Roman art, XNUMXnd century
Marble. Presence of rootlets, strong concretions at the
back, nose restored; Dim_ 32,5 cm x 23 x 25,5 cm
Origin
Former Swedish collection, acquired in Sweden in the 1970s
AN IMPORTANT ROMAN MARBLE PORTRAIT OF EMPEROR HADRIAN, 2ND CENTURY AD
The massive head was turned slightly to the left. The hair is worked in layered waves starting at the vertex to end in the
forehead with small rolled curls. The forehead is broad and bumpy above the eyebrows, hollowed out at the temples. Tea
eyes are darkened by low eyebrows, the line of which is in circumflex accent and a concave sub-brow crease which almost
completely hides the upper eyelid. The lower eyelid clearly shows the fairly round eyeball, with no indication of pupil or iris.
A ring remains on the lower line of the orbit.
The cheeks are broad, contrasting with the narrow base of the nose. A short, thick, curly beard increases the width of the
masseter. The hairs are smoother on the mustache. The lower lip is slightly re-entrant. The whole face exudes a majestic
presence. According to the classification of M. Wegner(1) on the portraiture of Hadrianm this portrait is to be compared to the group
“Typus Panzer-Paludamentumbuste Baiae”, including the portrait of the Louvre Ma 3132, that of Naples 6075 and that of
Rome 890 (Capitolini) are part of.
The high quality of the marble and the execution of the portrait in comparison to others of the same group makes it possible
to consider the work of a Greek workshop - a hypothesis developed by C. Evers(2) in the case of the armored portrait
of Naples from Berries.
In view of the style of the work and its large size, we can affirm that this head has belonged to a large statue of the emperor
represented in heroic nudity or represented as a Greek god - since it is recognized that Hadrian was the first emperor to be
deified during his lifetime(3).
The massive head was turned slightly to the left. The hair is worked in laying waves from the vertex to end on the forehead in small rolled curls. The forehead is broad and bumpy above the eyebrows, hollowed out at the temples. Eyes darkened by low eyebrows, whose line is in circumflex accent and a concave sub-brow crease which almost completely hides the upper eyelid. The lower eyelid clears the fairly round eyeball well, with no indication of pupil or iris. A ring rests on the lower outline of the orbit.
The cheeks are wide, thus contrasting with the narrow base of the nose. A short full and curly beard increases
the width of the masseter. The hairs are smoother on the mustache. The lower lip is slightly indented. The entire face exudes a majestic presence.
According to the classification of M. Wegner (1) on the portraiture of Hadrian this portrait is to be compared to the group
"Typus Panzer-Paludamentumbuste Baiae", of which the Louvre portrait Ma 3132, that of Naples 6075 and that of Rome 890 (Capitolini) are part.
The high quality of the marble and the execution of the portrait in comparison with others of the same group makes it possible to envisage the work of a Greek workshop – hypothesis developed by C.Evers(2) in the case of the armored portrait of Naples from of Berries.
In view of the style of the work and its large size, we can affirm that this head belonged to a large statue of the emperor figured in heroic nudity or represented as a Greek god - since it is recognized that Hadrian was the first emperor to be deified during his lifetime(3).
1 M. Wegner, Das romische Herrscherbild II, 3, Berlin, 1956
2 C. Evers, Portraits of Hadrian. Typology and workshops, Brussels, Royal Academy of Belgium, 1994
3 K. de Kersauson, Catalog of Roman portraits, T.II, p. 124, Paris, 1996
Full Description