They are real portraits,
probably very close resemblances, for each emperor had a well-marked
physiognomy, often of a striking ugliness that no one attempted to
disguise.
In general, Roman sculpture holds itself much more close to reality
than does the Greek; it may be said that the artist is less concerned
with representing things beautifully than exactly.
Of Roman painting we know only the frescoes painted on the walls of
the rich houses of Pompeii and of the house of Livy at Rome. We do not
know but these were the work of Greek painters; they bear a close
resemblance to the paintings on Greek vases, having the same simple
and elegant grace.
=Architecture.=--The true Roman art, because it operated to satisfy a
practical need, is architecture. In this too the Romans imitated the
Greeks, borrowing the column from them. But they had a form that the
Greeks never employed--the arch, that is to say, the art of arranging
cut stones in the arc of a circle so that they supported one another.
The arch allowed them to erect buildings much larger and more varied
than those of the Greeks. The following are the principal varieties of
Roman monuments:
1.
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