The imprint of the homo pneumaticus in the late Roman portrait
Abstract
It has been said, and perhaps rightly so, that the physiognomic Roman portrait is one of the great contributions that Rome has left us, along with Architecture and Law, since through it, they left us a written chronicle of the evolution of their thinking and their History. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Roman citizen had to face a serious crisis of political principles and religious beliefs, for which reason he was forced to rebuild himself internally according to an intimate position, without giving up the demands of knowledge (gnosis). Thus arose the figure of the so-called “spiritual man” (homo pneumaticus), a follower in many cases of the Neoplatonic currents promoted by the philosopher Plotinus. His doubts and concerns were reflected in a series of portraits in which, intentionally, through certain stylistic features, the imprint of the prevailing emotional situation at this period was felt.
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