Roman Art in Naples.
“Here we are at last. The Italian proverb says “See Naples and die” but I say, see Naples and live; for there seems a great deal worth living for.” Arthur John Strutt.
The city of Naples- third largest after Rome and Milan- will feature frequently throughout this course since it became a thriving cultural centre. During Greek times the city grew rapidly due to the influence of the powerful Greek city-state Syracuse; it eventually became an ally of the Romans against Carthage. Naples or Neapolis from 6 B.C. (new city) became a Roman colony and withstood the assault of Hannibal’s armies. The first port of call for anybody seeking information about Roman art is the National Archaeological Museum which contains objects from Pompeii, Stabiae and Herculaneum, as well as mosaics and mummies from both Egypt and Pompeii. These include a number from the House of the Faun in Pompeii showing animals, birds and fishes. One of the most famous is the huge mosaic of the battle between Alexander and Darius at the Issus in 333 B.C. which was found in the House of the Faun in 1831. From the same building came the Nilotic landscape showing wild animals like hippopotamuses and crocodiles which may have adorned a garden or peristyle in that building. Mention should also be made of the wonderful scene of street musicians (above), one of whom plays a tambourine and another a pair of castanets which may be linked with the cult of Cybele which occasioned loud music-making with percussive instruments. Amongst the many Roman busts to be seen are portraits of the emperor Marcus Aurelius and Nero’s philosopher Seneca. On a much larger scale is the commanding statue of the emperor Augustus in the guise of Jupiter; but if you want something colossal, try the Farnese Bull, a copy of a Greek sculpture owned by the Roman politician Gaius Asinius Pollio of 40 B.C. This was located in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome.[1]
[1] Haskell and Penny, Taste and the Antique, no. 15. Excavated in the Baths of Caracalla in 1545, and by the following year in the Palazzo Farnese. By 1550 (on the advice of Michelangelo) it had been restored.
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