<P> Verism is the artistic preference of contemporary everyday subject matter instead of the heroic or legendary in art and literature; it is a form of realism . The word comes from Latin verus (true). </P> <P> Verism first appeared as the artistic preference of the Roman people during the late Roman Republic (147--30 BC) and was often used for Republican portraits or for the head of "pseudo-athlete" sculptures . Verism, often described as "warts and all," shows the imperfections of the subject, such as warts, wrinkles, and furrows . It should be clearly noted that the term veristic in no way implies that these portraits are more "real ." Rather, they too can be highly exaggerated or idealised, but within a different visual idiom, one which favours wrinkles, furrows, and signs of age as indicators of gravity and authority . Age during the Late Republic was very highly valued and was synonymous with power, since one of the only ways to hold power in Roman society was to be part of the Senate . Yet to be in the Senate, a Roman patrician had to be at least forty - two years of age, which in ancient times was considered a mature stage of life . </P>

Who did republican romans depict in veristic sculptural form