Copy of a Greek statue of the 1st half of the 3rd century B.C.
The philosopher, who lived from 341 to 271 B.C., must have been honored by a portrait statue made late in his lifetime or soon after his death. Numerous Roman copies reproduce the same original, showing the esteem in which Epicurus' teachings were held.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
[Until 1911, with Ettore Jandolo, Rome]; acquired in 1911, purchased from E. Jandolo.
Robinson, Edward. 1911. "A Head of Epicurus." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 6(7): pp. 150, 152.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1917. Handbook of the Classical Collection. p. 239, fig. 146, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1925. "Recent Accessions of Ancient Marbles." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 20(4): p. 104.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1927. Handbook of the Classical Collection. p. 281, fig. 199, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1930. Handbook of the Classical Collection. p. 281, fig. 199, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Phillips, John Goldsmith. 1940. "Heads in Sculpture: A Special Exhibition, January 17–March 3." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 35(1): pp. 3, 5.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1953. Handbook of the Greek Collection. pp. 122, 260, pl. 100b, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1954. Catalogue of Greek Sculptures. no. 186, pp. 96–97, pl. 130, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Richter, Gisela M. A. 1970. "The Department of Greek and Roman Art: Triumphs and Tribulations." Metropolitan Museum Journal, 3: pp. 75, 78, fig. 7.
Robertson, Martin and Cambridge University Press. 1975. A History of Greek Art, Vols. 1 and 2. p. 525, pl. 195d, Cambridge, England.
Haff, Ralf von den. 1994. Philosophenporträts des Früh- und Hochhellenismus, Biering and Brinkmann, ed. p. 71 n. 96, München.
Picón, Carlos A. 2007. Art of the Classical World in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Greece, Cyprus, Etruria, Rome no. 257, pp. 220, 455, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Picón, Carlos A. and Seán Hemingway. 2016. Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World no. 47, pp. 140–41, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Zanker, Paul. 2016. Roman Portraits: Sculptures in Stone and Bronze in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 10, pp. 11, 39–41, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Zanker, Paul, Seán Hemingway, Christopher S. Lightfoot, and Joan R. Mertens. 2019. Roman Art : A Guide through the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Collection. no. 149, pp. 299–300, New York: Scala Publishers.
Hemingway, Seán. 2021. How to Read Greek Sculpture. no. 35, pp. 32, 45, 148–50, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than 30,000 works ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312.
