Roman art was oriented towards realistic depiction of the features, copying exactly the physiognomy, without embellishing the emperor with perfect god-like features in order to make him appear divine, instead of human. The sculpture displays features that were obviously faithful to the real model: the thin lips, the peculiar shape of the nose, the expression lines across his forehead and around his eyes, revealing age and concern of a man that has too many responsibilities over his head. But his collected and cold eyes reveal intelligence and determination, a strong personality displayed in the authoritarian look on his face. This is where the portrait flexes reality, since Claudius was a rather vulnerable character of the Roman government. However it would not fit to display his weakness in the portrait that should picture him as a proud emperor and a great leader. Some representations of Claudius often show him dressed in armor or war clothes, to state his position as great military chief. Those portraits and sculptures had the function of presenting him strong and proud, more than beautiful.

Roman sculpture was more commercial in style because it was often the emperor himself the one that ordered the bust or portrait to be made. It was meant also as publicity, to display his greatness for his people and present his best image for them.

Besides portraits,...

Tombstone sculptors invented a bass-relief anecdotic kind of sculpture in a historical type. They tried to fit in the life of the character the highest possible number of heroic deeds and tell them in the scenes depicted. The adventures, characters, happenings, weapons and conquers, were all piled together in a few meters of marble, disposed in episodes, narrating a story. The intention was to allow any possible visitors to know their great deeds and learn about their history.
Claudius's statues present the emperor in all his glory by the serenity and dignity displayed on his face. He has the look of a man that has the entire empire under his control and will never worry about a possible future defeat. He was even presented as Jupiter, glorifying his image by playing the role of the father god.

As conclusion we can state that the Romans had a strong inclination to realistic representation as far as the visual features were concerned. They limited their idealization of characters to the representation of their attitude, their character and personality, while the exterior, the features involved, the physical part of the perception, was faithful enough to reality.

References

Sellers Strong, Eugenie. Roman Sculpture from Augustus to Constantine. Manchester: Ayer Publishing, 1979.