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Painting in ancient Rome

Punishment of Ixion, House of the Vettii, Pompeii

Painting in ancient Rome is a rather poorly understood aspect of Roman art, as there are few survivals, which are mostly wall-paintings from Pompeii, Herculaneum and other sites buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, where many decorative wall paintings were preserved under the ashes and hardened lava. A smaller number of paintings survive from other areas, including Rome itself.

From the study of surviving paintings it has been possible to form a panorama of the artistic life of Ancient Rome between the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire. Nevertheless, this body of works is only a tiny fraction of the great quantity of painting produced in the Roman Empire during its long history, and there is a lack of significant remains from earlier and later periods, particularly in techniques other than fresco and from Romanized regions besides Campania.[1]

Rome was always an avid consumer and producer of art. Originally under Etruscan rule, the Romans developed an art that was largely indebted to them, which was itself heavily influenced by archaic Greek art. As Roman power grew it came into contact with Hellenistic Greek culture, and began to assimilate its principles into all artistic fields, including painting. Greek paintings were highly coveted luxuries and enormous quantities were imported during the conquest of Greek cultural areas, and it became customary to copy famous works and to vary on Greek techniques and subjects.

Much of what is known about Greek painting is owed to Rome, since hardly any original Greek paintings survive from any era, except for vase painting. Were it not for the preservation of Pompeii and Herculaneum in fairly good condition, whose murals are numerous and of great quality, the contemporary idea of the painting of both Ancient Greece and Rome would be based almost solely on literary descriptions.[2]

Roman painting had a significant influence on the evolution of Western painting. Its traditions continued into Paleochristian Byzantine, and Romanesque art. Much later on, renewed interest in emulating Classical painting provided an impetus for the art of the Renaissance, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism.[3][4] Roman painting has been an active area of scholarly research for centuries, as archeological excavations have continued to uncover new artworks.[5]

  1. ^ Gardner, Helen; Kleiner, Fred S. & Mamiya, Christin J. Gardner's art through the ages: the Western perspective. Cengage Learning, 2005. Volume 1. pp. 178-185
  2. ^ Ling, Roger. Roman painting. Cambridge University Press, 1991. pp. 5-8
  3. ^ Rosenblum, Robert. Transformations in late eighteenth century art. Princeton University Press, 1970. pp. 3-49
  4. ^ Kitzinger, Ernst. The Arts as Aspects of a Renaissance: Rome and Italy. In Benson, Robert L.; Constable, Giles & Lanham, Carol Dana. Renaissance and renewal in the twelfth century. Volume 26 de Medieval Academy reprints for teaching da Mass Medieval Academy of America Cambridge. University of Toronto Press, 1991. pp. 637-669
  5. ^ Boardman, John; Griffin, Jasper & Murray, Oswyn. The Oxford history of the Roman world. Oxford University Press, 2001. pp. 416-447
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