DiscussionPortrait, separately worked, of Tetrarch (Diocletian or Maximian?) in Milan-Munich type. Mediolanum? (Aemilia). Late third century. DESCRIPTION (Object)Over life-size, worked separately. H: 46.8 cm, H (of head): 32, W: 23.6, D: 26.1 cm. Italian marble. The head, which was worked separately, preserves the neck, a fraction of the inner shoulders, and the area of the sternum., The rim of the tenon is roughly worked; the underside seems to be flat. The nose and chin have broken off and been repaired in the modern period. These repairs have been removed. The left ear and upper lip are damaged. The hair around the face, ears, and neck is engraved with short, straight, diagonal strokes of a flat chisel. A drill has been used to separate locks over the brow. The top and back of the head until the nape are without representational detail. A light beard has been carefully engraved with a fine chisel. The irises are finely engraved, and the pupils are drilled in a deep U-shape. The head has probably been re-cut from an earlier portrait. The plane of the face is set back. The lines across the neck seem to go over the modelling of the sterno-cleido mastoids. The roll at the back of the neck might once have been longer hair. PROVENANCE Previously in the Archinti collection of Monza. It was given to the Milan museum in 1931 by the convent of the ‘preziosine’ of Monza. Because of the proximity of Monza to Milan, it is generally assumed to have been found in Milan. DESCRIPTION (Subject) The portrait shows a mature man with a distinctive physiognomy and neck. He has short, straight hair that is brushed forward and cut high over the brow. The locks of the fringe are short and turn inwards; they converge at the centre of the brow. The beard and moustache are light and slightly wavy. The face is long and triangular. The brow is broad, tall, and has two heavy creases across it. The eyes are small but set under flaring eyebrows and accentuated by deep parallel wrinkles below them. The naso-labial folds are deep, slightly curving, and long. The mouth is broad and thin-lipped. The chin is deep but receding. The head turns to the right. The neck is thick and lined. At the back of the neck beneath the hairline is a roll of flesh. The sterno-cleido mastoids are indicated but without great anatomical clarity. DATE AND HONORAND This portrait is known in four other versions which follow the same type (Milan-Munich type). The other versions are LSA-1027 from Italy, LSA-1028 supposedly from Egypt but possibly not ancient, LSA-1029 from Utica, and LSA-1030 now in Munich. G.G. Belloni proposed to identify this head as Maximinus Thrax (235-238). Although the portrait shares general similarities in facial structure and interest in loose and creased skin, the beard does not go underneath the chin, the hair is higher on the brow, the pupils are rendered in a manner that is generally considered later, and the eyes have been given greater emphasis. Furthermore, it is unlikely historically that the short-lived Maximinus Thrax would have had two different strands of portraiture. Most scholars have preferred to see this portrait and the four related to it as Tetrarchic for stylistic reasons. In conception and execution it is certainly related to a Tetrarchic group from Ostia, LSA-848, LSA-1055. Scholars are divided as to its identify; the two obvious candidates are Maximian and Diocletian. The Maximian argument is mainly based on the presumed find location of Milan where Maximian had a palace. L’Orange, however, argues that the sheer number and widespread diffusion of the portrait better suits Diocletian. Main ReferenceCanesi, L. 'Un ritratto romano della fine del III d.c.', Historia 5, Milan 1931, 236-240, figs. 1-3 (c. 280)Demandt, A. and J. Engemann, (eds.), Konstantin der Grosse, Mainz 2007 , no. I.4.16 (V. Gerli: Tetrarchic, probably Maximian) Discussion ReferencesBelloni, G.G. 'Un ritratto di Massimino il Trace?', Rassegna di studi del Civico Museo Archeologico e del Civico Gabinetto Numismatico di Milano 3-4, Milano 1969, 1-4, figs. 1-6 (Maximinus Thrax) Bergmann, M., Studien zum römischen Porträt des 3. Jahrhunderts n. Chr., Bonn 1977, 153 (modern) Donati, A. and G. Gentili, Costantino il Grande. La civiltà antica al bivio tra Occidente e Oriente, Milan 2005, 204, no. 1 (Maggi: Diocletian?) L'Orange, H. P., Das spätantike Herrscherbild von Diokletian bis zu den Konstantin-Söhnen, 284-361 n. Chr. Das Römische Herrscherbild. III. Abteilung ; Bd. 4 , Berlin 1984, 17-20, 98, pl. 11a-b (Diocletian) Von Sydow, W., Zur Kunstgeschichte des spätantike Porträts im 4. Jahrhundert. n. Chr, Bonn 1969, 156-8 (mid-third century) |
[Sleeker_special_clear]