Getty Museum

Portrait Bust of Demosthenes

Date

50 B.C.–A.D. 100

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Roman

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

An inscription across the front of this small bronze bust identifies the figure as Demosthenes (about 384–322 B.C.), one of the most famous Athenian orators. He is portrayed as a mature, bearded man, with a high furrowed forehead. This particular bust of Demosthenes, like many other Roman examples, is a small-scale copy of a large bronze statue by the Greek sculptor Polyeuktos that was set up in the Athenian agora in 280 B.C. Portraits of Demosthenes had a resurgence of popularity in the early Roman Empire, especially with the Roman elite, who decorated their houses and villas with portraits of famous Greek philosophers, orators, and political and military leaders. Demosthenes was admired by educated Romans for his frank integrity. During his lifetime, he gained fame for speaking out against the growing power of the kingdom of Macedonia.

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