Summation

While the artwork of the Roman Republic is somewhat bookended by the strong and lasting influence of the Etruscans and Greeks and the transition to the Roman Empire there were still works of note during this period and I have shared here some of the strongest themes that ran throughout artwork of the republic. Understandably those same themes then define the culture of the time; a respect for elders and those of social distinction, the segregation of opportunities down the lines of social class patrician vs/ plebeian, and the veneration and immortalization of those who most embodied Roman values, through artwork. Lastly, while the loss of much of the painted works of the Roman Republic is irreplaceable, the mosaics give a window into the way in which Romans may have worked in two dimensional art and the results are stunning and worthy of study.

Mosaic Work

One form of two dimensional early Roman artwork that has survived into modern times is mosic work, both on walls and floors. Mosaics are elaborately assembled pictures created from thousands of tiny fragments of stone, rock, glass etc arranged so that they come together into a large detailed image or pattern. Here is one example:

This image is a close-up of a beautiful early Roman mosaic called "The Dionysian Procession." It depicts the traveling groups of Dionysian zealots in all their splendor and at the rear of the procession you see a camel being ridden, and this is a clue as to the cultural influences on Rome at the time. This mosaic is actually the floor of a building in Tunisia. 

The mosaic work of the Romans continued to improve with time and eventually there was a split between mosaicists who worked on floor mosaics and commanded a reasonable fee for their work, and those with the added skill and talent to work on walls as well, creating the far more difficult wall mosaics for which they were paid substantially more. This truly impressive form of artwork shows the ingenuity and creative genius present in Rome from the beginning.

Important Figures

This bust called "Portrait of an Elder from Scoppito" from the 1st century B.C.E. highlights another aspect of verism which is the careful inclusion and emphasis on identifiable details of a persons appearance. Artisans took special care to include any quirks or oddities in the appearance of the subject they were sculpting in order than the sculpture could be quickly identified by any viewer who was familiar with the person being depicted. In most cases the only ones allowed to commission portraiture were the patricians and therefore they were also far more like to live lives of public notoriety and be recognizable for their unique look.

Sculpture: From Death Mask to Verism

In contrast to the Greek affinity for portraying idealized and somewhat vague but physically beautiful sculpture, the Romans early on took another path. Arising out of the tradition of creating wax casts of the recently decreased so their likeness would be preserved, rose the concept of verism- "an interest in the faithful reproduction of the immediate visual and tactile appearance of subjects" (Art History, Stokstad pg 168). These wax "death masks" would be painted to look like the original model, and then on special celebratory days and at funeral festivities, someone who closely matched the build and height of the deceased person would don the wax mask and attempt to imitate the dead person so that those in attendance could feel like they dead were still with them. This appreciation for the preservation of the likeness and therefore the essence of respected individuals  gradually transitioned into the commission of sculpted busts. Among the Patricians this practice became almost a display of wealth and lineage with some (as in the image below- Barberini Togatus) choosing to have themselves sculpted surrounded by the sculpted busts of their ancestors.

One of the most interesting aspects of this concept of verism was the tendency to strongly prefer the accurate and possibly even exaggerated details of a subject age such as wrinkles, sagging skin, jowls and puffy eyes. All of these were signs of a long life lived and therefore correlated with knowledge, wisdom and experience; all concepts that were highly regarded in Roman culture far more than youth or beauty. A great example of this detail being carefully rendered is in the sculpture of "A Middle Aged Flavian Woman"

Brilliant Bronze Work

The Etruscans "developed special sophistication in casting and engraving on bronze" (Art History, Stokstad, pg 164) and this expertise with bronze carried over to Roman craftsmen as they began to imitate and even replicate Etruscan pieces. "Head of a Man-Brutus" is a vivd and lifelike rendering and was a commission created by an Etruscan artist at the request of a Roman patron. The piece is dated to aprox. 300 B.C.E. and shows the incredible precision and detail that they were able to render in bronze at this time. The facial hair and tendons in the neck are particularly impressive and the eyes have been created using inlayed ivory with a glass paste iris. This feature in particular makes the sculpture come alive for the viewer and the inclusion of asymmetry and some signs of aging speak to the kindling of a later trend towards faithfulness to the subject.

The Capitoline She-Wolf

This Etruscan bronze sculpture created by an unknown artist in 500-470 B.C.E. (disputed) depicts the famous she-wolf savior of Romulus and Remus, the brothers from the myth of Rome's founding. The sculpture was originally just of the she-wolf alone and the infants Romulus and Remus were added during the Renaissance. In the story Romulus and Remus were twin boys who were abandoned, an act of infanticide, and then rescued and the raised by a wolf who happened upon them. The she wolf's legendary duality of ferocious wild nature and loyal nurturing of those she considered her own went on to become a common thread throughout Roman society. Though the Capitoline She-Wolf has gone on to be of disputed origins, with some making the case that it is a medieval creation, it stands and a easily recognizable relic of Rome's foundation myth.