Portrait of Chrysippus on modern herma, so-called Aratus

The head is ancient up to the neck, while the herma is modern and on its left side bears the inscription ARATVS. Nose and torso are the only post-antique additions, while the left ear is missing its upper edge.

The portrayed man is of an advanced age, as evidenced by the hollow face, the wrinkles furrowing his forehead horizontally, and by the position of his neck, which is stretched forward. The hollow eyes and furrowed eyebrows give the face a weak expression. The mouth, which is half-open and with the corners turned downwards, is framed by a moustache running along the pronounced naso-labial folds, which is rendered thanks to superficial vertical incisions - in contrast to the beard made of long wavy locks. The hair only covers the sides and top of the head, while the forehead shows an incipient baldness. The locks are chiselled and with curved shape; they overlap in the area of the temples and along the nape of the neck in a disorderly fashion.

This sculpture first appeared in the Gallery's inventories in 1704 (inv. 1704 no. 27), being displayed in the Hall before the Corridor. After being moved to the East corridor and identified with Diogenes (inv. 1769, no. 180), in 1825 it was displayed in the Hall of Ancient Inscriptions, identifying the protagonist with the early Hellenistic poet Aratus (inv. 1825, no. 200). Mansuelli is credited for associating the portrait with the head of the philosopher from the 3rd century B.C., Chrysippus. The portrait was remodelled several times: the upper part of the hair and the beard are very flattened, probably because they were adapted to the reworking of the face; similarly, the forehead is short, the brow ridge is thinned and the right ear is smaller and more adherent to the head compared to the left one.

The hypothesis that this is actually a portrait of Chrysippus is confirmed by the details of the area above the right ear, as well as by the locks arranged along the corresponding temple and by the triangular pattern of the moustache, all features that recur in portraits of the same character preserved in the Archaeological Museum in Naples and in the British Museum (von den Hoff 1994, pl. 23 No. 88), dating back to the late Augustan period and the Flavian age, respectively. In particular, the Neapolitan statue is the most similar to the one preserved in the Uffizi, as they share the style of the locks above the left ear.

The ancient reworking greatly altered the original aspect of the statue, therefore it is difficult to determine whether this herma was a copy from the Roman era or an original from the Hellenistic period. However, due to the success of the replicas with Chrysippus as the protagonist, and given the similarity with the busts preserved in Naples and London, the hypothesis that it pertains to the early imperial period cannot be ruled out.