Pompeii No.34: Painting Emperor Hadrian

In my last posting, I dedicated a bust on my dining room's transom to Emperor Trajan. Trajan died without an heir, but is reputed to have named his cousin, Hadrian (76 A.D.-138 A.D.), on his deathbed.

Hadrian is always depicted with large and tightly permed curls around his forehead, and he was the first of the Roman emperors to sport a beard. He spent much time raising the standard and readiness of the army, and had a preference for wearing military uniforms.

Hadrian and Antinous   |   www.britishmuseum.org

Hadrian had from an early age immersed himself in Greek culture (hence his beard), so much so that as a young man he was nicknamed Graeculus, or "Greekling." Even the shortest biography would be incomplete were it not mentioned that he loved all things Greek, including a Greek youth named Antinous. When Antinous drowned (probably between the ages of 18 and 20), the emperor literally idolized him, erecting temples in Antinous' name. Throughout his reign, Hadrian continued to pay much attention to the welfare of Athens, which he promoted as a cultural center of the Roman Empire.

The Pantheon   |   commons.wikipedia.org   |   trekearth.com

Because Hadrian reigned during a stable period, he had the luxury of patronizing the arts and of beautifying the city of Rome. The computer-generated, marbled sets of Rome that we see in movies like Gladiator are probably approximations of Hadrian's projects, which were both new monuments and renovated ones. He is especially remembered for the construction of the Pantheon, which was, and remains, an architectural and engineering marvel. Its dome is even larger than the Vatican's.

Hadrian's Wall   |   photograph by Oliver Benn/Getty Images

Despite his affinity for military maneuvers, Hadrian averted war through diplomacy, and abandoned inroads Trajan had made into Mesopotamia and Armenia when he concluded them to be militarily indefensible. To ensure peace, he also strengthened Rome's borders, most notably erecting Hadrian's Wall across Rome's northern border of Britannia.

Hadrian was considered wise and just; he revised the legal code, and though he did not abolish slavery, he diminished it and its excesses.

My design for the portraits of the remaining three emperors somewhat resembles a plaque by Josiah Wedgwood, or perhaps a roundel by Andrea della Robbia.

I chose a golden frame to complement the golden garland that hangs above. I think it's quite appropriate that this image of Hadrian is positioned above the Muse of Architecture. (I'll show the whole wall a little later.)

I hope you'll join me next week when I reveal a portrait

of the fourth of the Five Good Emperors.

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My Egyptian Door

Several years ago, the Florida International Museum (sadly no longer in operation) hosted a splendid exhibition of Egyptian antiquity. I took a sketchbook along and made notations of those articles that were of most interest to me.

I was particularly impressed by a temple door that was actually levels of concentric door frames. Standing in front of it, I thought to myself, "I'd love to build a grand door like that someday."

Shortly thereafter I designed a temple door in the house of friends. They had a carpenter build it to my specs and he did a wonderful job. Because the house was not my friends' primary residence, the door remained unadorned for a long time, as shown above — not unlike an uncarved totem!

Recently, the house became their primary residence, and it was time to finally finish that door!

click to enlarge

Here's the door as it appears today.

I started at the base (and was happy that no one was there to photograph me as I sprawled on the floor). I put the hippopotamus at the base because he's the king of the Nile. Above him are stylized flora, and above that our solar sun. This segment of the door frame represents the physical world.

The next segment depicts the Roman-Egyptian god, Antinous Osiris. Antinous was the partner of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, and he drowned in the Nile. Hadrian then proclaimed him a god and had many temples built in his honor. So this segment of the door frame represents ascension as the Ancient World would have believed it. Above Antinous Osiris I've positioned a hieroglyphic of my own design. The two center triangles are a variant of the Star of David, one interpretation of which is energy simultaneously ascending and descending.

The next segment depicts the individual monograms of the two owners. Sphinxes support a cartouche that is framed by the snake that devours its own tail, the symbol of eternity.

I did a study of hieroglyphics, and these are bona fide inscriptions of a spiritual nature, relevant to each owner. Hieroglyphics are so interesting. Because vowels were not represented, similar-sounding words like "bat" and "bait" would have the very same iconography, followed by an icon that actually illustrated the item. There must have been a better way to communicate, and there was!

I was tickled that the paintings I did of the owners, two delightful gentlemen who have been partners for more than 50 years, are close enough likenesses that several of their friends wondered how I transferred photographs onto the wood!

The cartouches next to each portrait reveal the owners' names spelled phonetically in hieroglyphics. In Ancient Egypt, such cartouches would only be used for royalty or high officials.

The very stylized capitals are loosely based on the capitals of a temple in Thebes, a temple that was referred to as a "memnonium."

click to enlarge

The winged sun, which in the Old Kingdom would have looked like the black and white image, is actually a cross-cultural icon that has been used across the ages in many countries, and by many religions. It varies in meaning, representing royalty, sun gods, or the One God. I gave it a more universal interpretation, to represent Oneness.
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