Week 6: Kathryn: Nodelman and Welch

1) When Nodelman says Roman portraiture can be described as a system of signs, he means it in the sense that Roman portraiture, like signs, is intended to grab the attention of the viewer with "the intent to convey a message" (11). Many of these messages dealt with the political and social ideas of the time. This is evident in examining the busts of the Republican Julius Caesar. Their "faces closely reflect the prevailing temperament of class and society to which they belong" (13).

2) To Katherine Welch, Roman sculptures adopted many of the characteristics of Greek sculpture, using the Greek sculptures as a sort of blueprint to follow. This is of no surprise, since the Romans considered Greek sculptures to be already perfected. It is only fitting, therefore, that they would want to imitate them. However, Roman sculptures were not a direct copy of their Greek models. These Roman sculptures also reflected elements of their own culture.  An example of how Romans adopted the Greek characteristics in a relief sculpture can be found in the Great Trajanic Frieze, and an example of how the Romans did this with portraiture can be found in the Ara Pacis Augustae.