Rome’s history in four faces at The Met

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Realism, ideal beauty, and military might—explore the evolution of Roman portraits and political imagery.

 

Portrait of a Man, late 1st century B.C.E., marble, 31.5 x 19.7 x 19.7 cm.; portrait bust of the emperor Gaius, known as Caligula, 37-41 C.E., marble, 50.8 x 18 cm; bust of the emperor Hadrian, 118-120 C.E., marble; and portrait of the emperor Caracalla, 212-17 C.E., marble, 36.2 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Speakers: Dr. Jeffrey Becker and Dr. Beth Harris

 

Additional resources:

Marble portrait of the emperor Caracalla at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Marble portrait bust of the emperor Gaius, known as Caligula at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roman Portrait Sculpture: The Stylistic Cycle on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Roman Portrait Sculpture: Republican through Constantinian on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

 

Cite this page as: Dr. Jeffrey A. Becker and Dr. Beth Harris, "Rome’s history in four faces at The Met," in Smarthistory, April 28, 2018, accessed March 30, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/roman-busts/.