Portrait of Caracalla on ancient unrelated bust

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Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus, known as Caracalla – from the name of the Gallic robe he used to wear - was born in 186 A.D. to Giulia Domna and Settimio Severo. He went down in history as a cruel emperor for having ordered the assassination of his brother Geta, in 212 A.D. As absolute power was assumed, a new type of portraiture of the Emperor was elaborated, called "Firenze/ Farnese" to which is ascribed the Torlonia replica. The serious and furrowed gaze looking to the left, the position that, according to biographers, he maintained to emulate Alexander the Great, give the Emperor a charismatic image, famous throughout the world. The bust, not pertinent to the portrait, had to be part in ancient times of another type of portraiture of Caracalla: the fact denotes a careful choice of the restorers who assembled the two pieces. The high quality of the portrait, merit of the workmanship and of the quality of the marble, places the portrait Albani among the best replicas of the type.