Marble portrait of the emperor Caracalla | All | Greek and Roman Art | Collection Database | Works of Art

Description

This head is from a statue, other fragments of which survive. Caracalla abandoned the luxuriant hair and beard of his predecessors for a military style characterized by close-cropped curls and a stubble beard. Often finely carved, his portraits look compact but convey an explosive energy.

ProvenanceSaid to have been found in Rome (Richter 1940, AJA 44, p. 439, n. 41).

Acquired January 15, 1940, purchased from H.P. L'Orange, Oslo.

Selected BibliographyRichter, G. M. A. 1940. "A Portrait of Caracalla." MMA Bulletin 35 (July): 139-42, figs. 1, 2.

Richter, G. M. A. 1940. "A Rearrangement of Roman Portraits." MMA Bulletin 35 (October): 202.

Richter, G. M. A. 1940. "A Roman Ringstone." MMA Bulletin 35 (November): 229.

Richter, G. M. A. 1940. "Four Notable Acquisitions of The Metropolitan Museum of Art." American Journal of Archaeology 44 (October-December): 439-42, figs. 13-18.

Altheìm, F. 1943. Die Krise der alten Welt im 3. Jahrhundert n. zw. und ihre Ursachen. Vol. 3. Berlin: Ahnenerbe-Stiftung, p. 84, pls. 74, 75.

Hill, D. K. 1944. "Some Late Antique Portraits." American Journal of Archaeology 48: 263, n. 9.

Richter, G. M. A. 1948. Roman Portraits. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 107, ill. on front cover.

Bergmann, M. 1977. Studien zum römischen Porträt des 3. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. Bonn: Habelt, p. 12, n. 14, p. 202.

Vermeule, C. C., III. 1977. "Commodus, Caracalla and the Tetrarchs: Roman Emperors as Hercules." In Festschrift für Frank Brommer, edited by U. Höckmann and A. Krug. Mainz: P. von Zabern, p. 293, n. 17.

Wood, S. 1981. "Subject and Artist: Studies in Roman Portraiture of the Third Century." American Journal of Archaeology 85: 65, n. 37, pl. 14, fig. 4.

Wood, S. 1982. "The Bust of Philip the Arab in the Vatican: A Case for the Defense." American Journal of Archaeology 86: 245ff., pl. 40, fig. 4.

Salzmann, D. 1983. "Die Bildnisse des Macrinus." Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 98: 369, n. 88, fig. 24.

Wood, S. 1986. Roman Portrait Sculpture, 217-260 A.D.: The Transformation of an Artistic Tradition. Leiden: Brill, pp. 29, n. 16, 30, fig. 2.

Kleiner, D. E. E. 1992. Roman Sculpture. New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 324, fig. 286.

Oliver, A. 1996. "Honors to Romans: Bronze Portraits." In C. C. Mattusch et al., The Fire of Hephaistos: Large Classical Bronzes from North American Collections. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, p. 150.

Kleiner, D. E. E. 2000. "Family Ties: Mothers and Sons in Elite and non-Elite Roman Art." In I Claudia II: Women in Roman Art and Society, edited by D. E. E. Kleiner and S. B. Matheson, p. 53. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Picón, C. A., et al. 2007. Art of the Classical World in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 494, no. 454, ill. p. 389.

Curatorial Department

Greek and Roman Art: All