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Pompeii: a newly discovered
city
A journey exploring the old and great Roman Art…
The old city of Pompeii is among the most famous and most visited archeological sites of
the world. In the excavation area some parts of the forums, some great houses, interesting
temples and magnificent thermal baths are preserved.
The most appealing thing are certainly the famous villas, where is still possibile to enjoy
some beautiful paintings.
The eruption of a long-dormant volcano.
On August 24, 79 CE, Mont Vesuvius suddenly erupted. Many prosperous towns
around the Bay of Naples, among them the famous Pompeii, were buried in single
day. This catastrophe covered all the magnificent heritage of this cities. When
researchers first explored the buried sites in the 18th century, the ruins had been
undisturbed for about 1700 years.
Thanks to the ruins,
we have been able to
make a reconstruction
of the art and the
lifestyle of the roman
people during the Late
Republic and Early
Empire.
But
the
Romans were not the
only people to settle at
Pompeii,
also
Etruscans, Oscans and
Samnities left their
trace in this city.
These
civilizations
made
Pompeii
a
prosperous and rich
town, expanding the
original settlement and
giving a great shape to
the city center.
The population had grown between 10.000 and 20.000 when, in February 62
C.E., a violent earthquake accompanied by a new eruption shook the city, causing
a big damage.
But the end for the cities and citizens arrived because of the castastrophic
eruption in 79 C.E…
THE MOSAIC
The art of mosaics became one of the most typical and fortunate of the Roman
world. The mosaics made with small pieces of egual dimension taken from
coloured stones and marbles (opus tessellatum), and put in a bed of concrete
were already known in the greek world after Alexander's conquests.
The mosaic, or at least, its painted part, was seen as a carpet inserted in the
middle of the floor, and the name that was given to this central pannel was the
''emblem''. It could also be put in front of a door or on the walls.
In Pompeii it was tought that the floor was a unitary space that had to be enterely
covered by a mosaic. It would look like a carpet. This formula is particularly
visible in the Samnities houses built in Pompeii and Ercolano during the Second
century. C.E.
The small pieces could be of different dimensions, and more they were small
more the painting was precise, especially in polychrome mosaics. Naturally the
mosaic cost varied on basis of the cards dimension. The smaller pieces were only
used in rich houses, where as the larger ones were used in gardens and shops
less luxurious than the first, but not less important.
THE FOUR STYLES OF ROMAN
PAINTING
In the various villas of the city of
Pompeii it is possible to find some great
pictures that belong to different periods
and styles, for this reason the arthistorian August Mau made a schematic
division. He defined the first, the second,
the third and the fourth style.
The first style begins about the III century CE and ended about the beginning of
I century. It's also called 'structural style' because it looks like the walls made in 'opus
quadratum' or made of marble sheets.
The second style began to
diffuse at the beginning of
the First century and it ends
in the II century. This type
of wall decoration is also
called 'architectonic' because
it depicts buildings of which
it gives a perspective vision.
These
realizations
are
reproduced pictorially and
not with the use of plaster.
The third style spreaded over from 20's until 50's D.C. It's also defined 'ornamental',
because it occupates the surface both vertically and horizontally through the use of
vegetable and architectural elements. At the center of these elements splendid
illustrated panels and decorative motifs are realized.
The fourth style developed around the second half of the first century. It's also
named 'fantastic style' because it emphasizes the architectural of the second style and
it exalts the decorative one of the third style.
CREATED BY:
Giusy Gerli
Emanuele Sirica
Sara Casillo
Martina Aquino