Part 2 Galerie des portraits

Man’s head

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Man’s head
Man’s head
Man’s head
Man’s head
Man’s head
Man’s head
Man’s head
Man’s head
Date de création
Between 195 and 205
Type
of the "Pérouse - Toulouse" type
Material
Göktepe marble, district 3 (Turkey)
Dimensions
H. 37 x l. 24,5 x P. 25 (cm)
Inventory number
Ra 73 g

Gallienus and Tetricus are two names of 3rd century emperors that have been successively suggested when seeking to identify this man, who is however not an emperor but an important figure in his entourage, as indicated by the presence of a replica spotted by G. Dareggi in Perugia G. Dareggi, « A Proposito Di Un Ritratto Virile Di Età Imperiale, » Mélanges de l’École française de Rome. Antiquité, 100, 1, 1988, pp. 321–330, en partic. p. 322-323, fig. 2 et 4,. This remarkably aesthetic portrait is marked from the outset by the energy that emanates from the very obvious movement of the head to the right - a movement emphasised by the direction of the gaze - and by the rather puffy hairstyle, with its long fringe slightly raised from the surface of the forehead, which also makes for a very dynamic overall impression. The hair is smoother on the top of the skull and at the back of the head, and quite long at the nape of the neck. The very short beard extends to just below the cheekbones and covers the entire lower part of the face - which is probably what led to him being confused with a portrait of Gallienus in the past. Unlike the specimen in Toulouse, the head in Perugia is tilted and the gaze is directed to the left, and its workmanship is also much less refined.

The hairstyle, with its long hair combed close to the skull, and the fringe distributed fairly symmetrically on both sides of the forehead, is characteristic of a whole series of portraits of young and middle-aged men who are, on the whole, contemporary to the first statue portraits of Caracalla and Geta.

According to J.-C. Balty 2020, Les Portraits Romains : L’époque des Sévères, Toulouse, p. 211-215.

Bibliography

  • Balty, Cazes 2021 J.-C. Balty, D. Cazes, Les portraits romains, 1 : L’époque des Sévères, 1.3 (Sculptures antiques de Chiragan (Martres-Tolosane), Toulouse
    .     p. 44-46, 211-215
  • Cazes et al. 1999 D. Cazes, E. Ugaglia, V. Geneviève, L. Mouysset, J.-C. Arramond, Q. Cazes, Le Musée Saint-Raymond : musée des Antiques de Toulouse, Toulouse-Paris
    .     p. 138
  • Dareggi 1988 G. Dareggi, « A Proposito Di Un Ritratto Virile Di Età Imperiale, » Mélanges de l’École française de Rome. Antiquité, 100, 1, pp. 321–330
    .     p. 321-322, fig.1,3, p. 322-323, fig. 2,4
  • Du Mège 1835 A. Du Mège, Description du musée des Antiques de Toulouse, Toulouse
    .     no 220
  • Espérandieu, Lantier 1907 É. Espérandieu, R. Lantier, Recueil général des bas-reliefs, statues et bustes de la Gaule romaine, 1 (Collection de documents inédits sur l’histoire de France), Paris
    .     no 980
  • Fittschen 1971 K. Fittschen, « Zum angeblichen Bildnis des Lucius Verus im Thermen-Museum, » Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, 86, pp. 213–252
    .     p. 214-252
  • Joulin 1901 L. Joulin, Les établissements gallo-romains de la plaine de Martres-Tolosane, Paris
    .     no 297 b
  • Rachou 1912 H. Rachou, Catalogue des collections de sculpture et d’épigraphie du musée de Toulouse, Toulouse
    .     no 73 g
  • Roschach 1892 E. Roschach, Catalogue des musées archéologiques de la ville de Toulouse : Musée des Augustins, Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse
    .     no 73 g

To cite this notice

Capus P., "Man’s head", in The sculptures of the roman villa of Chiragan, Toulouse, 2019, online <https://villachiragan.saintraymond.toulouse.fr/en/ark:/87276/a_ra_73_g>.