Kevin Simler

Does anyone know what’s going on here? Is it a Western Empire/Eastern Empire thing?

Short version is that it's a change in artistic conventions that you see in the third century. (IIRC it originated at the Empire's periphery.) It happens in both Western and Eastern Empires as idealized and naturalistic ceases to become the convention.

Thanks for weighing in with some actual knowledge! Do you know if artists/minters were still generally _capable_ of the same level of realism? It sounds like you’re saying ppl just preferred a more stylized depiction, but I can’t help wonder if they actually lost something.

Up until about fifty years ago scholars said that this was part of a decline in ability, basically your classic Decay of Rome. The more recent approach (AIUI) is that it's not that ability declines as much as "What should art look like?" changes.