Portrait of Antinous (?)

Greek art influenced Roman sculpture. Even the portraits of Romans sometimes had a Greek flavor. On this sculpture of a Roman youth, the boy's broad chest, heavy jaw and generally idealized features were meant to suggest a statue from the Classical Greek past. This portrait may be of Antinous, the lover of the emperor Hadrian (his portrait appears to your right beyond the niche). Antinous, a youth from Asia Minor (modern Turkey), met Hadrian on one of the emperor's many travels East and became his constant companion. The youth drowned in the Nile in October 130 c.e. Deeply grieved by Antinous's death, Hadrian declared that the youth had become a god, and he had temples with portraits of the boy set up throughout the Roman Empire.

Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust