About the Artwork
The draped toga, the most characteristic form of male dress among the Romans, was assumed at the time when a young man came of age and took on adult responsibilities. This statue is thought to represent the young Nero at about fifteen years of age when he was adopted by the emperor Claudius. Nero can be recognized by his wide forehead, small chin, projecting ears, and hair arranged in bangs. In later life as emperor, he developed double chins and a reputation for debauchery, indications of which are not yet evident in this youthful portrait.
Statue of the Young Nero Wearing a Toga
ca. 50 CE
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Roman
Unknown
Marble
Overall: 56 3/4 × 19 1/4 × 15 1/4 in. (144.1 × 48.9 × 38.7 cm) Including base: 92 in. × 39 3/4 in. × 35 3/4 in. (233.7 × 101 × 90.8 cm)
Sculpture
Greco-Roman and Ancient European
Founders Society Purchase, Hill Memorial Fund, William H. Murphy Fund, Slovak Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Buhl Ford II Fund, General Endowment Fund, Miscellaneous Gifts Fund, with contributions from Erick Bergmann, Benjamin Goldberg, C. J. Glasgow Company, Mr. and Mrs. Lester Gruber, J. M. Pincus Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Manoogian, and Mr. and Mrs. Theodore O. Yntema
69.218
This work is in the public domain.
Markings
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Provenance
said to be from the vicinity of ancient Cremna, north of Antalya (Atteleia). (Jerome M. Eisenberg [1930-2022] New York, New York, USA)
1969-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Vermeule, Cornelius. "Three Imperial Portraits in America." Boston Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin 67 (1969): 120–128, figs. 1-2.
Tall, William. "Art Institute's Newest Prize, A Statue of the Young Nero." Detroit Free Press (October 18, 1970): p. 5-B.
Peck, William H. "A Youthful Nero." Bulletin of the DIA 50, no. 3 (1971): 52–58 (ill.).
Cummings, F.J., and Elam, C.H., eds. The Detroit Institute of Arts Illustrated Handbook. Detroit, 1971, p. 38.
"Major Acquisitions by the Detroit Institute of Arts.” Archaeology 24 (1971): 54 (ill.).
Hiesinger, Ulrich W. "The Portraits of Nero.” American Journal of Archaeology 79, no 2 (1975): 113–124, pls. 17–25.
Hooper, F. A. Roman Realities. Detroit, 1979, p. 381 (ill.).
Inan, J. and E. Alföldi-Rosenbaum. Römische und frühbyzantinische Porträtplastik aus der Turkei: Neue Funde. Mainz, 1979, no. 35, pl. 30.1.
Vermeule, Cornelius C. Greek and Roman Sculpture in America: Masterpieces in Public Collections in the United States and Canada. Berkeley, 1981, p. 296, no. 252.
Vermeule, Cornelius. "Crime and Punishment in Antiquity.” Harvard Magazine (Nov.-Dec. 1983): 64B (ill.).
100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, pp. 36–37 (ill.).
"Family Art Game: A Centennial Celebration." DIA Advertising Supplement, The Detroit Free Press, April 14, 1985, p. 22 (ill.).
Maggi, S. "Il ritratto giovanile di Nerone: un esempio a Mantova," Rivista di archeologia 10 (1986): 50, no. 15.
Goette, H.R. “Studien zu römischen Togadarstellungen.” Beträge zur Erschliessung hellenistischer und kaiserzeitlicher Skulptur und Architektur 10 (Mainz 1989): 39, no. 180, 125 no. 249, pl. 11.3.
Henshaw, Julia, ed. A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 116 (ill.).
Kleiner, Diana E. E. and Susan B. Matheson, eds. I, Claudia: Women in Ancient Rome. New Haven, 1996, cat. no. 15, p. 63.
"Family Art Game: Dress for the Occasion." DIA Advertising Supplement, The Detroit Free Press, April 28, 1996, p. 20 (ill.).
Carter, Martha L. "A Gandharan Bronze Buddha Statuette: Its Place in the Evolution of the Buddha Image in Gandhara." MARG XXIX, no. 4: p. 21–38 (ill.).
Perkins, Phil. Experiencing the Classical World. Oxford, 2006, p. 244.
Pollini, John. "New Observations on the Imperial Reliefs from the Sebasteion at Aphrodisias and the Portraiture of Claudius, Britannicus, and the Young Nero," Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 136 (2021): pp. 273-275 (figs. 52-55 ill.).
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Roman, Statue of the Young Nero Wearing a Toga, ca. 50 CE, marble. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Hill Memorial Fund, William H. Murphy Fund, et al., 69.218.
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