Death of Pentheus

House of the Vettii

The House of the Vettii

      Unlike many Pompeian houses, this house has been extensively restored Many wall paintings have been left in situ Gives the visitor the chance to view the artwork in its original surroundings The Death of Pentheus is one panel of a wall in a room with 3 major mythological paintings Framed by trompe l’oeil (illusionist) windows with views of elaborate buildings beyond The “Pentheus Room” is only one of several rooms in the House decorated with finely executed paintings.

The Myth

 Pentheus (king of Thebes) banned the worship of Dionysus in his kingdom  The God took his revenge  He inflicted temporary insanity on a group of female worshippers (Maenads/Bacchantes), including the king’s mother    He induced Pentheus to spy on them on a mountainside When discovered, the Bacchantes tear him to pieces His mother carries his head into the city triumphantly only to regain her sanity and discover she murdered her own son.

Statistics

 Size: 1.04 metres x 1.04 metres  Date: Probably 62-70 AD  Style: Fourth-Style wall  Location: House of the Vettii, Pompeii

Composition

    Very formal underlying structure Four Bacchantes arranged in roughly diagonal lines Reinforced by Pentheus’ outstretched right leg (echoes that of the woman opposite) Forms an X shape  Elegant, ordered structure in contrast to the dramatic, out-of control actions of the women >emphasises the temporary dislocation of reason: real theme of the painting    Visual function of the X: direct attention to Pentheus’ face All eyes on him, the action is directed towards him His own glance is directed back along part of the X

Composition Continued

 Perhaps, significantly, the only figure outside this X shape is that of the woman with the stone  It is about to crash down onto his head  It has been suggested that she is his mother

Depth

 Strong sense of depth: -overlapping figures -use of fainter lines/colours for background figures   Highly structured: woman with rock forms apex of a triangle. At the centre, Pentheus himself The strong horizontal line made by the arms of Pentheus and the two woman holding him, creates a barrier/fence between the foreground and background action

Emotional Tone

     All women look directly at Pentheus; the painting is structured so that the strong horizontal & vertical lines converge on his head The weapons are raised. The rock is about to come crashing down, the scene is full of tension Pentheus is aware that this is the moment before his death The formal structure emphasises the moment of awful realisation A moment of heightened intensity