Roman Art Mosaic

8/6/2019 Roman Art Mosaic

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Roman Art:

Mosaic and Wall Paintings

Leaving Certificate Classical Studies

Mr John Smith Coolmine Community School


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They painted on their walls to brighten up andenliven rooms that were often dark and windowless

Wall frescos also disguised the poor terrocattaplaster that the original wall of the room was madeoff

Those who had the financial means were alsoinclined to beautify their villas or Domus withbrightly coloured paintings.


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Firstly a few coats of mortar was applied to the wall,this was a mixture of sand an lime

Next a layer or two of sand and marble was appliedto the wall to make it smoother

Then the artist painted background scenes and lateron added people to the painting, when the wall was

still wet

Finally a smooth gloss of wax was applied to thewall to give it a shine and preserve it (as well as

enhance the painting on the wall)


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Style one comprised of painted blocks on a wall to look like marble. Betweenthese blocks the artist painted horizontal and vertical cornice bands to give thepainting a sense of perspective,(no examples in Wheeler)

Style two is characterised by its focus on realism. The buildings are given 3-D,the perspective makes it look as if the painting recedes or goes back endlessly.The garden scene of Livia is a good example. There is very efficient use made ofthe wall space.

In Style three the scene is less realistic more impressionistic, (loose brushstrokes etc.) There is less emphasis on perspective. Painted architectural featuressuch as columns tended to be thin and windy rather than sturdy and realistic.

See offering to a seated Dionysius P.195 this scene is highly impressionistic.Peoples faces are barely recognisable either in this style

In style four there a return of real perspective or 3D - the architecture is alsorealistic. There is also more elaborate us of colour i.e. it is rich. We haveexamples also of fantasy in this style, e.g. the theatre scene at Herculaneum


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A typical wall painting from the Roman Villas we havestudied are divided into three parts - tripartite

At the bottom - a dado rail was painted, this markedthe beginning of the painting

The middle section of the painting was the mostimportant and contained the main theme or scene

At the top a cornice architrave was painted or adecorative painted pediment

In this way The Romans defined the spaces andsections of the wall painting


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Landscape garden of Livia P. 185 Pastoral countryside, (Shepherd before a shrine P.198)

Harbour seascape, (Harbour at Stabiae P.199) Still life (House of Julia Felix P.202) Fantasy (Theatre scene at Herculaneum P.203) Mythological/religious Offering to a seated Dionysius or

Trojan Horse P.195

Architectural P.184 Historical (Riots outside the amphitheatre at Pompeii P.119)


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See Illustration 96, P.119 This is a wall painting from a villa at

Herculaneum

It depicts the riots in and around theamphitheatre at Pompeii in AD 59

Note the painted awning coveringthe amphitheatre

The perspective, or three-dimensionis all wrong

The artist more concerned withrecording the history of the eventrather than engross in artistic finesse


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Illustrations 163, 164, 165 Domestic landscapes with huts

and people

There was the pleasant fashion ofpainting walls with pictures ofcountry houses and porticos,landscape gardens, groves, hills, fishponds, canals, rivers, coasts, withsketches of people going for a strollor sailing and approaching countryhouses on asses, or on carriages, andfishing or fowling or hunting orgathering the vintage P. 185

Illustrations 163-165 These late Republic - early

Empire landscape paintings

are a likened to the type oflandscape paintings we seeduring the RomanticMovement, (late 18th early19th century AD)

This conscious cult ofnature Is in harmony withthe spirit of the Augustanperiod, (27BC-14 AD)


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P. 185 Illustration 166 A master piece of Roman

Landscape painting

Gentle and sombre woodland liebeyond a low garden paling

Note how the space in thepainting is divided: to give thepainting a sense of endlessdistance

Colours graduate between blueand green with birds among theleaves

The colours are Penetrating


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Wall painting from the house ofDioscuri at Pompeii before AD 79

Achilles has a gross and vigorousvisage, (face)

Perhaps Achilles is a portrayal ofsome ham actor from the stage

Achilles head was repainted The head could be that of the

patron himself

Note the mythological backgroundto the painting see my notes


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Bold use of colour and economy of detail give it great force

The Trojans pull the horsetowards the town

Their whole weight is beingconcentrated in rhythm intothe effort

The light focused on them is thefunctional centre of thepainting. The dimmer static,(standing) figures of the Trojanarmy in the background contrastsharply to figures pulling thehorse

On the right the legs of the horse is sturdily splayed forward as if to emphasise the strain

The spectators are linked by a loneemphatic figure who is runningtowards the horse, this figure helps tocoordinate the scene andconcentrate our eyes on it.

Cassandra on the left is lightlysketched, she is moving inwardtowards the centre from the centrefrom the battlement walls

The crowded scene is little morethan a sketch- the episode isvividly displayed and the leaningfigures on the foreground arestrikingly impressive


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Good solid landscapes which stand on their own merit

Illustration 182-figures sit and stroll in aromantic landscape with trees and buildingsin the background

This scene is consciously romantic It brings first century Pompeii close to 18th

century England

These paintings are described as sacro-idyllic

Scenes are pastoral and peaceful and reflectthe interest that the Romans had inlandscape painting

Illustration 182 is Black and white


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This is a wall painting of apastoral scene in the Romantic

style of later centuries

Painted before AD 79 The landscape is rugged in the

background

In the fore ground is a countryshrine a shepherd grazes his

goats

This bucolic scene is peacefuland harmonious


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Wall painting of houses at noonfrom Pompeii 79 AD

The cluster of houses are bathed instrong light with black shadow

Black and white figures aresketched vigorously here andthere in the foreground

It is a modest masterpiece ofimpressionism which might hold

its place in a modern setting The strong contrast of light and

shade are a masterpiece ofImpressionism


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A wall painting of a harbour scene atStabiae

The busy life of the harbour is shownwith striking force and with greateconomy of line

Vivid but artistically less striking of atownscape of a port from Naples

We are shown quays, wharves andshipping, adjacent ware houses, markethalls and monuments..

Many of the columns carry statues, The artist and patron all display a

lively interest in the daily scene


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Still life from HerculaneumKingfisher, vase, trident and seafish

Still life wall painting from thehouse of Julia Felix (AD 79)

Thrushes, eggs and domesticutensils

Still life with fruit bowel andamphora

Note excellent use of lines,shadows, colour and light.

Also realism (everyday life) afeature of the 4th Pompeian style


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Fantastically elaborate architectural detail isprobably derived from a theatre

fantastic baroque of the 4th style These painting were unbelievably elaborate and

were designed to lighten and enlarge rooms of

the sophisticated townhouse

A porch is sustained by gilded columns andcarry peagsi, dolphin, hippocampus and adrama mask

Beyond recede interior views loaded withornament and with a sufficient scene ofperspective both in line and colour to suggestendless distance

This painting drew its inspiration from thetheatre

Resembles the Scaenae frons of a theatre stage


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Found in the house of Faun Depicts the battle of Issus,

Alexander against Darius 3rd 333BC

The mosaic is derived from apainting from Philoxenos or by

Aristeides

Pliny says Aristeides was one of thefirst painters to paint the soul and

give expression to the affections of

man and his emotions

This battle scene is Tumultuous, i.e.emphasising the chaos and din ofbattle: the drama is rendered vividly.

There is an attempt to distinguishthe personalities involved

The little tesserae sensitively showsus how the picture moves or changes

-the light and shade mixes with the

dun colours and as a result there isa convincing reproduction of the lost

original, (painting)


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These mosaics are to be found atHadrians great palace at TivoliAD 130

A lion attacks a bull, the action islively

Below is a more peaceful pastoralscene with goat and a goatherd

Both mosaics are set in aconvincing rugged landscape

The depiction of these countryscenes is graceful and realistic

They are evidence of the Romansinterest in landscape art.


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Landscape Nilotic mosaics Niloticmeans from the area around the riverNile.

Hippopotamus, crocodile and ducks allshow us the influence of the cityAlexandria , (in Egypt) on Roman art

Lower mosaic from a Roman Villa atZliten around 200 AD: horses andcattle are depicted trashing corn

Small birds in a nest Such mosaics panels would have been

made in a skilled workshop and set inlocally made floors

Scenes depict country life and activitytheme is rural and bucolic


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Firstly the wall or floor was cleaned and made smooth Secondly the artist drew the scene on the floor or wall

i.e. made out a sketch of the scene

Thirdly the artist carefully placed the small one inchmarble tessarae onto the sketch. The small square pieceswere glued on to the coloured sketch

The mosaic was left to set and dry Finally the mosaic (when dry) was once more cleaned,and swept. A gloss or varnish may also have been

applied to give it a shine and protect the mosaic.

Roman Art Mosaic

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