Roman Era Painting Techniques

Study Notes

Tomb of the Diver

Located in Paestum, dated to 480 BCE, significant for its early Roman painting features.

Paintings from the Roman Era

Roman paintings often imitated Hellenic Greek styles.
Utilized fresco techniques with vibrant, colorful backgrounds.
Wall designs featured multiple rectangular segments for composition.
Employed multi-point perspective and trompe-l'-oeil effects.
Subjects included a diverse array, such as animals, daily life, landscapes, and mythological themes.
Key innovation was the development of landscape painting distinct from Greek styles.

Panel Painting

Created on flat wooden panels; can vary in size and complexity.
Organic materials led to the loss of many early panel paintings.
Earliest known panel painting is the Pitsa Panel from the Archaic Period (540-530 BCE).

Tomb / Wall Painting

Popular during the classical period, employing fresco techniques in tempera or encaustic styles.
Characterized by sharp and flat outlines; many samples did not survive due to water-based materials.
True fresco techniques utilized limestone mortar for mural work, often depicting symposium scenes.

Paintings from the Classical Greek Era

Commonly found on vases, panels, and tombs, showcasing natural figures with dynamic compositions.
Frequently depicted battle scenes, mythological stories, and everyday life.
Demonstrated advancements in linear perspective and naturalistic representation.

Most Common Methods of Greek Painting

Fresco: Involves painting water-based pigments onto wet plaster, ideal for durability and murals.
Encaustic: Originated from shipbuilders filling cracks with pigmented hot wax for decorative purposes.

Judgement of Paris

Notable painting dating from 370-330 BCE, depicting a mythological theme.

Paintings from the Pre-Historic Era

Found in caves, likely for communication or ceremonial purposes; not necessarily artistic representations.
Prehistoric animal drawings exhibited proportionate accuracy.

Cave of Lascaux

Located in France, dating from 15,000-10,000 BCE during the Stone Age.
Contains nearly 2,000 depicted figures primarily of large, region-native animals, including distinct areas like the Great Hall of the Bulls.

Paintings from Ancient Egypt

Aimed to provide comfort and a pleasant afterlife for the deceased, focusing on journeys to the underworld.
Styles were highly symbolic with a standard profile view, utilizing durable mineral pigments.
Tomb paintings depicted the king's life on Earth and anticipated events in the afterlife.

Sarcophagus of Tutankhamen

Dating from the XVIII Dynasty (1362-1253 BCE), showcasing significant artistic and cultural themes of the time.

Mosaic

Ancient technique assembling small colored pieces to create images, often used in decorative contexts.
Roman floor mosaic from the House of Fun Pompei (100 BCE) illustrates the Battle of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia.

Fresco from the Villa of Mysteries

Dated to 80 BCE, notable for its complex narrative and artistic execution.

Head of Alexander

Significant works related to Alexander the Great, demonstrating the artistic representations of historical figures in antiquity.

Description

Explore the fascinating techniques and styles used in Roman era paintings, especially as seen in the Tomb of the Diver from Paestum. Learn about the fresco technique, multi-point perspective, and how the artworks often imitated earlier Hellenic Greek styles. This quiz will take you through the diverse subjects found in Roman paintings.