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Vanquished and conquered by Rome, Greece was reduced to the state of a simple province of the Republic and later the Roman Empire. It remained nonetheless a strong cultural model for Rome. Cicero, Pliny and Quintilien have brought us the names of all the important Greek sculptors; and yet they do not once quote a single Roman sculptor.

Hera of Samos

Middle of the 6th century B. C.

Marble

The Louvre, Paris

So, the Romans themselves or the Greeks who came to Rome would scarcely make any other works than those depicting Caesar, the impure wives of their Emperors, the favourites of the imperial Palace.

Kouros from Anavyssos

550 B. C.

Marble, height 2.14 m

National Museum, Athens

Art was industrialised, and pre-fabricated statues of emperors were produced to which they adapted heads according to their needs. After enriching itself with the spoils of the world, Rome fell for opulence and bad taste, preferring precious metals over simple art materials and richness over beauty.

Apollo in the Temple of Portanaccio of Véies

510 B.C

Sandstone

Villa Giulia National Museum, Rome

When Constantine transferred the seat of the new empire to Byzantium, he brought with him the gods and the heroes of paganism, converting Roman basilicas into churches. The first Christians showed a certain ignorance and deep antipathy towards the fine arts and started to destroy all the vestiges of Antiquity and the ancient world.

The Man and Wife Sarcophagus

Etruria, end of 6th century B. C.

Terracotta, height 114 cm

The Louvre, Paris