Portrait Head of a Philosopher

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Second half of the 2nd century

Roman

The Roman emperor Hadrian (r. A.D. 117–38), who embraced Greek intellectual pursuits, popularized the beard among men young and old, who had previously been clean-shaven. The beard quickly became a fashionable style as well as a sign of one’s interest in classical learning, leading elite Roman men to have themselves portrayed in the guise of philosophers. This portrait of an unidentified man, who wears a full beard and a hairstyle of wavy locks over his forehead, resembles portraits of the Greek philosopher Plato. The introspective eyes, with their heavy lids and drilled pupils, also contribute to the sitter’s intellectual demeanor.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Roman
Title: Portrait Head of a Philosopher
Place: Roman Empire (Object made in)
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.: 150 CE–200 CE
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: 33 × 19.1 × 22.9 cm (13 × 7 1/2 × 9 in.)
Credit Line: A. A. Sprague Fund
Reference Number: 1923.49
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/7749/manifest.json

M.C., “A Greek Philosopher,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 17, 3 (March 1923), p. 28.
Art Institute of Chicago, “Accessions and Loans,”
Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 17, 3 (March 1923), p. 35.
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), p. 29.
Katharine A. Raff, “Cat. 19 Head of a Philosopher: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 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 - July 12, 2018.

Emmanouel “Manolaki” Akoumianakis, Crete [Brummer Gallery Records]; sold to Jean Mikas, Paris, 1922 [Brummer Gallery Records]; sold to Joseph Brummer, New York City, 1922; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1923.r

Cat. 19 Portrait Head of a Philosopher, second half of the 2nd century A.D.

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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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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.