The collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) constitutes a true compendium of Roman age painting, documented in the Vesuvian area between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D.
Through the items kept in the museum, it is possible to retrace styles, techniques and themes according to a criterion that favours as much as possible the reconstruction of the original contexts, essentially linked to private dwellings, today not always readable on site.
Coppia in volo
Pompei, Casa dei Dioscuri VI 9, 6-7 (62-79 d.C.)
The magnificent figure of a couple flying against a cerulean background adorned the southern wall of the tablinum of the dwelling. The satyr and the maenad, creatures of the Dionysian world, are well distinguished by the colour of the complexion that accentuates the volumes of their bodies: the darker satyr is wrapping his arm around the hip of the candid Maenad and guides her in a twisting movement that confers a sense of transcendence and lightness to the whole scene. The Maenad, who carries the Dionysian thyrsus on the left, in turn hovers in the air almost hinting at a dance step.
Busto di fanciulla
Stabiae (55-79 d.C.)
The fresco, only a fragment of which remains, depicts the delicate figure of a girl, dressed in soft drapery and with her hair tied up at the nape of her neck. The gaze is turned downwards, her face rapt, probably intent on observing an object she is holding in her hands. She may be an offeror.
Enea ferito
Pompei, Casa di Sirico, VII 1,25 (45-79 d.C.)
A unique testimony of surgical practice in the ancient world, this fresco refers to the myth of Aeneas, the hero fleeing Troy who landed on the shores of Lazio to give life to a new civilization. Aeneas is depicted standing and leaning both on the long spear and on little Ascanio, who hides his face in tears. The injured leg is entrusted to the care of a doctor, who tries to extract the arrowhead from the thigh with the help of surgical forceps. A loving Aphrodite, his divine mother, also intervenes to help the hero, carrying medicinal herbs in her left hand.
Perseo e Andromeda
Pompei, Casa della Saffo (55-79 d.C.)
The story of Perseus and Andromeda is one the favourite subjects of ancient literature and art, widely documented in the sites of the Vesuvian area, where it recurs in various houses (domus) in Pompeii, such as the House of the Dioscuri, the House of coloured capitals and the House of the Prince of Montenegro, as well as in the Gymnasium of Herculaneum. The fresco depicted here differs from the other known examples as it does not highlight the freeing of Andromeda, but illustrates a more intimate and sober scene, where the two protagonists sit on the rocks by a stream. Perseus raises Medusa’s head and does so while standing behind Andromeda, so that the girl can only see the reflection on the surface of the water without being petrified.
Amorino con scarpe
Stabiae, Villa di Arianna (10-45 d.C.)
Delicate flying cherub, fluctuating and holding a shoe in each hand. It was part of the very rich decorative apparatus of the so-called Villa di Arianna found on the site of the ancient Stabiae, where excavation work started in 1757.
L’attore re
Ercolano, Palestra, Insula Orientalis II 4,19 (30-40 d.C.)
The fresco, which was found during excavation works in the eighteenth-century (1761), represents a scene from a theatrical setting. On the left, an actor dressed as a king, holding a sceptre, sword and wearing golden shoes, sits on the diphoros, a stool without backrest. To his right, a male figure, probably another actor, is about to change his robe. Under their gaze, a kneeling girl is intent on writing something, perhaps an inscription, under the picture that represents a theatrical mask of the types used in tragedies. It is probably the inscription on a votive picture.
Bacco e il Vesuvio
Pompei, Casa del Centenario, IX 8,3-6 (68-79 d.C.)
The fresco comes from the lararium of the house, a place dedicated to the cult of household deities, where the representations of Dionysus / Bacchus were common and were an auspice of fertility and fruitfulness. In this example, the god is depicted crowned with vine leaves and covered with berries, as if to evoke a bunch of grapes. The attributes of the Dionysian cult complete his figure: the thyrsus, that is the long stick, and the kantharos from which a panther, an animal sacred to Dionysus, is drinking. The scene is dominated by a mountain entirely covered with rows of vines, in which many have chosen to recognize a representation of the Vesuvius before the eruption in 79 AD.
Akte o Peliade (volto di fanciulla)
Ercolano (20-10 a.C.)
The fragment of the fresco represents the face of a woman with delicate features: the head, encircled by an olive tree crown, is slightly inclined to the right, and the wavy hair is divided by a central parting and tied back; gold earrings hang from the lobes. The fragment may be part of a larger scene, known from the sources and from another Pompeian fresco, which depicts the episode of Jason’s arrival at the court of King Pelias in Iolco, Thessaly, during a religious ceremony. The female figure may therefore be one of the king’s daughters who were present at the arrival of the hero.
Ares e Afrodite
Pompei, Casa delle Nozze di Ercole (49-79 d.C.)
Another theme dear to Roman painting is that of the loves of Aphrodite and Ares, of which there are about thirty replicas just in Pompeii. In this example, a jewelled Aphrodite is placed at the centre of the scene: she is partly laying down on the body of her beloved and holds his long spear in her left hand. Ares, characterized by the darker colour of the skin as is the case for most male figures in Roman painting, is sitting behind the goddess and lifts the cerulean cloak that reveals her nakedness. The scene is completed by two cherubs, one flying and the other crouching at Aphrodite’s feet, playing with Ares’ weapons.
Perseo e Andromeda
Pompei, Casa dei Dioscuri VI 9,6-7 (62-79 d.C.)
In Greek mythology, Andromeda, who was the daughter of the king of Ethiopia, Cepheus, and of Cassiopeia, had been chained to a rock and exposed to the waves to atone for her mother’s pride, who was guilty of having declared herself the most beautiful of all the Nereids, the sea nymphs dear to Poseidon. On his way back from the victorious expedition against the Gorgon Medusa, Perseo saw her and immediately fell in love with her; he saved her after asking Cepheus for her hand. The fresco immortalizes the moment of Andromeda’s liberation in an almost unreal and barely hinted setting: the background is limited to a few bare rocks and the chain hanging from Andromeda’s wrist is the only reminder of her torture. The head that hangs from the sword at the side of the hero, instead, is the reference to Perseus’ feat against Medusa.
Terentius Neo e la moglie
Pompei, Casa di Terentius Neo, VII 2,6 (55-79 d.C.)
The portrait, often idealized, is a very popular genre of Roman painting. In this case, two spouses are depicted, the baker Terentius Neo, and his wife. In spite of the somewhat coarse facial features, especially in the case of the man, the two are represented in a solemn manner, with rich clothes, jewels and writing instruments: wax tablets and styluses for her, a roll of papyrus for him. These attributes, which refer to an educated and affluent social class, were clearly added as a display of wealth and as a symbol of a social status to which spouses aspired.
Processione di falegnami
Pompei (I Sec. d.C.)
The scene falls within the genre of popular painting that drew inspiration from everyday life. Four characters are carrying a sort of canopy in the shape of a small temple on their shoulders. Inside, the wooden statue of the goddess Minerva can be seen on the far left; Daedalus, the mythical inventor of carpentry tools, is instead placed on the far right: at his feet is the corpse of Talos, grandson and pupil of Daedalus whom he killed out of envy. In the centre, there are three carpenters at work: two are intent on sawing a board - the invention of the saw was attributed to Talos - a third is lifting other boards. Each element therefore refers to the profession of woodworkers and carpenters, who, in Roman society were gathered under the guild of fabri tignarii.
