The Bronze Statue of Camillus

When approaching gallery 166 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I couldn’t help but notice the magnificent sculpture of the “Bronze statue of Camillus (acolyte).” As I began to study some background information on the early Imperial period of Roman culture, one would learn that there was an evident revival. The Romans were building at a fast pace and religious sacrifices were becoming more common. Throughout this Roman period, a Camillus (male) or Camilla (female) was the freeborn child of the religious cults officiant. These young boys were selected to serve during religious ceremonies where sacrifices were customary.
The sculpture was assembled to be perceived taller than it really was and stood on top of an approximately 4x4 foot concrete cube that helped signify the importance of the statue. The statue itself was exactly 46-1/8 inches tall, which offered the idea that it was indeed a young boy rather than a man. The color bronze is considerably consistent throughout on the statue. I will add that his eyes are paneled silver, while the lips are copper. I found the color in his face to suggest more humanistic qualities than not. Because the sculptor purposely gave the statue’s eyes and lips a different color than the rest of the piece, it gave me the idea of a human. Additionally, the young boy was wearing a robe that ended at bottom of his knees and had open toed sandals on his feet. Although the boy was in a robe, one could articulate that he does have a rather slim figure. On another note, I found it very interesting how this statue was in somewhat of an open area, thus dominating Gallery 166. I feel as if the curator desired to show the viewer that the Camillus were significant to the Romans throughout this period.
Observing the statue was quite intriguing because many would find it difficult to perceive the young acolytes mood through his very straight and relaxed facial expression. The figures stance gave me the idea that he is indeed “here to serve,”