MWW Artwork of the Day (3/30/16) Early Imperial Period (Roman, 27 BCE-117 CE) Portrait of Terentius Neo and his Wife (c. 45-79 CE) Fresco from their house, Region VII, Pompeii Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples
Pliny complained of the declining state of Roman portrait art, “The painting of portraits which used to transmit through the ages the accurate likenesses of people, has entirely gone out … Indolence has destroyed the arts.”
In Greece and Rome, wall painting was not considered as high art. The most prestigious form of art besides sculpture was panel painting, i.e. tempera or encaustic painting on wooden panels. Unfortunately, since wood is a perishable material, only a very few examples of such paintings have survived, namely the Severan Tondo from c. 200 CE, a very routine official portrait from some provincial government office, and the well-known Fayum mummy portraits, all from Roman Egypt, and almost certainly not of the highest contemporary quality. The portraits were attached to burial mummies at the face, from which almost all have now been detached. They usually depict a single person, showing the head, or head and upper chest, viewed frontally. The background is always monochrome, sometimes with decorative elements.[20] In terms of artistic tradition, the images clearly derive more from Greco-Roman traditions than Egyptian ones. They are remarkably realistic, though variable in artistic quality, and may indicate the similar art which was widespread elsewhere but did not survive. A few portraits painted on glass and medals from the later empire have survived, as have coin portraits, some of which are considered very realistic as well.
(Wikipedia extracts)
For more Pompeii frescos, visit this MWW Special Collection: * MWW Ancient/Medieval Art Gallery
Reconstruction of the east pediment of the Parthenon according to drawing by Karl Schwerzek (1896).
Athena has just emerged from Zeus’s skull fully armed and equipped. She is looking at him. The King of the Gods is looking back at her amazed and surprised. Nike is intending to put a wreath on the head of a newborn goddess. On the right, Hephaestus can be seen holding an axe with which he split Zeus’s skull.
Art of the Day: Sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysus
The triumphal march of Dionysus (or Bacchus, as he was generally known in Rome) through the lands of India was equated in Roman thought with the triumph of the deceased over death. At the left, Dionysus rides in a chariot pulled by panthers. Preceding him is a procession of his followers and exotic animals, including lions, elephants, and even a giraffe. A bird’s nest is concealed in the tree at the far right; on the same tree a snake is pursuing a lizard. Many of the animals depicted had special significance in the mystery cult of Dionysus Sabazius. On the lid is the birth of Dionysus and his reception by nymphs, shown between satyr heads (on the ends), one smiling and one frowning. The enormous attention to detail on this sarcophagus exemplifies the talents of the best Roman relief carvers. Learn more about this object in our art site: http://bit.ly/2Cebfif
The so-called Psyche di Capua (actually a Venus), is a statue found in 1726 in the Campano amphitheater in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, where it decorated the front porch of the summa cavea together with other sculptures.
Silver skillet, with a highly decorated handle and some gilding. The bowl is deep, with slightly incurving walls forming a constriction in the line of the profile below the small everted rim.
The general theme of the decoration is the traditional one of acanthus scrolls and flowers, with some elements picked out by gilding. The central area of the handle carries the inscription MATR FAB / DVBIT in bold, neat lettering. The outlines of the letters are filled with a roughened surface to provide a key for the heavy gilding, perhaps more accurately termed ‘gold inlay’, which survives on the V, B and T of 'DVBIT’.
The skillet, part of the Backworth Hoard, bears a votive inscription dedicated to the Mother-Goddesses by a Fab(ius) Dubit(atus?).
The history of this hoard is obscure. We know that it was found around 1811, but not where it was found. The hoard was said to have included about 280 coins, but all but one of these, and probably other objects, were dispersed before The British Museum was able to acquire what was left of the treasure in 1850. The surviving coin is a denarius of Antoninus Pius (reigned AD 138-161) issued in AD 139.
The treasure was probably a votive deposit at a shrine of the Mother-goddesses near the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall.
Obsessed with the story of Omphale and Hercules. He’s made to wear one of her outfits and carry a spinning needle while Omphale dons all his attributes and dominates him like a true girlboss/malewife duo
Name a more iconic couple
He looks absolutely enchanting in this slutty Chiton and little headdress. Notice the color residue, revealing it to have been a lovely, bright red color. King and queen shit only
Limestone statue of a bearded man wearing a wreath and carrying votive offerings. Artist unknown; ca. 475-450 BCE. From Cyprus; now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Ancient Egyptian block statue (gabbro with traces of pigment) of Neskhemenyu, son of Kapefha. Artist unknown; 4th cent. BCE (early Ptolemaic period). From a cache at the Temple of Amun, Thebes; now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Tetradrachm of the polisof Rhegion (present-day Reggio Calabria) in Bruttium, south Italy. On the obverse, a lion’s head; on the reverse, the head of Apollo, crowned with laurel. Artist unknown; minted between 410 and 387 BCE. Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com
