The eyes have it..

 

 

 Do not

 

attempt a

 

 staring

 

contest

 

with this

 

 dude.

 

(because you will loose) 

 

 

 

He's the MFA's newest visitor, the Capitoline Brutus, a larger-than-life bronze bust dating to about 300 BC.

Identified as L. Junius Brutus, the founder of the Roman Republic (not the Caesar-stabbing guy), he gets his eerie gaze from the original glass-and-ivory eyes.

http://youtu.be/JhjYfB1cnUg

In celebration of

“2013—The Year of Italian Culture in the United States,”

the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

welcomes

The Capitoline Brutus

a rare bronze sculpture of a Roman statesman dating to around 300 BC.

The larger-than-life-sized head of a bearded man,

with its original eyes made of ivory and glass,

is considered one of the earliest examples of portraiture and has remained an icon of Roman art since its discovery in Rome in the 16th century.

The Capitoline Brutus
is presented under the auspices of the President of the Italian Republic’s “2013 – Year of Italian Culture in the United States” and “Dream of Rome” initiatives, designed to enhance the close bonds between Italy and the United States.

The head reflects a fusion of Etruscan, Greek, and early Roman art styles and is one of the rare ancient examples that survived in bronze.
Few such bronze portraits survive from ancient times because the metal was precious and often melted down for armor.

 

The loan of The Capitoline Brutus continues the MFA’s ongoing relationship with Italy.

In September 2006, the MFA transferred 13 antiquities to Italy and signed an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture marking the beginning of a new era of cultural exchange. It included the creation of a partnership in which the Italian government would loan significant works from Italy to the MFA’s displays and special exhibitions program, and established a process by which the MFA and Italy would exchange information with respect to the Museum’s future acquisitions of Italian antiquities.

The partnership also envisaged collaboration in the areas of scholarship, conservation, archaeological investigation, and exhibition planning.
http://www.bostoniano.info/italian_news_boston/capitoline-brutus-arrives-museum-fine-arts-boston