Four Styles of Roman Wall Painting and Mosaics

A. Mau, a German scholar, established four distinct styles of Roman wall painting at the sites of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Boscoreal, and other smaller sites covered with ash from the volcanic eruption at Mount Vesuvius. The styles begin with one direction, shift completely, and end on a more combined technique. Style I, known as incrustation, began approximately during the second century b.c. This style features the strong influence of the Hellenistic Greek period in its surface decoration. At the Samnite House at Herculaneum, walls are painted as faux marble slabs. This is very typical of the influence of Hellenistic Greece. There is a three fold division of a Roman wall during this time. The dado is at the bottom, the middle section imitates the stone slabs, and the upper part features a cornice and frieze. The slabs are outlined with stucco. The wall surface is concrete covered with plaster to create the fresco. This style enhances the flatness of the wall, with panels that imitate masonry. These surfaces mock the stone veneers that may have been seen in more upper class homes. Many small rooms in this style appear to be busy and claustrophobic due to every surface being covered in bright color. Very different from Style I, Style II, also known as architectonic, focuses on the illusion of creating a three dimensional scene from a two dimensional space. Illusionistic and naturalistic, it is common to see scenes that are rich and lifelike, with strong use of chiaroscuro, and linear perspective. The faux marble is replaced by landscape scenes, though more so later in the period. Some scenes feature ritualistic events deriving form Hellenistic myths and theater. The Idyllic Landscape wall painting from Pompeii, c. 79 AD, features sacred buildings and figures. There is a depiction of the love of nature and of peace and reflection in these pieces; a strong sense of what idealistic life meant to the people at this time. This style, which originated