Portrait of Emperor Vitellius: Roman Emperors

This bust-length portrait depicts the ninth Roman Emperor, Vitellius, as a robust man with a heavy jaw and laurel wreath. He is shown in three-quarter profile, wearing Roman military attire with a visible strap over his shoulder. The work employs a dark, tonal background to emphasize the sculptural qualities of the emperor's features.

This print is part of a series of Roman Emperors based on designs by Hendrick Goltzius, a central figure in Haarlem Mannerism. Such series were inspired by Suetonius's biographies and reflected the Renaissance interest in physiognomy and the cyclical nature of political power, often studied by natural philosophers and historians of the era.