The visual arts in Ancient Rome were well-respected across a number of genres, including painting, sculpture, and ceramics. Painting, according to ancient sources, was valued as highly as the other forms of art, but very little of it has survived to the present day. Among the well-preserved examples of Roman painting are those from the sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, which were all buried under volcanic ash, rather than having the paint exposed to the elements.

The emperor (or Caesar) was often the subject of imperial art. The Romans saw their emperor as both a religious and political figure and celebrated their position through their art forms. Similar to the pharaohs of Egypt, the emperor was considered a "God" in his own right. 

The Romans were proud of their art and used it mostly for showing off to others and decoration. After Pompeii was excavated, it was obvious that the Romans liked adding decoration to not only their home, but also everyday objects such as utensils and furniture.

Classical Greek art took inspiration from beauty, nationalism and religion. These elements can be found throughout their architecture, paintings and sculptures. The beauty of Greek women were captured through paintings and sculptures of their form. Gods and deities are found throughout various pieces of art as well.

Art and architecture in Rome was greatly influenced by the Greeks. Greece was conquered by Rome in 146 BC and since then, Roman art was interwoven with Greek art.

Most people in Ancient Greece could not read, and vase paintings were a simple and cheap method of conveying religious stories and myths that the common person could understand.

John the Baptist is one of the most significant figures in Christian history, and was a frequent figure in Medieval art. He is easily identified with his cloak of camel hair, a description taken from the Gospel of Mark. John the Baptist is also usually depicted with a dove, as both were seen as signals of the coming Messiah in Jesus Christ.

The Bayeux Tapestry was notable as one of the first large scale pieces of art to celebrate and record a massive military victory in Europe since the Romans. As painting and sculpture had significantly faded in scale since the fall of the Roman Empire, tapestry was one of the few artistic mediums that was available to the Norman leaders who created it. With William the Conqueror being a foreign King in England, it also was created to glorify William and show the failings of the defeated English armies.

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Key words identifying Byzantine art are flat, floating, frontal, and gold. Rather than the realism and naturalism of Greco-Roman art, Byzantine art is focused on the spiritual or other-worldly. Therefore, it is less realistic, and shows its figures as more floating and unconnected with this world.

This work of art is known as "The Justinian Panel," precisely because it depicts the Emperor Justinian I of the Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire. Justinian reconquered the fallen Western portion of the Roman Empire, which included the Italian Peninsula, where this mosaic is located in Ravenna's Basilica of San Vitale, and he is appropriately represented in honor and glory. While surrounded by bishops and officials, Justinian is the only figure in the traditional "Tyrian purple" of Royalty in the Roman Empire and Medieval Europe, as well as being shown with a posthumous halo, showing his status as a Christian saint.

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