For Caracalla's sole reign two types of portrait have been distinguished (type 3-4 for all portraits). The first type breaks with tradition. It is characterized by a deep, downward frown on the forehead. The head has a strong leftward rotation. The second type represents Caracalla in the way we are used to seeing Roman Emperors: calm and composed. The first type has been assigned to the first years of Caracalla's sole reign, the second to 215-217 AD. Of the latter type, ten examples have survived, all found in Italy.
Portrait of Caracalla, type 3 (first type from the sole reign).
From Pergamum. Antikensammlung, Berlin. Photo: Antikensammlung.Portrait of Caracalla, type 4 (second type from the sole reign).
From Rome. British Museum. Photo: British Museum.
Tradition and revolution: portraits from Marcus Aurelius to Alexander Severus.
Caracalla type 3-4 = Caracalla sole reign, first and second type.
Image: Leitmeir 2013, fig. 10.For a long time historians, dedicated followers of Cassius Dio, regarded the first type of portrait as an obvious expression of Caracalla's wicked nature. In 1860 the portraits led Jacob Burckhardt to the comment: "A terrible head, an enemy of God and man, whose depravity and false genius must awaken the thought, it is Satan". In 1950 David Magie concluded: "Brutal and tyrannical, evidently a psychopath".
In 2004 it took Inge Mennen one sentence to topple this hypothesis: "Assuming the emperor would at least have had to approve of the way he was portrayed, what reason could Caracalla have possibly had to portray himself like a cruel man?". She then notes: "During the last decade, scholars have tried to come up with other possible explanations for the frown on Caracalla's face. Anne-Marie Leander Touati compared the facial expression of Caracalla to the expressions of soldiers at the Trajan frieze on the Arch of Constantine and detected striking iconographical similarities. The faces of the soldiers on this frieze also showed contorted muscles, particularly on the forehead. So even though this tradition cannot be found within the imperial portraiture of the second century, it can be seen within the historical reliefs. Leander Touati deduces from this that Caracalla's portrait was meant to express military virtue, virtus, originating from the artistic tradition within Roman state relief. She suggests that this type is not so much realistic in the sense that the emperor was depicted the way he really looked, but that one should consider it in contrast with the idealism within the Antonine tradition, in which no traces of emotion and age were visible".
Head of a soldier from the Trajanic frieze on the Arch of Constantine.
Antikensammlung, Berlin. Photo: Sailko.This suggestion was elaborated by Florian Leitmeir, adducing further parallels, such as soldiers on the Arch of Septimius Severus and statues of the Greek hero Diomedes, who participated in the Trojan War. He concludes that the portraits are "to be interpreted as the representation of the emperor Caracalla as a heroic commander in the style of Diomedes". We could also think of depictions of the heads of lions, favourite animals of Caracalla. All this however leaves the meaning of the expression unexplained.
Another approach is through psychology. It has been said that the frown is a facial expression in which the eyebrows are brought together, and the forehead is wrinkled, usually indicating displeasure, sadness or worry, or less often confusion or concentration. Specifically, frowns that incorporate the furrowing of the brow are a response to perceived obstacles to the achievement of goals, while frowns that involve movement of the cheeks reflect an unpleasant reaction. The corners of Caracalla's mouth are not turned downwards. We may tentatively interpret the expression as one of concern, a perceived threat. The rotation of the head suggests alertness and implies action. There is no need to restrict this interpretation to purely military matters. It goes well with the general picture: Caracalla's concern for protection of the borders of the Empire and the civic duty of paying taxes, prerequisites for enjoying the benefits of the Empire, by all its inhabitants. In the words of Alessandro Galimberti (2019): "Although ancient sources mock Caracalla's claim to be called 'Eastern Augustus', in reality this corresponded exactly to his project: to present himself to the West as to the East as the sovereign who had given birth to a new ecumenical order unified by the orbis romanus according to a coherent political, juridical and religious plan".
A small bronze in the Musée Lapidaire in Avignon has been interpreted as a caricature of Caracalla distributing bread.
Small bronze, caricature of Caracalla distributing bread.
Musée Lapidaire, Avignon. Photo: Musée Lapidaire. Drawing: Champfleury 1867, p. 113.
