Final answer:
Roman busts were highly detailed, with features capturing the realistic and individual characteristics of the subjects. They were also painted to add realistic colors, although most surviving pieces are now white marble.
Step-by-step explanation:
What was striking about the busts made by Roman artists is that A. They were highly detailed. Roman portrait sculptures are notable for their intricate veristic images, often showing male subjects with precise, realistic features such as receding hairlines, deep wrinkles, and even warts. The attention to lifelike detail is not only evident in the subject's faces, which displayed emotional expression and individual character, but in the practice of painting the sculptures to reflect realistic colors and details, despite most surviving works now being the stark white of the marble.
Roman art was influenced by Greek art, and Roman sculptors frequently created copies of famous Greek works, which had idealized bodies. Even when Roman sculptures displayed idealized bodies, they paired them with highly detailed, realistic portraits. The veristic portrait style was particularly popular during the Roman Republic as a means of promoting social status and commemorating individuals, with busts being set up in homes, public buildings, and tombs.