Roman Painting

This book, first published in 1991, is a general history of Roman painting written specifically for English-language readers. Large numbers of wall-paintings have survived from the Roman world, and particularly from Rome itself and from the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae, buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Their influence upon European artists of the Renaissance and Neo-Classical periods has been considerable. Recent research has provided a much clearer idea of the chronology of these paintings, of their sources of inspiration, and of their meaning to the various classes of patrons who commissioned them. All aspects of our knowledge are brought together in this survey. Among other topics the book discusses the so-called Four Pompeian Styles, their spread to the provinces, the broad developments in scheme, style and subject-matter which followed them, the factors which dictated the choice of particular subjects and the way in which they were represented, and what we know about the painters and the organisation of their workshops.