How accurate are these 21st century recreations? Voshart is the first to admit this is a creative project more than a historical one. He tells Smithsonian Magazine the results are “my artistic interpretation”. On Medium he writes the images are “more art than science”. “Sculptures and busts were idealized images of the emperors” states archaeologist Jane Fejfer from the University of Copenhagen. Referring to Emperor Augustus – the first to rule the Empire from 27 BC – AD 14 – she outlines how “mass-produced models were sent out to local workshops around the kingdom, which they then carved the portraits...
