Roman Art at the Louvre

The Musée de la Romanité, in collaboration with the Louvre Museum, presents an exhibition on the place of art in Roman civilisation, built around an exceptional selection of ancient works. Roman civilisation is characterised by the importance it attached, at least among the most privileged strata of the Empire's communities, to the sophistication of material culture. This constant attention meant that every sphere of life, public and private, domestic or funerary, became a place where images and, more broadly, artistic forms were produced.

From glassware to marble statuary, mastery of artistic styles and technologically advanced production techniques defined an art of living that formed part of the very idea Romans had of their civilisation. This "Roman art" is not the product of autonomous development; rather, it was shaped by social uses and contexts. Most of the objects we now regard as works of art had a precise, very concrete function. While beauty, defined as virtuosity, technical refinement or adherence to artistic canons, played a role in fulfilling these functions, it was seldom cultivated for its own sake. These "works of art" are therefore, as much as objects of modern artistic appreciation, the Roman expression of collective values, or the sometimes luxurious indication of social or cultural practices.