Portrait Head of a Youth
14-68, reworked by the late 4th-early 5th century
Medium
marble
Dimensions
35.6 × 21.6 × 16.5 cm (14 × 8 1/2 × 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
marble
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
262
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In the Roman world, portraits were often recarved in order to alter the sculpture’s function, meaning, or identity. It is possible that this portrait head was altered at a later date because it includes features associated with different periods. The man’s hairstyle, with locks of hair neatly arranged across the forehead, recalls those worn by men during the Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BC–AD 68) and again during the reign of the emperor Trajan (reigned AD 98–117). However, the drill marks in his ...
About the Artist
Ancient Roman
The artists attributed to "Ancient Roman" in museum collections represent the anonymous craftsmen who produced the vast output of sculpture, frescoes, mosaics, and reliefs defining Roman visual culture from the Republic (c. 509–27 BCE) to the late Empire (c. 395 CE). Individual identities remain elusive, as Roman makers were typically viewed as skilled tradesmen—often enslaved Greeks or provincial...