Who does the Capitoline Brutus supposedly depict?
Tradition holds that the Capitoline Brutus depicts Lucius Junius Brutus, the Roman consul who died in 509 BC. No direct evidence confirms that the bronze was actually made to represent him.
Questions about Capitoline Brutus
Short answers, pulled from the story.
How big is the Capitoline Brutus and what is it made of?
The Capitoline Brutus is a bronze bust measuring 69 centimetres, or 27 inches, in height.
Where is the Capitoline Brutus kept today?
The Capitoline Brutus is displayed in the Hall of the Triumphs within the Capitoline Museums in Rome.
When was the Capitoline Brutus first recorded?
The Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck drew the Capitoline Brutus between 1532 and 1536, and the bust was first described in writing in 1549. Its documented history begins in 16th-century Italy, since nothing is known of it before then.
Why do historians doubt the Capitoline Brutus really shows Brutus?
Historians such as Johann Joachim Winckelmann and Ennio Quirino Visconti argued the bust was never proven to represent Brutus, and Visconti noted the head and its bronze body were not made together. No direct evidence ties the bust to the historical consul.
How did the Capitoline Brutus end up in Napoleon Bonaparte's possession?
Pope Pius VI surrendered the Capitoline Brutus to the French First Republic in 1797. It was displayed in Napoleon Bonaparte's triumphal procession in Paris in July 1798, before returning to Rome in 1816.