Neoclassicism, Ingres & Herculaneum in the Nineteenth-Century.
As the neoclassical age dissolves into the romantic period, Pompeii mania and Herculaneum obsession show no signs of abating. Instead, they take on a new form with the style of Pompeii furniture and decoration being integrated into the compositions of academic pictures. One of the best painters to imbue his work with the Pompeii aesthetic was Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) who may have studied Roman wall paintings first hand in Naples, though he spent most of his Italian period in Rome. An episode of the story of the covert emotions between Stratonice and Antiochus (above) which is detected by the doctor is set in a room which is based upon Herculaneum.[1] Though no specific buildings are referred to, one of the wall paintings in this scene is “Theseus and the Minotaur” fresco, one of the first paintings to be excavated from the Porticus- sometimes called the Basilica- at Herculaneum. The fresco is now in the Archaeological Museum, Naples.[2] The other wall painting is more obscure: “Hercules Strangling the Snakes” whose site of discovery is not known. Ingres may have seen these Herculaneum works in Naples, but they were also available in major publications like Le antichità di Ercolano esposte mentioned last week. The graceful pose of Stratonice may come from an ancient source: the Ulysses and Penelope from the Maecullum at Pompeii. This painting was eventually abandoned and the subject is known through a larger version (Chantilly). Théodore Chasseriéau (1819-1856) was a pupil of Ingres, but seeking artistic independence, he broke with the master. Chasseriéau’s Tepidarium (1853) was the result of his researches into the Forum Baths (Baths of Fortuna) which were excavated in 1823.[3] Less archaeological is his treatment of the female body which owes more the orientalism in vogue thanks to painters like Ingres and Delacroix.
[1] Last Days of Pompeii, no. 1
[2] Last Days of Pompeii, no. 6.
[3] Last Days of Pompeii, no 7.
