Bust of young Marcus Aurelius in marble - France 18th century

This important marble bust represents the young Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.
We can attribute it to the 18th century French sculptor, Jean-Baptiste Boudard, specialist in classical sculpture.
Marcus Aurelius, emperor from 140, fought numerous wars during his
reign, a column was erected in honor of his victories in the heart of Rome. This
The latter looks a lot like Trajan's Column that we can see in Paris on Place Vendôme.
Regarding our work, his face is turned to the left, so it is ¾ face. He already presents the characteristic features of the future emperor, his eyes are elongated and wide open, his mouth is slightly fleshy but above all, it is his curly hair that allows us to recognize him. Its bits are superimposed on each other and volume is brought to the whole thanks to the trephine technique, a sort of drill bit operated by hand using a bow. This tool has been used since Antiquity to reach recesses, clear difficult-to-access parts and rough out small diameter grooves by forming cylindrical cavities. Slow but precise, the bit is intended for very fragile places and hard materials such as wood, stone and marble. The drill bit technique brings movement and depth to the whole.
His eyes are special, to form the pupil, the artist engraved half circles instead of using the trepan technique and making hollow pupils as we can sometimes see on busts from that time. He wears a chlamys attached by a round fibula, which clearly shows his future social status, this garment was related to the militaria and was worn by the Roman emperors.
J.B. Boudard is a French sculptor, born in 1710, he became passionate about the artistic world at a very young age. In 1732, he won the Prix de Rome and left to continue his career as a sculptor there. He even obtained protection from the French embassy, but also from individuals such as the Duke of St Aignan. One of his most important works is the production of marbles for the garden of the Ducal Palace in Parma.
Marcus Aurelius, due to his importance within the Roman Empire, it was therefore obligatory to make his bust so that everyone in the Empire could recognize the one who had political and military powers. A few centuries later, remaking the portrait of emperors once again became a favorite subject and this is why we can see a revival of this type of bust in the 18th century.