The Candid Faces of Rome

How I adore Roman portraits! Unlike their idealised Greek counterparts, they are brimming with life—somehow wonderfully, reassuringly real.

In classical Greek art, we are presented with gods and heroes whose visages have been meticulously refined to fit the golden ratio. Yet, truth be told, that immaculate perfection can occasionally border on the soporific. The Romans, on the other hand, are an entirely different proposition. At the Bursa Archaeological Museum, one is struck by the distinct impression that these individuals have merely stepped out of a neighbouring basilica or returned from a bustling market.

Honest Marble Without Filters

It all comes down to Roman verism. These chaps never dreamt of instructing their sculptors to ‘smooth away the wrinkles’ or ‘remove the double chin’. Quite the contrary:

• Crow’s feet around the eyes? Clearly, they spent far too much time pondering the weighty affairs of the province.
• Compressed lips? A sign of a stern disposition and unwavering devotion to duty.
• Bags beneath the eyes? An excess of symposia, or perhaps sleepless nights spent poring over ledgers.

These are not frozen masks; they are characters. Gazing into these marble features, one sees not an abstract ideal, but rather one’s next-door neighbour or a particularly severe employer.

Anatolian Colour

Here in Bithynia—the ancient designation for the region surrounding Bursa—the Roman school of portraiture intertwined with local traditions, acquiring an even greater, more striking expressiveness. One looks upon them and realises: empires rise and fall, yet human nature, with all its frailties, ambitions, and vivid emotions, has remained remarkably unchanged over the past couple of millennia.

In short, should you wish to gaze upon the genuine mortals of antiquity rather than their heavily filtered iterations, the Romans are your best port of call.