8. Exploring Special Subjects on Pompeian Walls

Roman Architecture (HSAR 252) Professor Kleiner discusses special subjects in Roman wall painting that do not fall within the four architectural styles but were nonetheless inserted into their wall schemes: mythological painting, landscape, genre, still life, history painting, and painted portraiture. The lecture begins with an in-depth examination of the unique Dionysiac Mysteries painting in Pompeii in which young brides prepare for and enter into a mystical marriage with the god Dionysus and simultaneous initiation into his cult. Professor Kleiner then presents a painted frieze from Rome that depicts the wanderings of Odysseus against a continuous landscape framed by Second Style columns. She subsequently analyzes Roman still life, remarkable in its similarity to modern still life painting; a scene of daily life in Pompeii; and a painting depicting a specific historical event--a riot in the Pompeii Amphitheater that caused the arena to be shut down for ten years. The lecture ends with a discussion of painted portraiture on Pompeian walls, including likenesses of two different women holding a similar stylus and wax tablet. Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses This course was recorded in Spring 2009.