Capitoline Brutus

The Capitoline Brutus is an ancient Roman bronze bust commonly thought to depict the Roman consul Lucius Junius Brutus (d. 509 BC), usually dated to the late 4th to early 3rd centuries BC, but perhaps as late as the 2nd century BC, or early 1st century BC. The bust is 69 cm (27 in) in height and is currently located in the Hall of the Triumphs within the Capitoline Museums, Rome. Traditionally taken to be an early example of Roman portraiture and perhaps by an Etruscan artist influenced by Hellenistic art and contemporary Greek styles of portraiture, it may be "an archaizing work of the first century BC". The Roman head was provided with a draped bronze bust during the Renaissance.

The bust was discovered in Italy during the 16th century. In 1564 it was bequeathed to the city of Rome by Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi. Its identification as a representation of the ancient Roman statesman Lucius Junius Brutus was first formulated by antiquarians who excavated and examined it during the Renaissance, based on their readings of Roman history. However, there is no direct evidence that it was made to represent Brutus.

The first drawing of the bust was made by the Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck sometime between 1532–36, although it was first described in writing in 1549.

The bust was kept on the Capitoline Hill and from 1627 in the Palazzo dei Conservatori (Capitoline Museum), until Pope Pius VI surrendered it to the French First Republic in 1797. It was then used in the triumphal procession of Napoleon Bonaparte in Paris in July 1798. It was finally returned to Rome and the Palazzo dei Conservatori in 1816, where it has stayed ever since.

...
Wikipedia