Verism
Encyclopedia
Verism is the artistic preference of contemporary everyday subject matter instead of the heroic or legendary in art and literature; a form of realism. The word comes from Latin
verus (true).
in marble sculptures of heads. Verism, often described as "warts and all", shows the imperfections of the subject, such as warts, wrinkles and furrows. It zeroes in on the minuscule details of the human head.
Although the marble heads themselves came from the Greeks, this style is extremely different from Greek
head sculptures because the Greek would idealize the subject, and liken the subject to a god. The Veristic style was favoured in the late Republican period. It has been noted that veristic Roman sculptures were generally credited to a Greek or someone of Eastern background, and argued that this suggests the veristic style is of Greek origin.
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
verus (true).
In Roman art
Verism was often used by the RomansRoman art
Roman art has the visual arts made in Ancient Rome, and in the territories of the Roman Empire. Major forms of Roman art are architecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work...
in marble sculptures of heads. Verism, often described as "warts and all", shows the imperfections of the subject, such as warts, wrinkles and furrows. It zeroes in on the minuscule details of the human head.
Although the marble heads themselves came from the Greeks, this style is extremely different from Greek
Art in Ancient Greece
The arts of ancient Greece have exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries all over the world, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models...
head sculptures because the Greek would idealize the subject, and liken the subject to a god. The Veristic style was favoured in the late Republican period. It has been noted that veristic Roman sculptures were generally credited to a Greek or someone of Eastern background, and argued that this suggests the veristic style is of Greek origin.