Verism in Roman Art

Ancient Rome was ruled by elders who were mostly the only ones that held any power. So I imagine the reason for verism being so important in Roman art was the more wrinkles the more power type deal. When you see certain people of a greater age just think of the things they have been through and all the things they have learned from the experiences they have had, and I'm guessing that is the reason why elders were the ones with the power. So in this instance maybe being sculpted as an elder meant you were important and that you held a lot of power. And maybe that is not so important to others as it is the people getting sculpted because it shows how important they were to everyone else and that they are the ones with the power and there is no mistaking those sculptures to be anyone else. When people saw them they knew that it was someone with wisdom and power and that they were to respect them because of their status. It also shows how realistic these elders were. It shows that these elders were very proud to be their age and how much they took their power seriously. Maybe even if that was not the case they may have just wanted to show the people of Rome that they were serious and wise so the people of Rome would feel they were in good hands. It reminds me of the saying respect your elders, maybe that is were it came from.