What is the Pompeian art Like?

FrEDERICVS PIVSP. III

• Much known about paintings from 100 b.c. to 100 a.d.

• Many paintings found in 18th century• Research done in 19th Century• Style system invented by august mau• From paintings, can learn much about

ones in Rome

Background

General info on Roman Paintings

• Often Called “Pompeian” style • Combines and adapts Late-

Greek, Hellenistic, and Etruscan Elements

• Techniques used include Fresco, “Tic-tac-toe” designs, Multi-point perspective, and trompe-l’oeil effects

Examples of Techniques

Tic-Tac-Toe Design

trompe-l’oeil

Perspective

X

X

X

How roman artists made frescoes

• 1. get a stone wall to paint on.• 2. cover it with 1-3 layers of Mortar• 3. Cover it with 1-3 Layers of Lime

with finely Powdered marble

3. On the last layer, put on the wall decorations from top to bottom while it is still wet.

The Four Styles• Style I (incrustation)• 200-90 B.c.• Imitation of painted

marble

• Style II (Architectonic)

• 90-20/25 B.c.• Windows and

Porticoes imitation• Lots of perspective

• Style III (Ornamental)

• 20/15 B.c.-45 A.D.• Closed up wall• “Picture gallery”

Effect• One painting

surrounded by Smaller ones

• Style IV (Fantastic)• 45-100 A.D.• Conglomeration of

previous• Realistic and

intricate• Opened up• Shrine-like or

theatrical stage backgrounds

Subject Matter and “Hierarchies”

• Much of the subject matter is either portraits, landscapes or mythology

• Three Important “Hierarchies” of decoration in the paintings (some more important to Romans than others)– 1.. Color- e.g. red cinnabar was a rare color and valued more in

paintings than white– 2. Motifs- E.g. Heroic or Mythological motifs were very

prestigious– 3. Framework- e.g. Great architectural details help frame

certain important aspects in paintings

Works Cited• Clarke, John R. The Houses of Roman Italy 100 B.C.-A.D.

250 Ritual, Space, and Decoration. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.

• Gunther, Michael D. “Roman Painting: Frescoes From Campania.” Old Stones. 1999. Art-and-

Archaeology.com. 6 Apr. 2006 <http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/roman/painting.html>.

• Sergius, Tanaquil. “Roman Wallpainting and Pompei, episode 1.” The Hellenic World. 4 Oct. 2004. AncientWorlds. 6 Apr. 2006 <http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/420199>.

• Tronchin, Francesca. Art 1A: Art in the Western World from the Stone Age to the End of the Middle

Ages Spring 2005. 6 Apr. 2006 <http://www.tronchin.com/Art1A/lecture13.htm>.

• Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew. Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum. New Jersey: Princeton

University Press, 1994.• Woodford, Susan. The Art of Greece and Rome. New

York: Cambridge University Press, 1982.

AHH! CENSORED! (don’t ask why the box is so big!)

Fresco of Priapus