Roman Statues in the Greek Style
For half a millennium, the Roman Empire was purveyor and destroyer of classical art and western culture…
The Romans based much of their culture on that of the ancient Greeks and their art was copied directly. Roman sculptors would hone their skills by copying the bronzes of the classical Greek masters. To begin with, most Roman statues perpetuated the same conventions of style and aesthetics, though gradually things developed and Roman style diverged, albeit subtly, from the Greek. This is a good example of how the art of society, and that society's attitude toward art, signifies its core values.
The relaxed contrapposto stance of classical Greek sculpture evolved into a more distinctively Roman authoritarian stance. The facial features also became more severe again and the fleshy texture fell from fashion. The Romans wanted their statues to look like stone or metal in order to emphasise the enduring properties of the materials, and so imply that their culture would have similar longevity.
They wanted the faces of their leaders and Caesars to appear strong, hard and unyielding. They often posed holding a weapon, a symbol of office or simply indicating a direction with raised arm. There’s no denying the skill of the Roman era sculptors and there is a clear attempt to…
