From the scene introducing Ptolemy XIII
This is a close-up shot, signifying the character's importance and the fact that he is the focus, as he is in the center of the shot. The angle is eye-level however to show us that this man is our equal, he is not a serious threat to Caesar. The men in the background actually expose his youth, shortness, and foolishness with their height. The color most present is Egyptian gold to show that this is the Pharaoh. The somewhat darker lighting demonstrates that this character may have malignant intent. His face is making a foolish expression and his "crown" resembles a jester's cap, which conveys that he is a foolish king with no real power, a puppet to be played with.
I also noticed that the hawk above his head is slightly off center, so that he is not sitting underneath it. Maybe this also shows that he is, as you said, a puppet king that no one takes seriously. As opposed to Cleopatra, who is a divine ruler. I didn't think about his crown being a jester's cap, but I see it now! That's really interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe strange shape of Ptolemy's mouth here is really interesting. Remember, he's actually very insecure in this scene, asking Caesar: "Does it (Pompey's head) please you?" Another thing that strikes me when I look at him is that he is beardless. If you look at any other depiction of a pharaoh, they always have a beard that is tied up into a tight, longish bundle of a goatee. In fact, there are even depictions of Queen Hatshepsut with a fake beard (in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, for example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hatshepsut#mediaviewer/File:Hatshepsut-CollosalGraniteSphinx02_MetropolitanMuseum.png). The fact that Ptolemy doesn't have a beard underlines that he's basically still a child.
ReplyDelete