Frescoes of Pompeii: main subjects and styles

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

After archaeologists unearthed the ancient city of Pompeii, the world was able to see amazing works of art - sculptures, mosaics and frescoes created by ancient masters. Pompeii frescoes have been discovered in the homes of we althy residents.

A bit of history

The history of the city of Pompeii began in the 4th century BC. Then, on the site of modern Naples, at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, a settlement was founded, which eventually annexed several neighboring villages and became a whole city. The culture of the ancient Etruscan tribes formed the basis of their culture.

By the end of the 5th century, the Samnites captured the city of Pompeii, and in the 6th century it was considered part of the Roman Empire. The inhabitants of the city were required to serve in the Roman army, but were not en titled to public land. This caused the uprising.

But it was quickly suppressed, and Pompeii acquired the status of a Roman colony. So they lost their independence. But the citizens of the city did not even feel the change. The remaining 90 years before the volcanic eruption, they lived freely and securely on warm and fertile land. The city was actively developing before the tragedy.

Next to Pompeii stood the city of Herculaneum. Settled in this citymostly retired legionnaires and freed slaves. It was the frescoes of Pompeii and Herculaneum that were discovered by archaeologists in 1748.

Method of creating frescoes

Very often rich townspeople ordered artists to paint the walls in their homes. It was fashionable to call masters from the capital.

First, they carefully prepared the walls - applying plaster on them in several layers to level the surface (this work was done by slaves). The last layer of plaster was unusual - alabaster was added to it to make the surface shine.

Then the artist started painting, combining several types of paints:

• wax;
• encaustic;
• egg-based tempera.

The finished wall was rubbed with a protective wax layer so that the colors would not lose their brightness and fade over time. The task of the master was to preserve the work for a long time.

Painting styles

The plots of the frescoes of Pompeii are different, but thanks to them we managed to learn a lot about the ancient city and its inhabitants. After all, they depicted not only scenes from ancient fairy tales and legends, but also reflected the life and private life of the inhabitants.

German scientists proposed to divide all the frescoes of ancient Pompeii into 4 conditional styles:

• Inlaid - it is characterized by painting on the walls with a rough surface, imitating marble. Appeared under the influence of Hellenism - you can often find the plots of ancient Greek paintings.
• Architectural - image onaligned walls of architectural elements (cornices, columns) and landscapes, creating a sense of volume and perspective of space. People, complex compositions and scenes from mythology were often drawn in this style.
• Ornamental - based on flat ornamental frames, inside which pictures of simple rural life were drawn.
• Fantastic - images of people become dynamic, landscapes are fantastic, and the painted architectural elements are more like theatrical scenery that does not obey the existing laws of physics.

Subjects depicted on frescoes

In some houses, murals belonging to different time periods were found. Most of them belong to ancient Greek mythology. One of the best examples is the frescoes of the House of Mysteries.

It is located outside of Pompeii, on a hillside near the Gulf of Naples. Scientists suggest that his mistress was a priestess of Dionysus. At that time, this cult was banned by the Roman Senate. Perhaps this prompted her to settle not in the city itself, but in its suburbs.

This villa had about 60 rooms, one of them was the hall of Dionysus. The ritual of initiation into the mystery of Dionysus is painted on its walls. It features nine different characters, including the owner of the villa.

Not only the mansions of the rich were beautifully painted, but also the simple houses of middle-class residents. The house of the Vettii stands apart - it belonged to two former slaves who got rich and bought an old house. This is one of the most beautiful mansions.

Its walls are covered with bright, almost perfectly preserved frescoes. They are dominated by stories from the myths of ancient Greece. Here you can find the paintings "Dirka's Punishment", "Little Hercules Strangling the Snake", "Women Tearing Pantheus".

Mysteries of the frescoes of Pompeii

The people of Pompeii were famous for playing pranks and riddles. It even formed the basis of some of the paintings on the walls of their houses. In one of the discovered houses, the walls are painted in such a way that it seems as if the characters of the frescoes are standing right in the room.

One of these frescoes of Pompeii in the photo.

Surprisingly, all the frescoes have been excellently preserved to this day. Do not lose sight of the fact that the ashes, which partly "mothballed" them for centuries, became the reason for this. But in almost two thousand years, the colors have not even faded.

It is generally believed that some special secret of technology, known only to ancient masters, provided them with such safety. Most likely, the paints were applied not quite according to the usual method, still unknown to anyone.