1. Roman Painting
â˘The only large body of ancient painting
â˘Has only come to light in modern times
â˘Almost all are wall paintings and span only about 200 years
â˘Since there are no Greek examples left, it is hard to know
what are Greek copies and what are truly Roman in nature
2. Innovations in Roman PaintingâŚ
â˘Fresco paintings used to liven up
windowless CUBICULA (bedrooms)
â˘Paintings of mythological scenes,
landscapes, and city plazas
â˘Mosaics as floor decoration- stone kept
feet cool in summer
â˘ENCAUSTIC technique (from Egypt)-
portraits of the dead
â˘Murals painted with some knowledge of
LINEAR PERSPECTIVE
â˘Spatial relationships in landscape
paintings appear somewhat consistent
â˘ORTHOGONALS recede to multiple
VANISHING POINTS in distance
â˘ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE used â
far distance, cool pastel colors
â˘Figures FORESHORTENED (seen at
oblique angle, recede into space)
â˘What we know, we learned from
PompeiiâŚ
atmospheric
linear
6. Boscoreale Frescoes, HOUSE OF PUBLIUS FANNIUS SYNISTOR, 50-40 BCE.â˘From an aristocratic villa outside Pompeii
â˘2nd
Style Pompeian art with 1st
Style masonry
panels at the bottom
â˘Wall paintings open up spaces to reveal
painted versions of great vistas
â˘Great architectural views feature colonnaded
atria, distant landscapes, and architectural
visions
â˘Cooler colors are used to show architecture
receding into background
â˘Central THOLOS in center of columned
atrium, fronted by pediment
â˘Maze-like. No solid grasp of perspective yet
7. 3rd
Pompeian Style- Characterized by small
scenes set in a field of color and framed by
delicate columns of tracery
A PAINTER AT WORK
From the House of the
Surgeon, Pompeii. 1st
century BCE-1st century CE.
Fresco, 17-7/8" Ă 17-3/8â
8. 4th
Pompeian Style- Combined
elements of other three styles
-painted marble at the base (1st
style)
-large scenes of 2nd
style
-delicate small scenes of 3rd
style
all intricately interwoven
9. WALL PAINTING IN THE
"IXION ROOM," HOUSE OF
THE VETTII
Pompeii. Rebuilt 62-79 CE.
â˘Illusionistic architectural scenes
and window effects
â˘Sought to push back the wall
surfaces
â˘â4th styleâ
â˘Prevailed about the time of the
eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD
â˘This example has faux marble,
panel pictures that are meant to
look like they are set into the wall
â˘Gives off an unreal quality, similar
to theater backdrops
â˘Greek mythology scenes
1st
(âmarbleâ rectangles)
2nd
(mythological scenes and/or
landscapes)
3rd
(small scenes in field of color,
delicately framed)
10. STILL LIFE WITH PEACHES, fresco from
Herculaneum. Detail of a wall painting. 50 CE.
Approx. 1'2" Ă 1'-1/2â
â˘Arrangement of peaches,
stem, and half-filled pitcher
of water
â˘Concentration on the
different textures of the
surfaces, roundness of the
peaches and pitcher
â˘Reflective surface of glass is
emphasized
â˘Composition emphasizes
curves
â˘Delight in showing how light
plays on a given surface
â˘Shows interest in creating
spatial depth as represented
on the water pitcher
11. âŚand here are a few more Roman
paintings thrown in for funâŚ
12. The Laestrygonians Hurling Rocks at the Fleet of Odysseus,
Rome, late 1st century BCE
â˘Very atmospheric,
less concerned with
spatial depth
â˘More poetic than
structurally correct
13. PORTRAIT OF A MARRIED COUPLE
Wall painting from Pompeii. Mid 1st century CE. Height 25-1/2â
14. â˘Very detailed garden scene- any
form of depth has been ignored
â˘All details are very close to the
viewer -very limited spatial depth
GARDEN VISTA, VILLA OF LIVIA AT PRIMAPORTA
Near Rome. Late 1st century BCE.
detail
15. Hercules and Telephus, Herculaneum, 70 CE
â˘Very disjointed looking- forms,
brushwork vary between figures
â˘One figure looks static and
immobile, while the other is more
fluid
16. Portrait of a Boy, lower Egypt, 2nd century CE
â˘According to texts, there were many
examples of portraits in Rome related to
ancestor worship, but none have
survived
â˘More were found in the Egyptian part
of the empire (Egyptians added portraits
with mummies)
â˘Done on a wood panel with encaustic
(freshness of color)
⢠Very lifelike and solid
â˘Emphasis on eyes
17. Consecration of the Tabernacle and its Priests, synagogue at Dura-Europos, 3rd
century CE
â˘3rd century brought spread of eastern religions â much different than Christianity
(such as Islam) - gave birth to a new style of art that fused Greco-Roman with
Eastern
â˘Dura-Europos: Roman town- Jews were effected by the melting pot of art- depicted
biblical scenes on the walls of synagogues (even though this was rarely ever done)
â˘No action or story, but an assembly of figures- more symbolic than narrative, echoes
of Roman painting- cast shadows, classical architecture-serves as a link to Medieval
INITIATION RITES OF THE CULT OF BACCHUS (?), VILLA OF THE MYSTERIES Pompeii. Wall painting. c. 60-50 BCE . [Fig. 06-30]
CITYSCAPE, HOUSE OF PUBLIUS FANNIUS SYNISTOR Boscoreale. Detail of a wall painting from a bedroom. c. 50-30 BCE . Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rogers Fund, 1903. (03.14.13) [Fig. 06-31]
WALL PAINTING IN THE "IXION ROOM," HOUSE OF THE VETTII Pompeii. Rebuilt 62-79 CE . [Fig. 06-29]
STILL LIFE, HOUSE OF THE STAGS (CERVI) Herculaneum. Detail of a wall painting. Before 79 CE . Approx. 1'2" Ă 1'-1/2" (35.5 Ă 31.7 cm). Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples. [Fig. 06-34]
PORTRAIT OF A MARRIED COUPLE Wall painting from Pompeii. Mid 1st century CE . Height 25-1/2" (64.8 cm). Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples. [Fig. 06-35]
GARDEN VISTA, VILLA OF LIVIA AT PRIMAPORTA Near Rome. Late 1st century BCE . Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome. [Fig. 06-32]