Fresque; Villa Roma (romaine; haut-empire)Musée de la Romanité
This fresco, painted in the years 30–40 CE, demonstrates the assimilation of Roman customs in the region and the adaptation of the housing to this new way of life. It was unearthed in domus 10 (house 10) of the Villa Roma residential area, located near the Augusteum.
The most lavish houses, with painted plaster and mosaic decorations, were located at the bottom of the hill as there was more space available here. Domus 10 was built during the Roman Republic and went through several changes, including a reconstruction between 30 CE and 100 CE.
The fresco, which is incomplete, is divided into three parts: a parapet, a frieze with grotesque scenes (arrangements of arabesques with garlands and fantastic figures), and a red monochromatic upper part with a central painting representing a hero. It belongs to the Third Pompeian Style and already prefigures the Fourth Style.
The red ochre wall is punctuated by very thin candelabra shafts decorated with a few leaves and by a green and white fillet. A painting and still life vignettes were in the center, of which only one was preserved, depicting two apples.
A painting adorns the central panel. It portrays a seated, naked hunter holding a spear. The inclusion of monuments in the background was common in paintings of the Fourth Pompeian Style. In this case it could refer to the myth of Hippolytus resting near a shrine to Diana.
The frieze imitates a bucolic landscape, with shrubs and a line of soil. Several sketches with grotesque characters stand out against the black background, parodying Homer epic episodes. This type of scene can be found in Pompeii, a mark of the knowledge of the spectators.
A woman wearing a white tunic clings to a semi-circular structure. She could be Andromeda, a princess chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster, and narrowly saved by Perseus.
In keeping with the tradition of Hellenistic caricatures, several grotesque creatures are engaged in activities that parody the banquet and mythology: a crowned man pursues a woman, watched by a faun, another couple are having sex, and a person is playing the trumpet.
The episode sketched here is that of Ajax abducting Cassandra. A priestess dedicated to the god Apollo, she had taken refuge in the temple of Athena and had clung to the Palladion, the sacred statue of the goddess. Ajax dragged her away and raped her.
Several layers are required to paint a fresco: a preparatory layer to level the surface, a transition layer on which the sketch is drawn, and the final layer on which the painting is done. Lastly, the fresco is polished to make it shine.
The fresco is completed while the plaster is fresh, for about six hours. A chemical reaction called carbonation occurs when the plaster dries. Lime combines with carbon dioxide in the air, releasing limestone in which the pigments are fixed and are preserved.
A fresco is a team effort. Under the direction of the master crafter, the lime kiln worker prepares the mortar, which is applied to the wall by an assistant. The pictor parietarius (wall painter) paints simple backgrounds and patterns, while the pictor imaginarius (painter of images) paints complex patterns.
The detachment process allows the fresco to be separated from the wall and kept elsewhere. The fresco gets divided into several panels, each covered with two canvases soaked in glue and detached with its mortar. The fresco is then transferred to a new support and the canvases are removed.
Thanks to this technique, the frescoes can be preserved in good conditions and exhibited in museums.
Musée de la Romanité de Nîmes - https://museedelaromanite.fr/
Realization: Ville de Nîmes - Musée de la Romanité
Iconography: © Ville de Nîmes - Musée de la Romanité
Illustrations © Opixido (https://opixido.com/), Ville de Nîmes - Musée de la Romanité
