The Eight Faces of Hadrian in Tivoli FOLLOWING HADRIAN

Earlier this yr, the Mouseia of Villa Adriana hosted an exhibition devoted to the portraits of Emperor Hadrian. Titled “Io Sono Una Forza Del Passato: Adriano, i ritratti” (“I Am a Pressure of the Previous: Hadrian’s Portraits”), this exhibition introduced, for the primary time, all types of Hadrian’s imperial illustration. It featured 9 portraits of Hadrian and two of Sabina, made attainable by important loans from the Capitoline Museums and the Nationwide Archaeological Museum of Naples.

The Hadrian exhibition marked the second chapter of a journey that started with the “Antinoo Disparu: Memorie di un Desiderio” exhibition devoted to Antinous. Collectively, these reveals served as a twin tribute to 2 nice mental figures, Pier Paolo Pasolini and Marcel Proust, as 2022 marked the centenary of Pasolini’s beginning and the centenary of Proust’s dying. Each writers share a reference to Marguerite Yourcenar of their exploration of reminiscence and the historic significance of ruins.

The scientific undertaking was conceived and curated by Andrea Bruciati, the director of VillÆ. He summarizes the idea of the exhibition by stating, “In a sport of mirrors, the emperor’s portrait, as a ‘power of the Previous,’ permits us to critically look at and replace the function of the plastic illustration of energy.”

I’m a power of the Previous.
My love lies solely in custom.
I come from the ruins, the church buildings,
the altarpieces, the villages
deserted within the Appennines or foothills
of the Alps the place my brothers as soon as lived.
I wander like a madman down the Tuscolana,
down the Appia like a canine with no grasp.

From The Chosen Poetry of Pier Paolo Pasolini, edited and translated by Stephen Sartarelli. Printed by College Of Chicago Press. Translation copyright © 2014 by Stephen Sartarelli.

Hadrian was significantly involved about his picture. Throughout his reign, he commissioned as many as eight official portraits of himself, greater than Augustus, who had solely 5, and considerably greater than his successor, Antoninus Pius, who authorised solely two effigies regardless of ruling longer than Hadrian. To this point, roughly 160 sculpted portraits of Hadrian have been found, unfold over the time and areas of his reign. The one emperor with extra surviving portraits is Augustus, with round 211, created throughout a reign that lasted greater than twice so long as Hadrian’s. Current estimates counsel that the full variety of statue bases for Hadrian is 418 (Højte, 2005). Following latest discoveries, extra bases ought to be included on this depend, reminiscent of a statue base (or altar?) from Blaundos (see right here).

Official portraits of Roman emperors and members of the imperial household are usually not distinctive creations. As a substitute, they’re categorised into teams which are thought to exhibit related traits related to the person’s iconography, reminiscent of age, coiffure, and facial options. These teams, often called portrait “sorts,” are derived from copies of a standard mannequin. The prototypes (“Urbild”) originated in Rome and have been circulated all through the empire, guaranteeing an official and standardised picture of the emperor in each main city centre. They’re usually believed to have been created to commemorate important occasions within the emperor’s life, reminiscent of profitable a battle, buying a brand new title, or celebrating a decennalia (tenth anniversary). In consequence, these prototypes will be organized in chronological order.

Max Wegner, a German classical archaeologist, established the typology of Hadrian’s portraiture in 1956. He recognized six distinctive portrait sorts that characterize the emperor, every named after the findspot or the situation of the best-preserved instance. Klaus Fittschen later added a seventh kind in 1984. The emperor is all the time depicted with a moustache, a brief beard that covers his cheeks, chin, and jawline, and a wavy coiffure. The primary variations lie within the association of hair locks above the brow and on the temples (often called “lock scheme”).

1. 

   Stazione Termini

2. Vaticano Chiaramonti 392
3. Rolllockenfrisur
4. Tarragona (added by Klaus Fittschen in 1984)
5. Panzer-Paludamentumbüste Baiae
6. Imperatori 32
7. Vaticano Busti 283

Nonetheless, students have famous that some representations of Hadrian don’t conform to a single kind however as a substitute mix options from two of the Emperor’s formally authorised photos. Cécile Evers has addressed this iconographic overlap between the categories (or “Klitterungen”) in her work on the portraits of Hadrian (Evers, 1994), providing a chronological clarification for these blended photos. She proposes that they have been “transitional sorts”, indicating that the sculptors have been retaining elements of an outdated kind whereas incorporating sure traits from a brand new one.

As well as, provincial imperial portraits typically didn’t intently resemble the official, canonical photos of rulers made in Rome. Though the artists within the provinces would have had prepared entry to portraits of the emperor, some portraits differed from the standardised kinds of Hadrian’s official photos. Paul Zanker’s work on provincial imperial portraiture has proven that some portraits of Hadrian don’t conform to his official prototypes. Nonetheless, like Fittschen and Evers, he in the end associates them with a selected portrait kind by calling them a “variant”. Nonetheless, the exhibition solely introduced portraits from Italy based mostly on prototypes.

Over the last fifty years, an intense scholarly debate has arisen over whether or not an eighth portrait kind of Hadrian ought to be added, the ‘Delta Omicron’ kind (often known as ‘Renatus’). Cécile Evers, for instance, dismisses it utterly. This group of portraits deviates dramatically from conventional photos of Hadrian, displaying the Emperor in his late teenagers or early twenties. He’s depicted with a youthful face, a skinny moustache, a beard that covers the road of the jaw and extends over the higher neck, thick hair, and intertwining curls. Among the finest-known examples of this kind is a head excavated in 1954 within the Canopus at Hadrian’s Villa close to Tivoli, now on view within the Villa Adriana. Different notable items embody a head within the Museo del Prado in Madrid (see right here) and a bust within the Museum of Artwork and Archaeology on the College of Missouri, Columbia (see right here).

Linked to this portrait kind is a sequence of aurei struck in AD 129–130 and once more 136, bearing a portrait of a younger Hadrian with the identical neckbeard discovered on the Tivoli, Madrid and Columbia portraits. Strack named this juvenile portrait kind in his coin classification ‘Delta Omikron’ (Struck 1933). The query that continues to puzzle students is why portraits of this kind differ so considerably from the standardised official imagery of Hadrian and why such a younger portrait of him was used so late in his life. Just lately, Stephan Schroder has advised that one of these portrait represents Hadrian as a youthful hero, proposing that Romulus is a probable candidate for this illustration.

The Columbia bust, nonetheless, resembles statues of Diomedes, the legendary hero who stole the Palladium from Troy and ensured a Greek victory. The material on the base of the left aspect of the neck is a part of a chlamys, which covers the left shoulder, much like the one on the Munich Diomedes (see right here). The exhibition linked it to the Emperor’s idealised rebirth and initiation into the best stage of the Eleusinian Mysteries in AD 128. Based on Andreas Pangerl, this portrait kind originated early in Hadrian’s life, properly earlier than he turned emperor. 

Over 150 historical depictions of Hadrian are at the moment recognized and catalogued in accordance with Max Wegner’s classification. Hadrian’s Villa at the moment holds solely two sculptures of the Emperor. Certainly one of them, initially bigger than life-size however now in fragments, is corresponding to the Vatican’s Chiaramonti 392 and belong to the primary interval of his reign. The opposite sculpture was present in 1954 within the Canopus-Serapeum complicated and belongs to the Delta Omikron kind.

1. ‘Stazione Termini’

Created in AD 117 (between 11 August and 10 December) and attested by 23 examples, Hadrian is depicted as a younger man in these portraits. On the time of his proclamation, the Emperor was in Syria. For his first official picture, the Senate doubtless based mostly the mannequin on earlier representations of Hadrian from when he was nonetheless a non-public citizen. This might clarify the youthful look present in a few of these portraits. The coiffure consists of ten massive entrance locks with ends directed in direction of the center of the brow.

2. ‘Vaticano Chiaramonti 392’

Created after Hadrian returned to Rome in July AD 118. It’s attested by 30 examples discovered within the western provinces, together with Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, and Africa. The perimeter framing the face additionally consists of ten curls not dealing with in direction of the centre of the brow. The beard is extra intricate and has extra curls than the Stazione Termini kind. The colossal head of Hadrian present in 2007 in Sagalassos belongs to this kind (see right here).

3. ‘Rollockenfrisur’

Created in AD 119, doubtless originally of Hadrian’s third consulship, with 31 copies. Hadrian is depicted as a mature man with wrinkles, and 9 voluminous curls body his face, curled anti-clockwise. This sort is straightforward to recognise. The newest copy was found on the archaeological website of Los Torrejones in Spain (see right here).

4. ‘Tarragona’

Created between AD 119 and 125, throughout Hadrian’s first journey. There are solely six recognized copies, two from Spain, the place Hadrian stayed round AD 122/123. The mature face portrayed has a dozen curls on the brow and three close to the left ear. The eyes are barely incised.

5. ‘Panzer-Paludamentumbüste Baiae’

Doubtless created to commemorate Hadrian’s return to Rome in AD 125. There are 27 present portraits of this kind, with the bulk, 19 in complete, originating from Italy. In these portraits, the top is often turned to the left, with just one exception. The Emperor is depicted sporting a cuirass and a cloak. His face reveals no seen indicators of age, and his brow is adorned with roughly a dozen small locks of hair.

6. ‘Imperatori 32’

This portrait kind was created in AD 128 to commemorate the adoption of the title of Olympios in Athens and Pater Patriae or to have a good time his decennalia in AD 127. It was extensively distributed, with over 30 recognized copies. The pinnacle, barely raised, is turned to the suitable, and several other examples have incised eyes and the facet of a mature man. The 2 profiles are figuring out components within the recognition of this kind. On the left, a double row of curls, and on the suitable, a voluminous lock of hair above the ear.

7. ‘Vaticano Busti 283’

This portrait kind appeared in AD 137, commemorating the twentieth anniversary of his reign. Solely eight examples of this portrait kind are recognized, as Hadrian handed away a yr later in July 138. In these portraits, the face is turned to the left and framed by a dozen locks of hair. The eyes have hollowed pupils and an incised iris.

8. ‘Delta Omicron’

Any such portrait depicts a youthful picture of Emperor Hadrian. He’s characterised by thick hair, sideburns, a beard beneath his chin, and a slight trace of a moustache on his higher lip. Though some consultants disagree with this identification, it primarily depends on comparisons with cash dated from AD 128 onward.

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The exhibition additionally introduced two fragmented portraits of Sabina from Hadrian’s Villa and hair fragments corresponding to Antinous’s portraits. The photographs of the Empress, discovered on cash and sculptures, show a novel number of hairstyles. Primarily based on these distinctive hairstyles, round 40 surviving portraits have been categorised into differing types (4 or probably 5). Sabina is usually depicted sporting an imposing diadem, a low ponytail, or a chignon adorned with a diadem. After her dying, the Empress is portrayed sporting a veil.

Sources & references:

• Wegner, M. (1984). “Verzeichnis der Bildnisse von Hadrian und Sabina.” Boreas: Münstersche Beiträge zur Archäologie.
• Fittschen, Ok. (1984). Eine Büste des Kaisers Hadrian aus Milreu in Portugal. Zum Downside von Bildnisklitterungen. Madrider Mitteilungen, 25, 197–207.
• Zanker, P. (1983). Provinzielle Kaiser- portreits: Zur Reze’tion der Selbstdar- stellung des Princeps, Munich.
• Evers, C. (1994). Les portraits d’Hadrien. Typologie et ateliers. Académie royale de Belgique, Bruxelles.
• Højte, J.M. (2005). Roman Imperial Statue Bases: from Augustus to Commodus, Aarhus College Press.
• Riccardi, Lee. (2000). Uncanonical Imperial Portraits within the Jap Roman Provinces: The Case of the Kanellopoulos Emperor. Hesperia.
• Strack, P. L. (1933). Untersuchungen zur römischen Reichsprägung des zweiten Jahr- hunderts, half 2: Die Reichsprägung zur Zeit des Hadrian, Stuttgart.
• Pangerl, A. (2021). Hadrian’s First and Second Imperial Portrait Kinds of 117–118 AD. Jahrbuch Für Numismatik Und Geldgeschichte, 71, 171–184.
• Brennan, T. C. (2018). Sabina Augusta: An Imperial Journey. Oxford and New York: Oxford College Press.
• Amiro, F. (2021). The Portraits of the Roman Empress Sabina: A Numismatic and Sculptural Research – Dissertation, McMaster College. (hyperlink)