The Styles of Painting at Pompeii.
The four Pompeian styles were identified by the German archaeologist August Mau (1840-1909) from the excavation of wall paintings at Pompeii.
First style, also referred to as structural, incrustation or masonry style, was most popular from 200 BC until 80 BC. Simulation of marble (marble veneering), with other simulated elements (e.g. suspended alabaster discs in vertical lines, 'wooden' beams in yellow and 'pillars' and 'cornices' in white), and the use of vivid colour, both being a sign of wealth.
Second style, architectural style, or 'illusionism' dominated the 1st century BC, where walls were decorated with architectural features and trompe l'oeil (trick of the eye) compositions. Early on, elements of this style are reminiscent of the First Style, but this slowly starts to be substituted element by element. This technique consists of highlighting elements to pass them off as three-dimensional realities - columns for example, dividing the wall-space into zones - and was a method widely used by the Romans. Landscape scenes, painted columns, illusionistic architectural features.
Third style, or ornate style, was popular around 20–10 BC as a reaction to the austerity of the previous period. It leaves room for more figurative and colourful decoration, with an overall more ornamental feeling, and often presents great finesse in execution. This style is typically noted as simplistically elegant. Flat, decorative, unrealistic. (Above).
Fourth Style. Characterized as a baroque reaction to the Third Style's mannerism, the Fourth Style in Roman wall painting (c. 60–79 AD) is generally less ornamented than its predecessor. The style was, however, much more complex. It revives large-scale narrative painting and panoramic vistas while retaining the architectural details of the Second and First Styles. In the Julio-Claudian phase (c. 20–54 AD), a textile like quality dominates and tendrils seem to connect all the elements on the wall. The colours warm up once again, and they are used to advantage in the depiction of scenes drawn from mythology. Walls open up, more spaces between pictures like a picture gallery.
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