Pompeii, the ancient city located at the foot of Mount Vesuvius and destroyed during the eruption of 79 A.D. still retains all its charm after 2,000 years despite being buried under a blanket of ash and lapilli for centuries.
After the discovery in 1748 of the first finds from the ancient city of Pompeii, excavations have not stopped. And they have unearthed a unique and spectacular heritage. Not only houses, statues and temples but also the wonderful frescoes that adorned the houses of Pompeii and have become famous and important all over the world.
These wall paintings, dating from the period between the 3rd century B.C. and 79 A.D., have been preserved through the covering of volcanic ash. That kept them intact for years and allowed thanks to the restoration work of expert archaeologists to bring them back to life despite the fact that centuries have passed.
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The technique used to create the frescoes
Even today one can still admire Pompeii’s famous frescoes with perfectly sharp colors and figures depicting mythological scenes, landscapes, portraits, animals and still lifes.
Many of these paintings, found in the most important domus, were intended to decorate the walls of the houses of Pompeii’s wealthy bourgeoisie, who wanted to display their refined taste and culture.
And they were made using a variety of techniques.
First, a lime plaster was applied to the walls, and then the artists would draw the outline of their figures on the wall with a charcoal. Next, they would apply fresh paint to the still damp wall, using natural pigments such as ochre, iron red, and charcoal black. In this way, the color blended with the plaster and became an integral part of the wall. This particular technique allowed the colors and figures to remain intact despite the eruption.
A special feature of the frescoes of Pompeii as well as Herculaneum is the use of the famous Pompeian red color, which is now known throughout the world.
Actually, it was later discovered that it is not red but yellow ochre, composed of iron oxide, which changed to red due to the very high temperatures of the gases that escaped during the eruption.
Most famous frescoes of Pompeii
Pompeii, as we know, is rich in frescoes, but there are only a few that have made the history of this ancient city and are known all over the world.
These include: paintings of the famous Villa of the Mysteries, Priapus of the House of the Vettii, the small paintings of the Lupanare of Victor and Africanus and the precious frescoes of the House of the Dioscuri. All are renowned and still preserve perfectly intact the details of 2000 years ago.
Paintings of the Villa of the Mysteries
Perhaps one of Pompeii’s best known and most appreciated paintings in the world is the famous fresco contained in the Villa of the Mysteries. A country residence located just outside the city walls. It became important not only for its vivid colors and perfect paintings, but also for its grandeur.
The fresco created in one of the rooms of the domus, in fact, covers as many as three sides of the room and is 3 meters high and 17 meters long. It is divided into 10 scenes, depicting an ancient initiation ceremony, featuring Dionysus with his bride Ariadne.
House of the Vettii and the painting of Priapus
The paintings in the house of the Vettii are also among the most important and admired. One in particular, the Priapus fresco present at the entrance to the house.
The man is depicted intent on weighing his enormous phallus on a scale plate. This fresco has gone around the world, and so many tourists come to Pompeii to admire it.
But not only that, the house is full of precious frescoes that are perfectly preserved, among them: the myth of Issione, Daedalus presenting the wooden cow, with which he will mate, to Pasiphae, sea horses and naval scenes.
In short, a truly precious house that is impossible to miss.
Erotic paintings of the Lupanare
Awe and wonder are felt when one stands before the erotic paintings reproduced in Pompeii’s famous lupanare.
These are a series of small paintings found in the corridor of the lupanare of Victor and Africanus. Precisely above the entrance doors of the prostitutes’ cells, which show a series of erotic scenes.
It is thought, that these are a kind of catalog of sexual services that the prostitutes performed and could be chosen by the clients of the brothel.
These erotic paintings, like many others found in other houses in Pompeii, initially caused a stir and wonder. In fact, attempts were made at first to hide them mostly from women and children. But later they became an integral part of Pompeii.
Pompeii and its eroticism are now known all over the world.
The precious paintings of the house of Dioscuri
Speaking of frescoes, one cannot fail to enumerate those contained in the house of the Dioscuri in Pompeii. It was named for the famous painting found at the entrance to the house. That depicts the twin Dioscuri Castor and Pollux, shown completely naked with a purple-red cloak on their shoulders and two horses.
But this is not the only fresco found inside the house; the other rooms are also finely decorated with precious paintings. Which reproduce: the birth of Adonis and Scylla handing Minos the fairy hair of his father Niso, Apollo and Daphne and Silenus and Nymph with infant Bacchus.
It is thought that these paintings in the house of the Dioscuri were made by the same painter who made the famous frescoes in the house of the Vettii.
