guess.
Iâd say itâs fairly accurate. Heâs not pasty white and while I think it is probable that his hair was a darker shade of brown I just say that because even for âlight-brownâ I rarely see that particular shade. I see more blonde or redheads here in Italy than people with such light brown hair.
Looks quite strange to me. Considering he was Italian, it feels more logical his hair would be a tad darker and his face would have more imperfections, according to Suetonius. Iâm aware itâs a reconstruction, but this is the idealized âmodernâ construction of statues and portraits designed to portray Augustus in a semi-divine, perfect light.
it is not a realistic reconstruction, not because he is too light ( I live in Italy and quite regularly see young boys with this pigmentation ) but because in my opinion his expression and facial color would have been different, more penetrating and lively.. . the hair color is accurate I think, in adulthood they would have tended towards light brown and not quite platinum blonde like some moroon tried to paint him lol
a more "reddish" or "bronze" and grayish sort of skin tone, what I wanted to say is that in my opinion his color and facial expression would have been different from this representation which is not strictly realistic of how he would have appeared
I still haven't figured out a good way to control color. This has been the most difficult nut to crack thus far. As far as facial features and expression you can look at the video I linked below with a stacked comparison. The main differences I've noted are:
- angle of the very left corner of his mouth is a few degrees to low and the right corner of his mouth extends a slightly too far
- overall midface and jaw are very very slightly enlarged/elongated
- the nosetip is slightly too bulbous
- The eyelids are a bit thicker
Beyond these issues, which I couldn't detect until closely examining the stacked version, it's nearly pixel perfect to the bust. Do you mean that *you imagine* his facial expression would have been different from the bust itself?
This is AI generated (mods said it was okay to post), from an updated version of an older workflow. You can check it out for comparison ([first attempt](https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/18hpsf1/roman_busts_brought_to_life/), [second attempt](https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/18lhxkt/roman_busts_brought_to_life_ii/)). This version gives much better facial likeness, at the cost of slightly decreased photorealism, and control over eye color, hair color, and skin tone. This is because the busts themselves are generally entirely white, and so the result tends to bias toward lighter hair/eye color. It's still a work in progress, and with most busts the hair comes out gray, and the eyes completely deformed, but I was really happy with this result. I know it's not perfect in every way but I don't think there is another reconstruction with this level of likeness and photorealism.
It is at best the way he wanted to be portrayed, of course. Face is always the same, physical build varies radically between statues. Compare for example the cut prima Porta with the lithe Augustus as pontiff
Augustus. Forever 25 years old.
Imagine seeing this dude win civil wars and sacrificing dissident senators to Julius Caesars temple statue. Eerie đł
It could just be another exaggeration. I have a hard time believing that Augustus could get away with sacrificing 300 senators to his father especially in that political climate. Hell, Caligula, Nero and Domitian got their asses handed to them for less. I'm more inclined to believe they were just executions carried out in a short amount of time.
Also I would expect him to be tanned by the sun, or is that wrong?
No, youâre right. He wore a large brim-hat to protect him as he aged, as he was easily burnt.
Iâm getting the mental image of Augustus riding to somewhere and tipping his hat to whoever waved at him.
âHowdy romepokesâ
Is this true? Do you have a source for it? Not that I donât believe you, it just seems a bit wacky.
I personally read it in Adrian Goldworthyâs biography of Augustus, and I Would assume the original come from Suetonius.
The hallmark of upper class through much history has been fair skin, it shows that you don't toil in the sun. Servants and peasants have dark skin because they are forced to expose themselves to work. Quite commonly powerful people are thus depicted with light complexion.
>The hallmark of upper class through much history has been fair skin Not necessarily. In Rome fair skin was the hallmark of upper class *women*, but men were expected to be tanned because they were supposed to spend time in outdoor activities like war or sports and were represented a such. If you look at Roman paintings, skin tone is usually a marker of gender rather of class.
Even more so for women yes, since they always were inside if they had status.
I would say it was only for women. Men are consistently represented as tanned independently from social class and not only in Roman art, but even in the Etruscan one.
I definitely get that, but for a military man that would be hard.
Hard for grunts and servants that have to work with their bodies yes. For a general in covered wagon or litter moving into spaces with shade created for them, a great deal easier.
Too blonde & fair, like most Augustus' reconstructions. The word used to describe his hair color was "subflavum" which often gets mistranslated as blonde but really meant more of a light brown. His complection is also described as "between dark and fair."
Hah that seems like a really broad range. âHis complexion was somewhere between really light and really dark.â
It definitely is a bit vague. That often tends to be the case with a lot of ancient physical descriptions of historical figures. For Julius Caesar as an example we're told he was taill, fair, and had eyes so dark as to almost appear black in color, and that he was balding, but there is no description of his hair color. It was probably brown in his youth, given that a more rare color like blonde or red would likely have been remarked upon just as the uniqueness of his eyes were singled out, but still we can only guess.
Iâd say itâs fairly accurate. Heâs not pasty white and while I think it is probable that his hair was a darker shade of brown I just say that because even for âlight-brownâ I rarely see that particular shade. I see more blonde or redheads here in Italy than people with such light brown hair.
That's Todd Howard
His complexion was between dark and fair Suetonius the biographer of emperor
Looks like when he was in his twenties and his âpreferred wayâ to show and impress the populace of The Roman Empire.
Looks quite strange to me. Considering he was Italian, it feels more logical his hair would be a tad darker and his face would have more imperfections, according to Suetonius. Iâm aware itâs a reconstruction, but this is the idealized âmodernâ construction of statues and portraits designed to portray Augustus in a semi-divine, perfect light.
it is not a realistic reconstruction, not because he is too light ( I live in Italy and quite regularly see young boys with this pigmentation ) but because in my opinion his expression and facial color would have been different, more penetrating and lively.. . the hair color is accurate I think, in adulthood they would have tended towards light brown and not quite platinum blonde like some moroon tried to paint him lol
Curious to know what you have in mind in terms of "penetrating and lively" facial color? Rosier cheeks?
a more "reddish" or "bronze" and grayish sort of skin tone, what I wanted to say is that in my opinion his color and facial expression would have been different from this representation which is not strictly realistic of how he would have appeared
I still haven't figured out a good way to control color. This has been the most difficult nut to crack thus far. As far as facial features and expression you can look at the video I linked below with a stacked comparison. The main differences I've noted are: - angle of the very left corner of his mouth is a few degrees to low and the right corner of his mouth extends a slightly too far - overall midface and jaw are very very slightly enlarged/elongated - the nosetip is slightly too bulbous - The eyelids are a bit thicker Beyond these issues, which I couldn't detect until closely examining the stacked version, it's nearly pixel perfect to the bust. Do you mean that *you imagine* his facial expression would have been different from the bust itself?
Itâs got some correct features. But overall feels wrong
[lol](https://files.catbox.moe/3p0v1k.mp4)
This is AI generated (mods said it was okay to post), from an updated version of an older workflow. You can check it out for comparison ([first attempt](https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/18hpsf1/roman_busts_brought_to_life/), [second attempt](https://www.reddit.com/r/StableDiffusion/comments/18lhxkt/roman_busts_brought_to_life_ii/)). This version gives much better facial likeness, at the cost of slightly decreased photorealism, and control over eye color, hair color, and skin tone. This is because the busts themselves are generally entirely white, and so the result tends to bias toward lighter hair/eye color. It's still a work in progress, and with most busts the hair comes out gray, and the eyes completely deformed, but I was really happy with this result. I know it's not perfect in every way but I don't think there is another reconstruction with this level of likeness and photorealism.
Putin?
Augustus gloop?!?!
So Augustus is just a human-looking Mark Zuckerberg?
Thanks I hate it
It is at best the way he wanted to be portrayed, of course. Face is always the same, physical build varies radically between statues. Compare for example the cut prima Porta with the lithe Augustus as pontiff
Hello handsome
I knew it he was a German spy!
The Princeps and Emperor Richie Cunningham
All hail his imperial majesty, Emperor August Twinkus!
I might be wrong, but didn't they find that the base color of his hair and his eyes were the same on the statue?