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

• 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 StylesThe First Style

• 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 RomeNote 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.