Sculpture

Abstract

In the historiography of ancient art, the essence of Roman art is a much discussed problem. In the past, largely as a result of Winckelmann's idealization of Greek classic sculpture, Roman art was considered an extension in time and space of the Greek and by some even a debased version of it. Others have tried to evaluate it as an independent art with its own distinguishing features and original contributions. Most of this debate has centred on sculpture, since architecture and painting present different sets of problems. The structural elements of Roman architecture are fundamentally different from those of Greek architecture, and the Greek orders are mostly borrowed for embellishment; our knowledge of Greek painting is extremely limited, due to the loss of practically all the Greek originals, and is based on Roman versions and Greek vase-painting. Roman sculpture, however, is essentially hybrid and its character is quite impossible to define. Several stylistic trends, the product of diverse social and ethnic strata, contributed towards the formation of a multi-faceted corpus of artistic manifestations.