Of all the Roman emperors, Hadrian (r. a.d. 117–38) is the one whose portrait is most frequently found, all across the empire from Britain to Persia, from Asia Minor to Egypt. Furthermore, among all his portraits, few equal this likeness in conveying the complex character of the emperor who inherited the Roman world at its greatest extent from his fellow Spaniard Trajan (r. a.d. 98–117). Hadrian traveled widely, visiting most of the provinces during the twenty years of his reign, and commissioned buildings, aqueducts, and roads in many cities. Citizens responded to Hadrian’s generosity by erecting numerous statues in his honor, and after his death they revered him as a god.
Hadrian greatly admired the Greeks. Unlike previous emperors, who were cleanshaven, Hadrian wore a beard, perhaps in emulation of the Greek philosophers whom he so revered. Here Hadrian’s closely cropped beard contrasts with the thick, luxurious curls that frame his face. This sculpture also features an innovative trend in Roman portraiture: the artist carefully sculpted the irises and pupils of the eyes rather than rendering them in paint as was conventional.
Date
Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.
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Art Institute of Chicago, “Report of the President,” Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report 1978–79 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1979), p. 12 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago, “Acquisitions,” Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report 1978–79 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1979), p. 35.
Art Institute of Chicago, “Recent Accessions in the Department of Classical Art,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 74, 1 (Jan.–Mar. 1980), p. 8 (ill.).
Cornelius C. Vermuele III, Greek and Roman Sculpture in America: Masterpieces in Public Collections in the United States and Canada (Berkely: University of California Press, 1981), p. 309, fig. 265.
Art Institute of Chicago, Pocketguide to the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 1983), p. 17, fig. 13.
Max Wegner, “Verzeichnis der Bildnisse von Hadrian und Sabina.” in Boreas: Münstersche Beiträge zur Archäologie 7 (1984), p. 113.
Klaus Fittschen and Paul Zanker, Katalog der römischen Porträts in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen Kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom, Band I: Kaiser- und Prinzenbildnisse (Zabern, 1985), p. 58, n. 1 [This book gives an incorrect accession number in reference to the work: 1979.360 instead of 1979.350].
Art Institute of Chicago, Pocketguide to the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 1988), p. 9, fig. 13.
Karen B. Alexander and Mary Greuel. Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections. Exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1990), cat. 10.
Karen Alexander, “The New Galleries of Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” Minerva vol. 5, no. 3 (May/June, 1994), p. 34, fig. 12.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III, “Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.” Special issue, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 20, no. 1 (1994): p. 70, cat. 47 (ill.).
Cécile Evers, Les portraits d’Hadrien: Typologie et ateliers (Académie Royale de Belgique, 1994), pp. 102, cat. 29; 259; 261; 263–64; 315, fig. 46; 316, fig. 48, 317.
Art Institute of Chicago, Pocketguide, selected by James N. Wood (Art Institute of Chicago, 1997), p. 9, fig. 13.
James Wood, Treasures from The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2000), pp. 94–95 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago, Treasures from the Art Institute of Chicago, selected by James N. Wood, commentaries by Debra N. Mancoff (Art Institute of Chicago, 2000), p. 72 (ill.).
Cornelius C. Vermeule III, “Roman Imperial Persons in North America,” Celator 17, 12 (Dec. 2003), p. 30.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III, “Faces of Empire (Julius Caesar to Justinian),” Celator 19, 12 (Dec. 2005), p. 22, fig. 2.
Jeff Ruby, “The Closer: Second Looks,” Chicago (June 2006), p. 228 (ill.).
Art Institute of Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago: Pocketguide (Art Institute of Chicago, 2009), p. 23, fig. 44.
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago, ed. Karen Manchester (Art Institute of Chicago, 2012), pp. 32; 39, n. 134.
The Art Institute of Chicago, The Essential Guide (Art Institute of Chicago, 2013), p. 73.
Katharine A. Raff, “Cat. 6 Portrait Head of Emperor Hadrian: 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. 6 Portrait Head of Emperor Hadrian: 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.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Classical Art from the Permanent Collection, February 1989-February 17, 1990.
Art Institute of Chicago, Private Taste in Ancient Rome: Selections from Chicago Collections, March 3–September 16, 1990.
Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 156, April 20, 1994-February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, A Portrait of Antinous, in Two Parts, Gallery 154, April 2 - September 5, 2016.
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.
Bruce (b. 1947) and Ingrid McAlpine (1939-2018), McAlpine Ancient Art, London; sold to the Art Insitute of Chicago, 1979.
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