ROMAN ART

The visual arts produced in Ancient Rome, and in the territories of the Roman empire. Major forms of Roman art include architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Metal-work, coin-die and gem engraving, ivory carvings, figurine glass, pottery, and book illustrations are considered to be 'minor' forms of Roman artwork.
The Romans were a practical people: in their original works, observation was key; portrait culptures meticulously detailed and unidealized. Portraits of Roman emperors, however, were often used for propagandistic purposes and included ideological messages in the pose, accouterments, or costume of the figure. The Romans also depicted warriors and heroic adventures, in the spirit of the Greeks who came before them. While Greek sculptors traditionally illustrated military exploits through the use of mythological allegory, the Romans used a more documentary mode. Roman reliefs of battle scenes like those on the column of trajan are useful for the first-hand representation of military costumes, etc. Another major contribution of Roman art is the use of concrete in architecture.While the traditional view of Roman artists is that they often borrowed from, copied, or even outright stole Greek precedents, more recent analysis as indicated that Roman art is a highly creative pastiche of Greek, Etruscan, native Italic, and even Egyptian visual culture. Stylistic eclecticism is the hallmark of much of Roman art.