Chisel & Male figure in the guise of Hermes

Chisel, 2022

Caroline o'Daly

booklet on paper

Upon first glance, Male figure in the guise of Hermes did not particularly inspire me. I’ve seen plenty of male and pale marble sculptures, and this one seemed pretty standard. However, after reading the object description, I was intrigued by its purpose as an honorary portrait statue. The desire of Ancient Roman individuals to manipulate and curate representations of their bodies reminded me of contemporary practices, specifically the desire to modify pictures of yourself before posting them on social media. From the Kardashians to my very own friends, people edit their flaws away with various programs, from Photoshop to Facetune. Furthermore, the way that honorary portrait statues convey certain ideals about their patrons reminded me of the strict curation of a social media profile: People carefully select images to share with the world, portraying themselves in a specific and attractive way.

For my project, I decided to satirize the desire to design an ideal fictional body and an equally appealing persona by creating a contemporary shopping catalog for Ancient Romans hoping to comission honorary portrait statues. Clothing catalogs from the 1980s and 1990s especially inspired my design process. I love their bold and oftentimes gaudy format, which, in my opinion, complements the unnecessary and oftentimes excessive process of editing pictures of yourself. I hope that this work not only highlights the similarities between the Ancient Roman and contemporary practice of manipulating self-portraits and fabricating personas but also humorously demonstrates the unnecessary nature of egregiously editing photos of yourself for social media.

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Male figure in the guise of Hermes, early 100s CE

Roman

Parian Marble

RISD Museum, Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke 03.008

This work is an example of an honorary portrait statue, which was a popular form of sculpture during the Roman imperial period. The head––currently absent from the sculpture––would have presented an accurate rendering of the patron’s appearance. However, the body replicates the physique of Hermes, the Greek god of wealth, trade, and travel. By presenting patrons with truthful heads and the bodies of deities, honorary portrait statues enabled individuals to highlight specific values and curate ideal identities for themselves. For example, the person who commissioned this statue wanted to emphasize his power and prowess in commerce by aligning himself with Hermes. Consequently, he was most likely a wealthy businessman, creating a legacy that references his impressive profession and socioeconomic class. The use of Hermes in honorary portrait statues was incredibly popular among tradesmen. Thus, this specific representation of the body became known as the Hermes Richelieu type, named for a sculpture in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

The distinctive front twist in the chlamys––a small cloak worn by men in ancient Greece––indicates that this sculpture portrays the body of Hermes, as the draped mantle has only been identified in other representations of the god. When the RISD Museum acquired the work in 1903, the statue also had legs and a base. However, in 1953, those sections were removed from the work after scientific testing proved them to be additions from the 18th century. Despite the absent lower portion, the figure still satisfies ancient Greek standards of physical beauty, further emphasizing the divine status of the body. In fact, while rendering statues and images of humans, ancient Greek sculptors followed a set of rules, known as the canon, to render physical perfection. In this work, the body is ideally proportioned and muscular, employing the contrapposto stance––a relaxed, naturalistic pose––to heighten the work’s lifelike quality.

By combining reality with perfection, this work, along with other honorary portrait statues, permitted individuals during the Roman imperial era to create ideal identities for themselves, something that people continue to do in contemporary culture.