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Art from the Roman Republic was focused on realism, civic duty, and ancestor veneration. Which was characterized by hyper-realistic sculptures emphasizing age, experience, and wisdom (like wrinkles or receding hairlines) to honor ancestors and civic leaders, distinct from Greek idealism.
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Transitioned from older Roman styles, focusing on spiritual symbolism like the Good Shepherd, fish, and anchor. Which then turned into grand church mosaics, depicting Old/New Testament stories and more direct Christian beliefs.
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A marble sarcophagus carved with ornate depictions of battles between Roman soldiers and Gothic warriors. The scene is chaotic, with figures almost appearing to fall into, or atop, or across each other, mimicking the pandemonium and brutality of war. Given the time and expense that would have gone into creating such a piece, it likely belonged to a noble or otherwise wealthy member of Rome’s elite. -
An early Christian artwork showing Christ as a beardless youth, carrying a lamb on his shoulders in a peaceful, pastoral scene with sheep, trees, and doves, symbolizing salvation, protection, and the resurrection. -
A triumphal marble arch in the Roman Forum built to celebrate the victory of Emperor Septimius Severus in a series of military campaigns against the Parthian empire. Spanning about 23 meters in height and about 25 meters in width, the monument contains a series of four large relief panels, each carved with representations of the Parthian conflicts and the events therein. -
Stylistic shift from early imperial art, which focused on less naturalism and more more abstraction, emphasizing spiritual meaning over physical beauty.
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A rectangular marble base found in the Temple of Neptune, likely having once borne a religious statue atop it. The four sides of the monument are sculpted to portray scenes from Ancient Roman life and mythology: one of the panels depicts the taking of the Roman census; the other three panels illustrate a mythological wedding scene between the Roman sea god Neptune and the nereid Amphitrite. -
A Celtic sword forged in the late first century by an unknown weaponsmith. While, over the centuries, oxidation has turned the metal a vibrant green, and the iron blade has consolidated with the scabbard, the ornate details of the copper-alloy hilt are still visible, with the shape of a man’s head, likely that of a Celtic warrior, finely molded into the center of the pommel, a testament to the piece’s durability and craftsmanship. -
A wall-to-wall fresco depicting mountainous and architectural scenes, found in the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor in the municipality of Boscoreale, Italy. The painting’s primary palette features bold reds, soft blues, and other warm or neutral colors. In 79 AD, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the villa under layers of volcanic rock and ash, which had the serendipitous side effect of preserving the building’s frescoes until its excavation in the 20th century. -
A 360-degree fresco mural covering the four walls of a partially underground triclinium, or dining room, in the villa of the Roman empress Livia Drusilla. The scene features a lush garden landscape with a variety of arboreal, floral, and avian life. The opulence of the setting is likely a reflection of the common desire among Roman nobility to possess expensive or exotic novelties as a display of their wealth and status. -
A marble bust of the Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey. The sculpture adheres to the distinctive veristic style of the Late Roman Republic, emphasizing the subject’s features, especially their physical flaws, for easier recognition by the public eye. -
Early imperial art used sculpture, painting, and architecture for political propaganda, celebrating emperors, military might, and the Pax Romana. Characterized by narrative storytelling and harsh realism (verism), Imperial art often idealized rulers (like Augustus) in Greek athletic fashion, yet still retained realistic details in portraits and historical scenes.