Classic Roman art was heavily influenced by the artistic ideals of Greece, as well as the art produced by the Etruscan civilization in northern Italy. Greek ideals trickled into Roman culture over the span of centuries, as Rome came into contact with Hellenized regions of the Italian peninsula. By contrast, due to its close proximity to the region of Etruria, from which Etruscan ideals emerged, Rome's artistic ideals closely mirrored those of its neighbor. Through art of the Roman Republic, Greek ideals, which emphasized solemn depictions of the human form, were counterbalanced by Etruscan depictions of figures wearing togas and bearing weapons.
Elements of verism, a style of art which emphasizes realistic features of subjects of portraiture and sculpture, are observable on Roman coins that were minted during the Republican period. Through the use of verism, artists endeavored not only to capture accurate likenesses of men of Republican Rome, but also to draw attention to the eyesores of their countenances, such as their wrinkles and angled noses. Consequently, they produced stern and severe visages, "in which every crease proclaimed hardships endured for the state, reinforced principles that the Roman aristocracy displayed to the public," according to "Culture and National Identity in Republican Rome." Presumably, men whose images were captured in such portraits wished for their viewers to respect their skills of perseverance against the challenging circumstances of their age.
Outbursts of art that have been discovered in homes as well as public areas, mural designs reflect the artistic ideals of the Roman Republic. Through murals, artists could embue living spaces with a scenic ambience. Surviving wall murals dating from this period present three-dimensional landscape scenes portraying wraparound views of nature. Fred S. Kleiner notes in "Gardner's Art Through the Ages" that in order to suggest recession, painters of Republican Rome were known to employ tricks of atmospheric perspective, to indicate depth "by the increasingly blurred appearane of objects in the distance." Even within closed-in spaces, art possessed the power to open up a person's eyes to the outside world.
Roman art, like subsequent art of Medieval Europe, encapsulated elements of folklore. A notable example of such art is the Capitoline She-Wolf, a bronze sculpture that was created in the fifth century B.C. The subject of the sculpture is an animal that, according to Roman legend, rescued and cared for the forsaken twins Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome. In the 13th century, miniature sculptures of the twins were created to complement the original sculpture, augmenting this component of folklore. Still, Timothy Peter Wiseman, author of "Remus: A Roman Myth," explains "there in no reason to suppose that she was originally represented with cubs, much less with human infants." Thus, Roman legend that is contained in art is interpreted quite differently by contemporary viewers than it was by the people of the Roman Republic.