Did art decline in the late Roman Empire?

1 year ago
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If we look at early roman busts or statues, such as for example the famous Augustus statue of Prima Porta, we are immediately struck be the exquisite detail and incredibly high level of cratsmanship displayed. The statue almost feels life-like, the realistic facial features of the emperor, the incredible detail of the breastplate, and the realistic way how the cloth falls with all its creases. But then we look at a bust from the late roman empire, such as this one here of Valentinian III, we are immediately struck by the much lower level of detail and apparently inferior artistic complexity. The same picture with coins: Early roman coins until the crisis of the third century display a very high level of detial, but then in the 4th and especially 5th centuries, the quality dropped considerably. What happened? Had art started to decline? Was this a deliberate choice of the artists, was this a new artistic style, or was this a degradation of the art itself in the late Roman Empire? Let us try to answer that question, friends of late roman history!

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