Non di profilo. Jacopo Strada e i ritratti monetali delle donne dei Cesari

Jacopo Strada plays a leading role in the study of Roman female portraiture, in particular with respect to the images of Augustae and other women of the imperial family. The series of drawings with imperial portraits, preserved in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna and the Kupferstich- Kabinett of the Dresden Residenzschloss and still almost unpublished, point out an artist well updated on this topic and able to bring new contributions to the antiquarian debate. This study focuses on that part of female portraits taken from numismatic images. The comparison with previous publications leaves no doubt that Jacopo Strada’s drawings expanded the traditional repertoire up to include portraits of Augustae of the late Roman imperial age or those coined in the provincial mints. They also show an expedient of great effect: the artist did not draw the portraits in profile, as had been done before, but “turned” the numismatic models, so as to give the impression of marble busts in the round, thus creating a sort of portrait gallery.