October 16, 2004–November 22, 2005
Gallery 156

Overview: This magnificent cuirass statue with a portrait of Marcus Aurelius is making a year-long stopover at the Art Institute of Chicago, on its way home to the Pergamon Musuem in Berlin after being conserved at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. The statue was made in two parts at different times. The body was carved between A.D. 69–98 and the portrait was sculptured about A.D. 144–45. Although it is uncertain when the head and body were joined, it was not uncommon for statues to have interchangeable heads in ancient times.

Marcus Aurelius ruled Rome from A.D. 161–180, when the empire was at its greatest extent and enjoying a period of relative prosperity. He was a thoughtful and intelligent leader, who cared deeply for his people and detested all forms of violence. A devoted student of Stoicism, a philosophy that encouraged individuals to think and act responsibly and unselfishly, Marcus Aurelius embodied the ideal ruler defined by the Greek philosopher Plato about 500 years earlier. He kept a journal of his most private thoughts, which survives today in a book called Meditations.

During its stay at the Art Institute, this full-length portrait statue will be the centerpiece of a special installation about portraiture in antiquity. It will be installed in the museum’s gallery of Roman art, near three-dimensional, relief, and painted portraits in the museum’s collection, including a superb life-size portrait bust of a woman that was carved during the emperor’s lifetime; a tiny coin bearing the portrait of Empress Faustina the Elder, the mother of Marcus Aurelius’s wife; and a hauntingly realistic painted portrait of an unidentified man. Through a careful examination of Roman portraits in a variety of formats and media, visitors will gain a better understanding of and appreciation for the Art Institute’s collection of ancient art.

For more information about the J. Paul Getty Museum’s conservation partnership with the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and their restoration of this statue, log on to www.getty.edu, click on “Museum,” and type “Marcus Aurelius: Conserving an Ancient Statue” into the search function.

Organizer: Marcus Aurelius: Portrait of a Roman Emperor is organized by the the Art Institute of Chicago’s Department of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture, and Ancient Art.

Support: This exhibition has been generously supported by the Classical Art Society and friends of the Classical Art Society, with a major contribution from the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Curator: Karen Manchester, the Elizabeth McIlvaine Associate Curator of Ancient Art, Department of European Decorative Arts and Sculpture, and Ancient Art, The Art Institute of Chicago

Artist Unknown. Cuirass Statue with Portrait of Marcus Aurelius, body: A.D. 69–98; head: A.D. 144–145. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Antikensammlung, Sk 368. Photography provided by the J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © The J. Paul Getty Museum.