Roman art

Roman art is based on the down-to-earth culture of the inhabitants of the western Mediterranean region, the rather artless and sober culture of the Italians and the Etruscans, whose culture the Romans largely adopted. Greek architecture, painting and sculpture served as models for Roman art. Painting in particular was practiced as a decorative art in the form of frescoes (= application of paint to the fresh, damp plaster). Wall painting was often used to visually expand rooms and was intended to create the illusion of views in landscapes. These paintings often had an architectural framework. Roman art was already of high quality in terms of proportions, plasticity (light and shadow), perspective (vanishing point) and spatial depth.