Discuss the portrayal of Roman portrait busts, citing Double Portrait of Gratidia M.L. Chrite and M. Gratidius Libanus as an example

What will be an ideal response?

Rome came of age during the Hellenistic period, and one aspect of Hellenistic art was a tendency toward realistic portrayals of individuals, as opposed to idealized portrayals of types of people. The Double Portrait is a portrait of a Roman husband and wife, who are fully realized as individuals. Roman sculptors excelled at realism in busts of ordinary people, as illustrated in the husband, whose well-defined creases and patient face convey a long experience in the trials of the world. His wife seems stronger, less marked by pain, and her supportive clasp of his hand suggests the Roman virtues of fidelity and harmony.