How Did Greco-Roman Influence Greek Art

After the death of Cleopatra VII, Egypt was annexed into the Roman Empire and the country became essential to the empire’s economic well being. In addition to that, Egypt’s multicultural population helped influence and forge a Roman Egypt that extended to Rome’s impact on the nation’s art and culture. This included painted panel portraits on mummies and busts, both of which were used in funerary commemorations. These funerary commemorations include the Mummy portrait of a Woman and the Bust of a Woman which portray the Greco-Roman influence on Egyptian art through the stylistic and media choices as a means of conveying the social status and realistic representations of their subjects. Egyptian beliefs put great emphasis on the idea of the afterlife, which became an important aspect in the creation of mummy portraits …show more content…
Busts became very popular in the Greco-Roman world as a means of portraying a sculptured portrait to commemorate a leader or to commemorate the death of a person with a high status in society. The bust is depicted with an elaborately braided hairstyle that was very common in Greco-Roman culture as “a version of the one worn by the empress Faustina” since “Roman women traditionally followed the fashion of the ruling family” (Wall label). Additionally, updos are considered to be sophisticated and graceful indicating that the artist’s intention to portray her hairstyle synonymous to an empress suggests that she is a woman of the upper class. Furthermore, the thickness of her neck and the fleshiness of her cheeks also portray this status. This is shown through the artist’s manipulation of shadows and light as well as through the natural lines carved on her neck and her chin. They help accentuate the fullness of her figure and help suggest that she most likely came from a wealthy family as she looks well