Part 2 Galerie des portraits

Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)

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Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)
Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)
Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)
Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)
Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)
Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)
Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)
Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)
Biographic data
19 - 37/38
Grandson of Tiberius
Date de création
Year 30 of the 1st century
Type
Of the "Capitole-Toulouse" type
Material
Lychnites marble (island of Paros)
Dimensions
H. 26 x l. 19,5 x P. 17 (cm)
Inventory number
Ra 122

This young boy’s face, still marked by childhood, can only be that of a prince of the imperial Julio-Claudian family, and may therefore date back to the end of the reign of Tiberius or the beginning of that of Caligula (around AD 40). The work is very similar to a head kept in Marcus Junius Brutus, Capitoline Museums, Carlo Brogi /Wikimedia Commons Public DomainRome (at the Capitoline Museums), which has been famous since the 18th century, and is the first issue (« Leitstück »), in other words, the replica of an official iconographic type which, because to its quality, must be considered the work that is closest to the initial creation, or prototype. A total of three portraits belong to the same iconographic type, the first in Rome, as related above, the second in Naples (from Pompeii) R. Bonifacio, Ritratti romani da Pompei, Rome, 1997, no 37, p. 94-96, pl. XXXa-d., which is the eldest, and finally the head in Toulouse. The latter was obviously created by the same workshop as the one at the Capitoline Museums. The teenager’s head was apparently energetically turned to the right, as can be seen from the remaining part of the neck on this side, and the resulting asymmetry. The fringe forms a kind of visor, and refers to a style of hairstyle known since Hellenistic times.

This young man has generally always been seen as a member of the domus Augusta; that is the imperial household of Augustus. Marcellus, a nephew of Augustus, is a possible candidate K. Fittschen, P. Zanker, Katalog der römischen Porträts in den Capitolinischen Museen und den anderen kommunalen Sammlungen der Stadt Rom, Mainz, 1985, no 19, p. 19-21., yet Tiberius Gemellus may be a better guess. This young man, born in AD 19, was the grandson of Tiberius and had a twin brother who died in AD 23. He was adopted by his cousin Caligula, thanks to whom he obtained the status of heir presumptive to the throne, and was subsequently assassinated by the same emperor in 37 or 38, allegedly for conspiracy. Tiberius was 17 or 18 at the time. This highly classical work imparts a certain sense of coldness, reinforced by the lifeless fringe, the polished complexion, and the subtle design of the overlapping, sickle-shaped strands of hair. The dominant style of the Tiberian period is obvious, as can be seen in the portraits of the Emperor and his son, Drusus the Younger, father of Tiberius Gemellus.

According to J.-C. Balty 2005, Les portraits romains, 1 : Époque julio-claudienne, 1.1 (Sculptures antiques de Chiragan (Martres-Tolosane), Toulouse, p. 99-118.

Bibliography

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    .     p. 101-118, fig. p. 100, p. 102 (no 30), 104 (no 34), 105 (no 32), 108, 109, 115 (no 42), 117 (no 43)
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To cite this notice

Capus P., "Head of an adolescent boy (Tiberius Gemellus ?)", in The sculptures of the roman villa of Chiragan, Toulouse, 2019, online <https://villachiragan.saintraymond.toulouse.fr/en/ark:/87276/a_ra_122>.