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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
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
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