The Roman Republic sprang up between the Etruscan city-states to the north and the Greek colonies of southern Italy. Etruscan art centered around stylized tombs and scene paintings within them. Early Romans were first introduced to art through Greek objects imported earlier by the Etruscans. The influential art of Greece included sculptures of noblemen, soldiers and fertile females. Paintings mainly re-created locally famous scenes and stories. The architecture focused on large stone buildings known for their columns and decorative facades.
Painting in the Roman Republic consisted of flat panels depicting notable people and nature scenes. Work was often done in sprawling murals or in multipart panels. Fresco painting was most common, with images painted directly on walls and ceilings inside buildings, many of which have been destroyed. Extant paintings from the republic reflect the stories of battles and the culture's evolving attitudes toward the role of citizens. Throughout the Republic's history, paintings maintained focus on war and heroics, but underwent a gradual shift from celebrating leaders to representing more common soldiers.
Busts and statues in the Roman Republic combined Etruscan and Greek influences. The realism of Etruscan sculpture combined with the idealism of the Greeks to produce works with meticulous detail. In some cases the details serve authenticity, whereas others are believably realistic yet exaggerated portraits to produce biased effects. Sculpture of leaders and war heroes of the Roman Republic include wrinkles, warts and other imperfections in an artistic move to make the figures appear proudly toughened by battle.
Highly decorative engravings and sculpted images adorn the surfaces of many early Roman objects such as urns and jewelry boxes. Republican artists produced carved and shaped marble and bronze images of relatives, gods and nature for various containers, either as affordable art for the middle classes or as indulgence for the patron class. Funerary items received the most attention, best seen in the sarcophagi, which were decorative above-ground tombs made of marble. The sculpting commemorated the life and accomplishments of the entombed.
The Roman Republic's early leaders wanted to appear legitimate and powerful through their structures, choosing to mimic the iconic architecture of the Greek empire. Government buildings and other important structures were round and deep with stone columns at the entryways. Early Roman interiors used high ceilings with elaborately decorated moldings throughout and a series of wings along the walls filled with sculpture and precious objects, all surrounded by fresco paintings.