Transcript Roman Wall Painting

Roman Wall Painting
Pompeii
• Pompeii was not an artistic
centre but a small seaside
resort.
• There may have been regional
differences and differences in
personal taste in the art work
found there.
• Paintings there are dated from
200BC to 79 AD
Pompeian Paintings
Quality of paintings
depended on the skill of
the artist and the cost of
the work
Paint was applied to wet
plaster
Alabaster dust was superior
to plain white paint as a
surface
Paint
• The paint quality varied
• Cinnabar from Spain was
more expensive than local
earth pigments such as
red ochre
Expensive Pigments
• Cinnabar – deep red
• Gold leaf
Basic Pigments
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Red-red ochre or haematite
Black – soot
White – chalk
Yellow – yellow ochre
Green – terre verte (different minerals)
Blue – copper calcium silicate
Painting
• Walls were painted while still wet and could not be
moved
• The last layer of plaster was applied to the section of
wall that could be finished
• Walls were therefore divided into sections; giornata di
lavoro
• Walls were often divided into three sections
horizontally - dado, middle, upper
• Paintings were rarely finished in one go
• The picture was ‘etched’ onto the wet plaster and
essentially ‘coloured in’
• Sometimes different artists were employed to
complete different sections
Sometimes important sections were done in
the artists studio and inserted into the
finished space on completion
Plastering
• Wall had to be rough
enough to hold the plaster
• Plaster was made from lime
(calcium hydroxide) and
water.
• Sometimes grit was added
to aid the drying process
• For top coats the ‘grit’ was
often marble dust
• Wealthy patrons could afford up to 6 layers
of plaster applied
Tradesmen’s Tools
• Applied with a trulla – a
trowel
• Smoothed with liaculum –
float
• Sometimes applied with
thick bristles
The Four Pompeian Styles
The First Style
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Dating from first century BC
Also called masonry style
Copied from Hellenistic styles
Plaster was applied to resemble cut stone
blocks
• Often painted to resemble different types of
stone such as marble or alabaster
The Second Style
• 80BC
• Light source incorporated into
the painting to make columns
appear real and includes
shadows
• Gives a three dimensional
quality
House of the Gryphon in Rome
Note three sections
• The Second style developed into ‘wide open’
scenes where myths and real people could be
seen
• The Villa of the Mysteries shows two contrasting
panes – the flat wall and the figures
• The room is ‘opened up’
The Third Style
• Return to a ‘flat’ wall
• Monochromatic colours – black
white red
• Three levels of wall
• Overlaid with fantastical
ornamental detail
• Columns are now thin and spindly
and often replaced with
candelabra
• Small scenes‘sacro-idyllic’ scenes
were popular
• This style was fashionable for
decades
The Fourth Style
• Eclectic
• Combines illusion of the Second Style with the
delicate architecture of the Third
• Many houses were redecorated in the Fourth Style
after the earthquake of AD62 and continued in
popularity after Vesuvius
• It also consisted of a central panel
with a glimpse of outdoors
through a narrow opening
• A second panel resembling a
tapestry
• Borders of a ‘fabric’ style
• Top panel architectural vignettes
• Bottom section ‘dado’ is plain
• Elaborate decoration is essential
to the Fourth Style
• Miniature animals and
mythological people
appeared
• Floral garlands were also
popular
• Influenced by Fabullus
who painted Nero’s
Domus Aurea
Bibliography
Campbell, Jonathan. Roman art and
Architecture, Longman, Auckland, 2002.