| Paintings and mosaics in Pompeii and Ercolano: |
Portrait of Terentius Neo and his wife
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 This
can be considered as a portrait proper for a number of reasons:
the character portrayal of the two subjects, the picture's
position on the wall at the end of the exedra (g) so as to be
visible to anybody passing through the hall, and the shape and
size of the frame which remind us of a wooden panel.
It was the baker Terentius Neo, and not Paquius Proculus as had
been believed for a long time as a result of mistaking an
electoral poster on the outer wall of the house with the name of
the owner, which was subsequently found as graffiti inside, and
who had himself portrayed with his wife in solemn attire and
with the refined air of a couple of intellectuals. He is holding
a papyrus scroll against his chin, while she has her stylus and
diptych open, as if in the act of finishing off a poem. But
these features conceal humble origins: the white toga and
barbule are unable to hide the typically Samnite features of the
man - high cheekbones, full lips, large dark eyes, and swarthy
complexion. Furthermore, the woman's curly hair, earrings and
expensive red cloak are unable to conceal her embarrassment at
having to pose for such a long time surrounded by such
unfamiliar objects. The artist, who was not just a mere pictor
parietarius but must at least have been a specialised pictor
imaginarius, seems to have enjoyed himself by conspicuously
failing to improve the physical appearance above all of the man,
thereby bestowing greater contrast between what was and what
should have appeared to be. Of the two portraits, this is also
the most successful, and the one which best highlights, by means
of the subject's expression, the basic craftiness of the farmer
who is fully aware of his nouveau riche status, despite the
temporary feeling of unease.
The woman's hairstyle, which can also be found in bronze and
marble portraits, can be traced back to the time of Nero; the
painting can thus be dated to around the last twenty-five years
of the life of Pompeii.
Bibliography: Drerup, Die Datierung Mumienporträts, 1933, tav.
4; Bianchi Bandinelli, in EAA VI p. 273 s.v. Ritratto; Sampaolo
1992, pp.101-102; PPM VI, p.488, fig.9 (a p.486)
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Fonte: MANN
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