They carved careful details into their portrait sculptures as well as into their buildings. They even included wrinkles in people’s faces. Because they paid such attention to details of reality in their art, we know what the Roman people looked like by looking at the sculptures they left behind.
The Romans made intricate carvings on coins, furniture, ordinary household objects, arches, and columns. Sometimes sculptors made works of art for private citizens. A craftsman or tradesman might want a carving of himself with all his tools, for example, or someone might want special carvings and sculptures for a tomb. Paintings and mosaic work often decorated the interiors of public buildings and wealthier homes. Usually the best artists and sculptors were Greek slaves captured in war, who brought their influence with them in designing and adorning buildings.
This image is a reconstruction of an Ancient Rome mosaic. A mosaic is created by using tile, glass or stone and assembling it onto a mortared background to create an image. Mosaics were mostly on floors but could be found on walls of the wealthy villas in the Roman Empire. Most mosaics depicted Roman Gods, myths, everyday life, and the luxuries that many wealthy Romans were accustomed to.
Assignment
Analyze this mosaic and write a short description of what you think it is portraying.
