| Paintings and mosaics in Pompeii and Ercolano: |
Painted stucco
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 The
decorative technique which, for extended surface areas, united
the art of stucco reliefs and that of painting, was common in
Pompeii in the last years of its existence, that is to say
between the earthquake of 62 A.D. and its destruction in 79 A.D.
It was above all utilised in thermal resorts such as those of
Stabiae, where it is also used for the coffered ceiling, and of
those of the Sarno. As far as private residences were concerned,
until now this technique has only been found in the frieze of
the tablinum of the House of Meleager which was partially
redecorated in that period with the aim of producing a
spectacular effect. And this aim was certainly achieved with
repeated foreshortening and series in perspective, complex
architectural pieces containing standing or seated figures, and
pictures both painted and in relief.
This fragment, which comes from the eastern wall, was conceived
like the others as a piece of scenery onto which doors and
windows opened, and all the architectural features, both
vertical and horizontal are embellished in relief. We can see a
cloaked woman coming out of a doorway carrying a small box,
while another, in relief, is seated on a balustrade under which
there is the still-life motif of two large fish hanging from a
nail. Underneath a pavilion with coffered ceiling, we can see a
seated man shaking a branch, or maybe a thyrsus (?), while lower
down there is a picture of Heracles on a red background and
lower still a landscape painting leaning against a transenna.
Particularly prominent is the grotesque frieze in the upper part
of the piece, on account of its black background.
Bibliography: H. van der Poel, in Archaeology, 14 1961 pp.
180-187; Mielsch p. 63, 147-148; N. Blanc, Architectures du
IVeme style Pompéien dans la décoration en stuc in Kölner Jhb
für Vor- und frühgeschichte, 1991, pp. 129 ss.; PPM IV, p. 685
fig. 55
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Fonte: MANN
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