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Secondary sourcePaintingcirca 1645

Profile Portrait of Augustus

Christoffel Jegher · circa 1645

A 1645 colour woodcut profile portrait of Augustus, part of a printed series of Roman emperor portraits based on Hubert Goltzius's designs.

A 17th-century printed portrait showing how later Europeans imagined and circulated the image of Augustus.

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Printed page with a large circular ochre-and-black woodcut medallion of Augustus in left profile, wearing a spiked crown and with laurel-like curls. Inscription around the rim reads AVGVSTVS and DIVVS PATER. Latin text above and below.
Christoffel Jegher (after Hubert Goltzius), Profile Portrait of Augustus, c. 1645. Published by Balthasar Moretus II, Antwerp.

About this source

What it is

This is a colour woodcut portrait of Augustus, printed from two blocks in black and ochre with letterpress text, made in Antwerp in 1645. It is the second illustration in Hubert Goltzius's book of emperor portraits, 'Icones Imperatorum Romanorum', printed by Balthasar Moretus II and cut by Christoffel Jegher.

Why it matters

This image was created more than 1,600 years after Augustus died, based on earlier artistic traditions rather than direct observation. It shows how printmakers and publishers in the 1600s pictured Roman emperors for readers interested in ancient history, shaping popular images of Augustus for centuries.

Look closer

  • What symbols, like the crown and inscriptions, does the artist use to show Augustus's power?
  • Why might a 17th-century publisher want to print a whole series of emperor portraits?
  • How might this image differ from portraits made during Augustus's own lifetime?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Augustus on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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