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n at i o n a l g a l l e r y o a r t | o c t o b e r 1 9, 2 0 0 8 m a r c h 2 2 , 2 0 0 9

Pompeii and the Roman Villaa r t a n d c u l t u r e a r o u n d t h e b ay o n a p l e s

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beore mount vesuv ius erupted in ad 79 , the region

o Campania around the Bay o Naples was an artistic center

o great sophistication. Archaeological excavations have

uncovered not only Pompeii (g. 1), Herculaneum, and other

towns near Vesuvius, but also the remains o luxurious sea-

side villas built or prominent Romans (g. 2). They were

drawn to the bay by its beauty and thermal baths a legacy

o its volcanic geology as well as the lingering Greek culture

around Naples, a ormer Greek colony. The bays popularity

as a resort or vacationing Romans brought extraordinary

wealth to the area. Adding to its economic well-being was

the emperor Augustus designation o the port o Puteoli

(modern Pozzuoli, north o Naples) as the Italian entry pointor the enormous shipments o grain rom the province o

Egypt. The wealth, coupled with the great demand or works

o art to adorn the interior spaces and gardens o the vast

maritime villas, attracted artists rom ar and wide. Many o

them would also have ound clients among the well-to-do

townspeople o Pompeii and Herculaneum who emulated the

liestyles o the powerul elite. The art collections o both

villa owners and residents o the nearby towns demonstrate

their shared artistic tastes and cultural ideals, particularly a

reverence or classical Greece, which was seen as a Golden Age.

c: Garden scene,

p, h

g b, ,

1 bc 1 -

ad, uf s,

p (, . 65)

1. c Kk, The

Forum at Pompeii with

Vesuvius in the Background,

1841, , t

J. p g m,

l a (. 150)

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v illas , houses , and gardens

Roman aristocrats began constructing villas on the bay in the

second century bc. They retreated to these country estates,

especially in spring and summer, to enjoy their leisure (otium)and escape rom the pressures o business (negotium) in Rome.

Over the course o the next two centuries ruling amilies

arrived as well. Julius Caesar, the rst emperor Augustus, and

the emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero all had

residences on the bay. The presence o the imperial amilies

led to increasing numbers o villas or Romans eager to urther

their careers through access to the political elite in more relaxedsocial circumstances than was possible in Rome. So many villas

were built along the bay that the ancient historian Strabo said

they looked like one continuous city.

The sumptuous villas had extensive gardens and elegant

interior courtyards, some large enough to enclose a swimming

pool. Their aades were lined with colonnaded walkways

that oered the owners sweeping vistas o the sea, reached

by terraces leading down to private harbors or pleasure boats.The houses orming the dense city blocks o Pompeii and

Herculaneum turned a blank wall to the busy streets but

nonetheless shared certain eatures with the seaside villas.

In both, rooms were arranged around an atrium, which opened

to the sky to bring light to the interior and allow rainwater

to collect in a square basin (impluvium) set into the foor.

Some townspeople emulated eatures o villa architectureon a smaller scale, adding colonnaded (peristyle) courtyards,

baths, and interior gardens to their houses. According to

Vitruvius, writing in the rst century ad, the residences

o men o rank who, rom holding oces and magistracies,

have social obligations to their ellow citizens, [need] loty

entrance courts . . . . and most spacious atriums and peristyles . . . .

The rules on these points will hold not only or houses in

2. Two seaside villas,

p, 1 bc

1 ad, ,

m a

nz n (. 2)

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town, but also or those in

the country. . . (On Architecture

6.5.23).

The interiors o the

villas and many Pompeianhouses were lavishly deco-

rated, their walls sheathed

with colorul rescoes repre-

senting mythological scenes,

landscapes with views o the

bay and the villas lining its shores, and still lies celebrating

local delicacies rom the sea and the land made ertile by its

rich volcanic soil. Furnishings included marble tables (g. 3)and bronze lampstands, some even in the orm o statues.

In the grander houses, diners drank wine rom silver cups

decorated with olives (g. 4), vine leaves, or amous episodes

rom amiliar myths. Sculpted portraits o amily members

or ancestors, set up in reception areas, would have reminded

guests o the lineage o their hosts.

Gardens in and around the villas were accented withaviaries, ountains, and marble or bronze gurines that

spurted water into pools and watercourses. Houses in Pom-

peii were generally much smaller, but townspeople shared

the villa owners love o gardens. Even in modest houses, a

little garden might be tucked into the courtyard and embel-

lished with sculpture. I the spaces were too tight or actual

gardens, plants could be painted on the walls. The painted

3. Two table supports,

p, h g

c r, 1 -

ad, , uf

s, p (. 15)

4. Kantharos entwined with

olive branches, p,h m,

1 bc, ,

m a

nz n

(. 29)

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gardens visually expanded small ones, as in the so-called

House o the Golden Bracelet where rescoes o fowering

shrubs, birds, and ountains adjoined the real garden behind

the house (cover).

Garden sculpture oten represents rustic subjects,

including wild animals, or Dionysos, god o wine, with his

rowdy entourage o satyrs and maenads. Such works suggest

the wilder side o nature while taming it or the owners plea-

sure. Portraits o Greek thinkers and writers were also set up

in gardens, which, like libraries, were places or contemplation

and learning echoes o the pastoral setting o Platos Academy,

depicted in a mosaic rom a house in Pompeii that shows

Plato surrounded by philosophers at his school in a groveoutside Athens (g. 5).

legacy o greece

The region around the Bay o Naples had been colonized by

Greeks as early as the eighth century bc. The city o Neapolis

(modern Naples) was ounded around 600bc and did not

become a Roman municipality until 89bc. Like other cities

around the bay, it still retained its Greek character ater being

absorbed into the Roman sphere. The Greek favor was evident

even in the streets where some Romans sported Greek dress

rather than the togas worn in Rome.

The Roman conquest o Greece in 146bc spurred a

ascination with the countrys illustrious past as well as the

looting o masterpieces o Greek art, which victorious Roman

generals brought back to Italy to adorn public and privatespaces at home. The reverence or Greece, viewed as the

repository o culture, beauty, and

wisdom, culminated in the emperor

Augustus intent to revive during his

reign (27bcad14) the glories o

ancient Athens under the leadership

o Pericles in the th century bc. In

the words o the poet Horace, Captive

Greece took captive her savage con-

queror and brought civilization to the

rustic Latins.

Greek infuence pervaded the

decor o the villas around the Bay o

Naples and the houses o the elite in

5. Platos Academy, p-

, v t. s

s, 1

bc 1 ad,

, m a- nz n

(. 95)

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Pompeii and Herculaneum. For their owners, knowledge o

Greek culture was a status symbol and mark o renement

that was refected in the works o art they acquired. A portrait

o Homer (g. 6) or relies depicting episodes rom the Trojan

War conveyed their appreciation o Greek history. Busts o the

ourth-century bc playwright Menander suggested their enthu-

siasm or Athenian theater; and likenesses o the Greek philos-

opher Epicurus, who believed that pleasure is inherently good

and leads to happiness, attested to their amiliarity with his

hedonistic teachings.

Dining rooms or triclinia so called because they con-

tained three couches on which diners reclined while eat-

ing were oten painted with scenes rom Greek mythology.Excavations at the site o Moregine, south o Pompeii, have

uncovered an intriguing building complex, perhaps a villa,

perhaps an inn or the headquarters o a business. Frescoed on

the walls o one o its dining rooms are images o the god

Apollo, patron o the liberal arts, fanked by the muses (g. 7).

Their presence would have reminded guests o the pleasures

o intellectual and creative conversation, the ideal at any

Roman banquet.

Many Romans living near the Bay o Naples were avid

art collectors who prized copies ater Greek old masters.

So many versions oThe Three Graces (no. 110) survive that

they must stem rom a amous prototype, now lost. The

portrait o an athlete rom the Villa dei Papiri near Hercula-

neum (g. 8) echoes a ourth-century bc sculpture by Lysip-

pos, while the statue o a youth rom a Po