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unpretentious man who was in every respect the anti-Nero: a career military officer concerned not for his own pleasure but for the welfare of the Roman people, the security of the Empire, and the solvency of the treasury. Like the Romans from the Late
Republic, Vespasian used veristic busts to underscore traditional values as a way to indicate to the Roman people a connection to the Republic. With this reminder of the Late Republic, many Roman citizens were likely put at ease, knowing Vespasian was truly not like the previous emperor Nero, who represented everything the Republic abhorred. Yet after the Flavian period verism again faded into obscurity.
74:” sculptures. Verism, often described as "warts and all," shows the imperfections of the subject, such as warts, wrinkles, and furrows. It should be clearly noted that the term veristic in no way implies that these portraits are more "real." Rather, they too can be highly exaggerated or idealised, but within a different visual idiom, one which favours wrinkles, furrows, and signs of age as indicators of gravity and authority. Age during the Late Republic was very highly valued and was synonymous with power, since one of the only ways to hold power in Roman society was to be part of the
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put the sitter's case favorably and portrayed Romans with an unsympathetic likeness. As a result, the Greek artist would maintain the
Hellenistic ‘pathos formula’ – turn of the head and neck, eyes looking upward – but the Greek sculptor, rather than adapt the Roman's features to a Hellenistic ruler ideal, had concentrated on bringing out an air of caricature to the face leading to what scholars call veristic portraiture.
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as to what or who were the precursors to
Republican portraiture. Yet what is important to note is that there is not one single accepted theory of the origin of verism. The question of veristic style remains to this day essentially open and unresolved. Each theory, while plausible in its own way, will require further research and adequate consideration among scholars.
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theory state that the Romans simply didn't care for this over realistic portrayal. The
Republic values of that time favored the straightforward and honest Roman citizen who did not need the deceits of art, but instead should be portrayed as they were, without artifice, for this would best bring out their Republican values. As a result, some art historians, like
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kings of the first half of the 2nd century BC, such as the slight turn of their heads and upward glance of the eyes, into Roman veristic busts. As Rome conquered Greece the empire saw an influx of talented Greek artists who were commissioned by the Romans to create their portraits that portrayed both
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to make a somewhat realistic portrayal of the human head. Yet the ‘Italic’ heads, as they are called, are not seriously considered to be a favorable or strong theory held among scholars as being forerunners to the
Republican portraits. Scholars note that none of the realistic looking specimens can be
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Veristic portraits of the late
Republic hold a special fascination for classical art historians. Romans had inherited the use of sculpted marble heads from the Greeks but they did not inherit the veristic style from them. To scholars verism is uniquely Roman. Scholars have put forth multiple theories
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of their ancestors as a convincing source for the veristic style. H. Drerup argues that death masks molded straight from the face were used early in Rome, and exerted a ‘direct influence’ on
Republican portraits. Yet research has cast doubt on this theory. None of the funerary masks date from before
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and
Republic values. Greek artists notoriously portrayed foreigners in an unfavorable light as a result of Greek attitudes of superiority. For the Romans the Greeks found them not only to be foreigners, yet to be increasingly pompous and unlikeable oppressors. Greek artists were little concerned to
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Greece. Although this theory like the others has merit, lack of concrete dating of this certain
Egyptian style makes scholars doubt the creditability. Suggested stylistic dates often fluctuate by two or three centuries leaving scholars with no solid evidence for when the style of harshly realistic
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Verism first appeared during the Late
Republic. The subjects of veristic portraiture were almost exclusively men, and these men were usually of advanced age, for generally it was elders who held power in the Republic. However, women are also seen in veristic portraiture, though to a lesser extent,
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Some scholars refute this theory as being the cause of verism. Scholars doubt that Romans would not have been angered by the caricature like portrayal given to them by the Greeks. Many question why the Romans did not punish the Greeks for this obvious slight. Yet scholars who are in favor of this
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show a harsh realism that is similarly seen in Republican portraits. Scholars believe the Egyptian portraits began to be made before the Republican portraits and strongly influenced the Romans into establishing the veristic style when Egyptian priests and cults came into contact with Italy and
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harnessed verism as a source of propaganda. Scholars believe that Vespasian used the shift from the Classical style to that of veristic portraiture to send a visual propagandistic message distinguishing him from the previous emperor. Vespasian's portraits showed him as an older, serious, and
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revealed the character of a person; thus, the personality characteristics seen in veristic busts could be taken to express certain virtues very much admired during the Republic. However, scholars can never know for certain the accuracy of portrait renditions made long before their own era.
226:, to provide a naturalistic look to figures. Many cinerary urns are realistic-looking, or at least have harshly-treated faces. Scholars debate whether the realistic-looking style of the figures' heads was a native creation which influenced the Romans, or whether the Romans influenced
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It is debated among scholars and art historians whether these veristic portraits were truly blunt records of actual features or exaggerated features designed to make a statement about a person's personality. It is widely held in academia that in the ancient world
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that followed Julius Caesar's assassination, the woman's face shows her advanced age. The artist carved the woman with sunken cheeks and pouches under her eyes to illustrate her age, much like male veristic portraiture of the time.
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Another theory presented to scholars in classical academia suggests that verism came about from Greek reactions to the conquering Romans. The theory goes that Romans in the Republic privately cherished the
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the 1st century AD. Evidence suggests that the ancestral funerary masks merely kept pace with contemporary portraits in the round. Chronology seems to be an issue with supporting the theory.
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before 30 BC, which was after the Late Republic when verism was being used on portraiture. Scholars conclude that it is unlikely that Egyptian portraits influenced the Republican style.
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and they too were almost always depicted as elderly. A key example of this is a marble head found at Palombara, Spain. Carved between 40 BC and 30 BC, during the decade of the
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had an inclination to veristic representation leading to influence on later Roman art. From a central Italian provenance in ancient times tribes from this area used
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all grappled for the throne, verism made a resurgence, as seen in obverse portraits of Galba on bronze coins or marble busts of Vitellius. When
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yet still held onto Republic values. This interest leaked similar portrayals seen in the more realistic Hellenistic royal portraits of the
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Verism, while the height of fashion during the Late Republican era, quickly fell into obscurity when
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cinerary urns are the forebears to Republican portraiture. It was traditional, and very common in
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shown to be earlier than the arrival of the new wave of Greek influence, rather than vice versa.
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begun. Historians also note Romans did not have extensive military or commercial contact with
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Scholars debate whether Egyptian influence started Roman verism. A group of portraits in hard
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Some scholars consider the ancient Roman custom of making wax portraits, a.k.a. funerary or
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that featured "eternal youth" was favored over verism. It wasn't until after the suicide of
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This article is about artistic preference. For artistic movement, see
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