Home

Up to Imperial Portraiture

Caracalla was

Preceded by (and son of) Septimius Severus

Succeeded by Macrinus

Co-emperor with (and brother of) Geta

Husband of Plautilla

Caracalla succeeded his father, Septimius Severus, co-reigned with his brother, Geta, and preceded Macrinus.

Most of the heads shown here are typically classified as Types 4 and 5 Caracalla portraits, characterized by a rather rectangular face and block-like cranium, along with a sharp turn of the head, usually to the left. Also, exaggerated musculature of the forehead combined with pronounced naso-labial folds give the appearance of an X running through the center of his face. Also shown are juvenile portraits that bear an obvious and intentional similarity to the child portraits of Marcus Aurelius.

The unknown sculptor responsible for most of these images, often dubbed "the Caracalla master" developed a style that was imitated by those creating portraits of many subsequent emperors. To the visually illiterate, i.e., modern viewers, the portraits reveal a cruel and almost deranged ruler. The portraits have no doubt contributed to modern - and perhaps even ancient (e.g. the Historia Augusta - part history, part fiction) - biographies that paint Caracalla as the epitome of the Roman barbarism that would be cured, in some interpretations of history, by the later introduction of Christianity. Caracalla's political record is, however, not totally consistent with his bad reputation. Caracalla, with all his executions, killed fewer family members than Constantine the Great, who is viewed much more kindly by history. The scowl and suspicious glance worn by Caracalla in these images was, among other things, a nod to the army, who had put his father, Septimius Severus, on the throne and kept him there for two decades, and a show of military strength from Caracalla, who became commander in chief at a relatively young age after Severus's death. Regardless of your assessment of Caracalla (whose reputation seems to warrant reevaluation) you cannot deny the mastery of his sculptor.

            Large images