Twenty-five years ago, Don McCullin embarked on a journey to create a cultural and architectural survey of the remains of the Roman Empire. The photographs in his forthcoming book—The Roman Conceit—focus on the marble sculptures of the heroes of antiquity preserved in museums in Denmark, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Turkey, United Kingdom and the USA. McCullin has turned his attention from a fascination with the ruined cities of the Empire—exposed in big, broad landscapes under metallic skies—to the still and intimate close-ups of stone sculpture. For this collection, McCullin photographed after-hours, or before doors open to the public, in the museums. The statues, released from their context—time and place—are captured in black and white and in the hush and tranquillity of a space devoid of crowds. They are re-animated by McCullin’s gaze and through his lens