Roman Post 1

Of all the Roman art created during ancient times, the one type of sculpture I find most interesting are the busts created in memory of past family members. Like the Greeks, the Roman people were very proud of their heritage and considered it a great honor to display busts of past loved ones in their homes. Another reason these busts were proudly displayed in homes was for political purposes. The Romans believed that ancestry was the best indicator of a man's ability, and so, if you were the descendant of great military commander, then you too, had the potential to be one as well. This must have added more pressure to have the family busts displayed were all could see. Knowing that a man was a descendant of a great person with a noble reputation, no doubtingly added to their influence and position in life. 
When I was younger I would visit my grandparents who had statues of heads on their mantle. I was always confused as to the importance of these "creepy" statues, but now that I know the history of displaying busts, I no longer see these sculptures as creepy. They were not of my family members, but I now see how they could be considered a decorative piece in the home. 
The image below is of a marble bust created around the 1st century. What I find interesting about this piece is that the artist did not create this sculpture to depict a happy-go-lucky person, but a stern man demanding respect. The detail used to show that the man was a senior is very interesting. The wrinkles around his face are almost lifelike to the extent that you can almost believe that this is a cast of a real human face.


"Portrait bust of a man [Roman] (12.233)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/12.233 (October 2006)