Representations of children were popular in both public and private art during the Roman imperial period. It is uncertain whether this statue is a portrait of a specific child or was inspired by a basic type that had originated among the Greeks several centuries earlier. The boy, who has a head of curly hair, rounded cheeks, and a pudgy belly, gazes downward and to the side. It is possible that he is admiring a pet at his feet, as Roman statues of children frequently depict them with companion animals such as geese, doves, and puppies.
Date
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Art Institute of Chicago, “Acquisitions,” Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report 1976–77 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1977), p. 27.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III, Greek and Roman Sculpture in America: Masterpieces of Public Collections in the United States and Canada (Berkeley: University of California Press; Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1981), p. 183, fig. 150.
Karen B. Alexander and Mary Greuel. Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections. Exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1990), cat. 9.
Katharine A. Raff, “Cat. 1 Statue of a Young Boy: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).
Rachel C. Sabino, with contributions by Lorenzo Lazzarini, “Cat. 1 Statue of a Young Boy: Technical Report,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).
Art Institute of Chicago, Sculpture From the Classical Collection, Gallery 101A, September 1, 1987 - August 31, 1988, no cat.
Art Institute of Chicago, Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections, March 3, 1990-September 16, 1990, cat. 9.
Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 156, April 20, 1994 - February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 152, November 11, 2012 - present.
European Art Market, prior to 1976 [this and the following according to correspondence in curatorial object file]; Bruce McAlpine (b. 1947), London, England, by 1976; sold to the Art Institute, 1976.
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