Roman wall painting (200 BC–AD 79)

Roman wall paintings are unique pieces of art that have been found in private homes in many different Roman cities, along with the countryside in Italy. The paintings were used to brighten a room since most of the houses were naturally very dark. There are four main styles of Roman wall painting that have been found: Incrustation, architectural, ornamental, and intricate. Each style is unique, but each style following the first, contains aspects of each style previous to it. Any original paintings were created before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The first two styles (incrustation and architectural) were a part of the Republican period (related to Hellenistic Greek wall painting) and the last two styles (ornamental and intricate) were a part of the Imperial period.

In the first century BC, Roman walls were decorated with different paintings. These paintings ranged from being realistic to impressionist works of art. Inspiration came from mythology, landscapes, and other interests. Typically, paintings were created on plaster that had pigments added to them while they were drying, also known as frescoes.Frescoes were made of one to three coats of mortar along with one to three coats of lime mixed with marble. Many of the paintings that have been discovered today have been found around the Bay of Naples, the area in which Mount Vesuvius had erupted. The paintings have contained depictions of life in this area prior to the great eruption that destroyed much of the countryside and the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Wall paintings were not only used for decorations, but also for other important functions around the house, such as a guide for guests and a social orientation for the public. The areas in which the paintings decorated the walls were meant for guests to follow and the walls that contained little to no paintings were meant for the servants to use to get around the house. The type of paintings and resources used to complete the paintings indicated the social status of the household.

From 200 to 60 BC, the style of incrustation was used in Roman wall paintings. This style consists of the wall containing colorful patches of blocks that resembled marble walls. The marble-like look was acquired by the use of stucco moldings, which caused portions of the wall to appear raised. The more wealthy romans painted their walls using a variety of colors, but those who were not as wealthy mainly used variations of the colors yellow, purple, and pink. This style was very colorful and simple, but it was also seen as claustrophobic to some people. A couple examples of this style can be found in Pompeii at the House of Faun and the House of Sallust.

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