Portrait Head of Emperor Hadrian - Ancient Roman

Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund

"Portrait Head of Emperor Hadrian" by Ancient Roman (130-138) Marble.

Commentary

"Portrait Head of Emperor Hadrian" by Ancient Roman (130-138) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Because the work is spatial, changes in viewpoint and light can noticeably alter its emotion al impact. Themes to notice include hadrianic, sculpture. This piece is held in the source collection's Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium collection. Ancient Roman is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Roman. The work is cataloged within a Italy cultural context. It is associated with the hadrianic period. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as sculpture, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Marble) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (36 × 27.5 × 27.3 cm (14 1/4 × 10 7/8 × 10 3/4 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include hadrianic, sculpture. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/58135

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data