Minneapolis Institute of Art

Portrait Head of a Man

Roman Empire

Date

3rd–5th century

Medium

Marble

Culture

Roman

Department

European Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Roman portraiture went through many stylistic stages over the centuries. By the late 2nd century A.D., Roman artists created portraits that turned away from the classical forms first used in the Augustan period (44 B.C.-14 A.D.) and later in the Hadrianic period (117-138 A.D.), and returned to more realistic renderings of the individual's facial features. This head is compact and solid with relatively little modeling of the forehead. A slight smile plays across the lips, which have been accentuated by the use of the drill at the corners of the mouth. However, the hair lacks the elaborate drillwork and intense facial expression that characterize other works of the same period.

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