Cleveland Museum of Art

Idealized Head

Date

50 BCE–100 CE

Medium

dolomite

Culture

Italy, Roman

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This head combines an idealizing style with the serene expression that was characteristic of early Classical sculpture in Greece. Though copies of Greek masterpieces were popular in Rome during the late Republic and early empire, Romans also created many new sculptures that emulated the Classical style, which they felt conveyed a sense of the divine. This statue was probably one such piece, borrowing iconographically and stylistically from various Greek examples. This head could represent a woman or goddess, or a youthful god such as Apollo.

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