What sort of artwork did they have and why was it popular?
Art was everywhere in Ancient Pompeii and it was quite normal, due to their culture and beliefs, to have very erotic artwork, especially in brothels and suburban baths, but even some household objects had a sexual theme to them. There are many theories as to why sexuality was a popular theme to art, but one is theory is that the Pompeians believed that having these pieces of art around would help with fertility and enjoyable sex.
Pompeian art went through four different popular styles but throughout all of them, the colour red was almost always a popular colour or theme to be used.
Pompeian art went through four different popular styles but throughout all of them, the colour red was almost always a popular colour or theme to be used.
The first style which was also known as structural or masonry style (200BC-80BC)
and is made up of coloured blocks meant to resemble marble, is quite likely to
have originated from Greece (As was most other Roman artwork inspired by). It is easy to recognize the first style because of the accompanied white pillars and wooden beams in yellow. Archaeologists say that the Ancient Roman civilisation used bright colours to show off their wealth to others.
and is made up of coloured blocks meant to resemble marble, is quite likely to
have originated from Greece (As was most other Roman artwork inspired by). It is easy to recognize the first style because of the accompanied white pillars and wooden beams in yellow. Archaeologists say that the Ancient Roman civilisation used bright colours to show off their wealth to others.
The second style can be known as 'illusionism' and was very popular in the 1st century BC and although the first style is incorporated in many of the early works, it slowly faded out as time went on. The second style is all about making things look realistic and 3D, pillars were popularly featured in many artworks as you can see to your right.
Something that developed with the second style was that the artwork was placed half way into the wall so that it gave the effect of an image in a window, this was popular because Roman houses tended to be dark and windowless so by using this way of art in a household, you were brightening up the room.
Something that developed with the second style was that the artwork was placed half way into the wall so that it gave the effect of an image in a window, this was popular because Roman houses tended to be dark and windowless so by using this way of art in a household, you were brightening up the room.
The third style which was popular around 20-10BC was known as the 'ornate style' and was quite elegant but simple at the same time. It was intended to have a colourful presence as well as being ornamental. Symmetry was quite important in this style, they're divided into thirds, fourths or fifths vertically and would be divided up by geometric bases, slender columns of foliage and other features. The Egyptian culture was very interesting to the Roman people at this time and so there would be some elements resembling their style of art such as people with bird heads.
The fourth style (60-79AD) which was known as the 'illusionistic' or 'architectural' style was aimed to be less ornamental than style three but still includes the divisions, if you review all the styles, you would find that dividing the whole artwork into sections is a recurring theme (scroll up and take a look). Architecture was largely themed and all styles except style 1 try to make everything look as realistic as possible, everything was either mathematically measured and drawn out or they would have drawn objects and people from life. The fourth style tends to use warmer colours and roman mythological figures are featured.[1]
How is this artwork unique evidence? How is it significant?
We have identified that there were four different art styles in Pompeii and around what time those were popular which allows us to interpret their art and see what these people were interested in at that time. Their artwork shows political statements such as what was acceptable and the type of people they followed. It also shows their likes and dislikes - the Ancient Romans obviously enjoyed great comfort with spacious living areas, a lot of light and grace to surround them and anything that isn't painted we can assume they didn't like as it was not important enough to paint. Religion is themed quite heavily in most artworks (not just paintings but statues and mosaics too) which is seen through the presence of gods and mythological figures included in many artworks. It was by looking at the Pompeians' artwork that the archaeologists would've been able to figure out when the eruption of Vesuvius happened and other important events such as the earthquake which occurred in February 62AD.
What does it tell us about Ancient Roman Life?
Artwork is quite important to understanding this ancient civilization because it shows us so many different aspects of their life. We know that roman citizens in the first century loved to live on the comfortable side of life as best they could, they even dedicated an entire city for a comfortable getaway resort for the wealthy (Herculaneum). This is shown through their light and spacious paintings of rooms with giant pillars and expensive clothing that the women wear. Another thing that is shown around both cities too is erotic art, and its not like the Ancient Romans were discreet about it either - erotic art was everywhere - which shows us that these people viewed sexual activities as a regular and popular thing to do.
It was very natural to have erotic art featured on the walls of brothels which would picture many different ways to have sex such as threesomes.
People who study this say that having the erotic art there may have been to help keep their customers happy and motivate them to try new things.[2] Archaeologists suppose that these sexual ideas have a lot to do with their religious beliefs because when Rome changed their religion to Christianity suddenly whores and sexual activities were frowned upon and it was not deemed acceptable to have such pornographic artwork everywhere. But we must remember that Pompeii and Herculaneum did not survive to see the days of Christianity which gives us the opportunity to see exactly what an Ancient Roman civilization was like and their truly interesting and unique artwork.
People who study this say that having the erotic art there may have been to help keep their customers happy and motivate them to try new things.[2] Archaeologists suppose that these sexual ideas have a lot to do with their religious beliefs because when Rome changed their religion to Christianity suddenly whores and sexual activities were frowned upon and it was not deemed acceptable to have such pornographic artwork everywhere. But we must remember that Pompeii and Herculaneum did not survive to see the days of Christianity which gives us the opportunity to see exactly what an Ancient Roman civilization was like and their truly interesting and unique artwork.
REFERENCES
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeian_Styles
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_art_in_Pompeii_and_Herculaneum
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeian_Styles
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_art_in_Pompeii_and_Herculaneum