understood
MentorName:
School:J. William Fulbright College, University of Arkansas
Classification:
GradePoint Average
Area of Study: ClassicalStudies,Art History
Title of Project: Public andPrivate: Differentiationin SubjectMatter of Wall Paintingin
the PompeianDomus
Project Summary:
In A.D. 79, Mount Vesuvius eruptedsuddenly,leaving the southernItalian
seasidetown of Pompeiicoveredin ash. While manyof its inhabitantsfled, otherswere
killed by a mixture of pumice and poisonousgases.While tragic, the burial of Pompeii
providesa wealthof infonnation aboutRomanlife, althoughthe early excavationsof the
town were lamentablyunscientific. Pompeiibecamea Roman colony after the Social
War of the 90s B.C., and subsequentlybecamethoroughlyRomanized. Pompeiiis
renownedfor its many eleganthouses,called domus(Latin, pl. houses),occupiedboth by
native Pompeiansand wealthy Romans. Excavationshaverevealedmanywall paintings,
remarkablywell-preservedby the volcanic ash,in all four of the establishedstyle
classifications. Many questionsabouttheir meaningand socialpurposehavebeenraised.
By focusing my investigationon differencesin the fresco subjectmatter, I hopeto
underscore a distinction between public and private domestic space. Specifically, I will
focus on decorationin the tablinum and ala. hypothesizethat the contenthereis
different than that of theperistylium. I will draw from publishedcatalogs,scholarly
books,and articles asaids to my analysis. Also, intend to travel to Pompeii and relevant
surrounding sites such as Herculaneum and Oplontis. Assessing the architecture and
decorationof the domus,in situ, is essentialto understandinghow the Romans
public andprivate space.
Public and Private: Differentiation in Subject Matter of Wall Painting in the
PompeianDomus
In ancientRome,freebornmembersof the patricianclasswere expectedto inhabit
a homeindicative of their rank, andtheir decorativehabitswere imitated by wealthy
freedmen. As a Romancolony, Pompeii adoptedthe samesystem. Most of theseelegant
domusdisplayremarkablywell-preservedwall art in the form of frescoes. In this project,
I will primarily addressthe urban domus,a housewithin thecity. But I will alsoinclude
a few examplesof the villa, a houselocatedoutsidethe city.
JohnClarke,professorof art history at the Universityof Texas,describesthe
Romandomusasthe hub of social,political, andbusinessactivities. Ancient Romans
conceptualized'public' and 'private' differently than the modernindividual, who
considershis workplaceto be the centerof his public life, andhis hometo be the center
of his private life. This distinctionwas not applicableto Romanaristocracy. mstead,it
was crucial to the statusof a Romanpublic figure to havelarge numbersof peoplevisit
his housefor the purposeof conductingbusiness.
Romanhousedecorationplayed a majorrole in establishingthe Romansenseof
self. If researchedproperly, the subjectmatterof thesefrescoescan reveal much about
Pompeians'daily lives. Wallace-Hadrill refersto the Romandomusas a 'powerhouse,'a
place from which the dominusruled his world. In theory,the decorationof the domus
shouldindicate what kind of a man the dominus(masterof the household)was. By
looking at thesewall paintings,we are able to geta senseofms status,and eventhe
numberof visitors he receivedeachday.
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The generallayout of the patrician domusin the 1stcenturyB.C. was as follows.
In the front half of the domus,a door facing the streetopenedup into thefauces
(entryway). An axis ran from thefaucesthroughthe atrium (main entrancehall). This
axis continuedfrom the atrium into the tablinum,or main receptionspace. For example,
when a client would visit his patron's domusduring the morning customof sa/ulanD,he
would enterthroughthefauces,having a clear line of sight down the fauces-atriumtablinumaxis. Arrangedaroundthe peristylium were triclinia, or dining areas. Cubicula
(bedrooms)flanked both sidesof the atrium. Also, two alae(small, open rooms)flanked
the atrium. The backhalf of the domuswas centrallyfocusedon an open-air,colonnaded
garden,called theperistylium. The idealized layout mentionedaboveis highly important
in that it reveals concepts of ideal domestic living; however, it must be noted that due to
often irregular land plots in Pompeii, eachdomusI studywill not fall within this ideal
plan.
ResearchOverview
My researchaddresses
the following major questions: First, what is different
about the 2ndstyle architectural illusionist schemesfound in more 'public' atria and
tablina versusthe more 'private' triclinia and cubicula? Second,did the myths depicted
in 3rdand 4thstyle central paintings in the more 'public' tablina and alae differ from
thosein the more 'private' tric/inia and cubicu/a? What do the resultsmeanin the
contextof Roman society?
I will collect numerical data from the invaluable Pompei: Pitture e Mosaici
encyclopedia. After transferring this infomlation onto large maps of Pompeii, I will
detenninewhether a topographiccorrelationexistsbetweenthe location of a room and
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the mythsusedin its decoration. EmulatingRiggsby's approachto researchingthe
cubiculum, I will search for passagesin classical literature that mention the tablinum and
ala. And for the analyticalcomponent,I will explainthe numbers,and relatethem to
daily Pompeianlife. I hypothesizethat thereis a contrastin the subjectmatterof the
public and private zones of the house. I think this will be true for 2nd,3fd,and 4thstyles,
althoughthe ways in which they differ would changefrom style to style, due to the
inherentcharacteristicsof eachstyle. Onewould expectthis hypothesisto be true, based
onthe writings ofWallace-Hadrill and Clarke,however,no systematicstudyhasbeen
done at this point.
Weekly research a2enda
I will work for 12.5 hours a week for 16 weeks. I will begin working January 1 st
andend May 1st. A typical week would consistof the following: 3 hourswriting thesis
drafts, 5 hours using the Pompei: PilluTe e Mosaici series to collect data, 3 hours reading
important scholarlyworks that have shapedthe field, and 1.5hoursworking on Pompeian
maps. This would vary from weekto week, dependingon the actualdistanceto my thesis
defensedate. For instance,in April, I will no longer spendtime writing drafts,collecting
data,or reading scholarlyworks. Instead,I would devoteall the researchtime to
implementingfinal editsto my thesisand constructinga PowerPointpresentation.
Monthly research af!enda
In January, I will finish my assessmentof 2ndstyle atria, tablina, and alae. In
addition, I will read Roman Painting by Roger Ling. After this, I will begin to write tl1e
backgroundinfoImation sectionof my honorsthesis. This sectionis meantto give a
history of Pompeian excavationand the researchthathasbeendone in the field so far. I
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will draw from the works of JohnClarke, Andrew Wallace-Radrill, Andrew Riggsby,
EugeneDwyer, and TheodorKraus, aswell asprimary sourceslike Vitruvius and
Petronius. Taking inspirationfrom Andrew Riggsby's approachto the cubiculum,I will
searchfor classicalliterary passagesthat mentionthe tablinumand ala, using the Tufts
University PerseusProject, TLL (Latin Thesaurus),andTLG (GreekThesaurus).
During February, I will complete my assessmentof3rd and 4thstyle tablina and
atria. At this point, all datawill be collected,and I will divide the raw infonnation into
categories for analysis, including the total tablina and alae, the proportion of 2nd,3rd,and
4thstyle decorations, and the specific myths used. I will break down these numbers into
more refined categories,suchasthe numberof alae that depictVenusandthe numberof
tablina that createthe illusion of the infinite continuumof space,and so on. On the
weekend of February 9ththrough 11 th, will travel to the Metropolitan Museumof Art in
New York so that I can view the 3Mstyle ttesco ttom a cubiculumttom the Imperial Villa
at Boscotrecase,andthe reconstructed2ndstyle cubiculumfrom the HousesofP. Fannius
Synistorat Boscoreale.Viewing thesefrescoesin personwill give me a more thorough
understandingof the spatialimpact theseworks have on the viewer.
Moving into the analytical componentof my research,March will be devotedto
developingthe numbersI have gatheredfrom the encyclopediainto applicablestatistics.
I will then situatethe resultsin the contextof currentresearchon domesticspaceand
decorationin Pompeii. I will draft the main body of my thesisin March. Using the
LexiconIconographicumMythologiae Classicae,I will traceadditionalexamplesof the
mostpopularmythological sceneson Pompeianwalls. I would useLIMC to detennineif
certainmythological subjectmatter on the walls might also showup on pottery and
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sculpture of the same period. Around mid-March, I will make large copies of detailed
mapsof ancientPompeii,and then mark out the data I havegatheredin order to seeif a
topographiccorrelationexists. During springbreak, I will travel to Pompeiito view the
houses. I will also visit nearbyHerculaneumand Oplontis;other relevantcities preserved
by the Vesuviuseruption.
And finally, in the first week of April I will write the conclusion section of my
thesis. After this, I will consultwith my mentorto makefinal edits. Subsequently,I will
develop a PowerPoint presentation to include the following infontlation: history of
ancientPompeii, history of Pompeian excavation,stylesof frescoes,the currentstatusof
the field, numericaldata on the rooms I havechosen,and conclusions. I will defendmy
thesis between April 16thand 25th.
Conclusion
SURF grantfunds would enableme to travel to Pompeii,sUlTounding
archaeologicalsites,and selectmuseumswith Pompeianfrescocollections. These
experienceswould give me the opportunityto seefrescoesand often entire houses
firsthand,and to takephotographsand video footageto supportmy analysis. I would
alsobe able to purchaseadditionalnecessarybooks andmake large copiesof mapsof
ancient Pompeii.
I will continue analyzing my findings and working with my mentor to
composea 40-60 pagehonorsthesis. also intend to submit all or a portion of this thesis
for publication to the undergraduate researchmagazine Inquiry.
I anticipate traveling to
the SURFConferencein orderto give a PowerPointpresentationof my findings to the
state. Further, I will attendgraduateschool in the fall of 2007, continuing my researchin
this field, andpursuea Ph.D. in classicalart.
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Works Cited
Clarke, JohnR. TheHousesofRomanItaly, 100B.C.-A.D.250: Ritual, Space,and
Decoration. Berkeley1991.
Dwyer, Eugene. "The Pompeianatriumhousein theoryandin practice," in E. Gazdaed.,
RomanArt in the Private Sphere. Ann Arbor 1991:25-48.
Kraus,Theodor. Pompeii andHerculaneum:Living Cities oftheDead. New York 1975.
LexiconIconographiczlmMythologiae Classicae(LIMC). 9 vols. Zurich: Artemis,
1981-1999.
Ling, Roger. "The Decorationof RomanTriclinia," in In Vino Veritas,eds.O.
Murray andM. Tecusan. London 1995:239-251.
Ling, Roger. RomanPainting. Cambridge1991.
Mazzoleni, Donatella. Domus: Wall Painting in the Roman House. Los Angeles 2004.
Pitture e Pavimenti di Pompei. 3 vols. Roma: Ministero per i belli culturali e ambientali,
Istituto centrale per il catalogo e la documentazione, 1981-1986.
Pompei: Pitlure e Mosaici. [10] vols. Rome: Istituto del1aEnciclopediaItaliana, 1990-.
Riggsby,Andrew. "'Public' and 'Private' in RomanCulture: the Caseof the
Cubiculum," Journal ofRomanArchaeology10 (1997)36-56.
Vitruvius. trans.by F. Granger.De Architectura. London1931
Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew. Housesand Societyin Pompeii andHerculaneum. Princeton
1994.