Classics-Pompeii

  1. What are the basic facts for the House of Pansa?
    • -Built 140-120bc
    • -Owned by Maius
    • -2300m2 large, occupies a whole insula
  2. Why is the house called the House of Pansa?
    Because of election slogans found on the wall. Pansa is the name of a prominent political family
  3. How was the House of Pansa affected by the A62 earthquake?
    It was badly damaged. This meant that the family would have been financially stretched to cover the cost of repairs which is why there are bakeries and taberna as the family needed the income.
  4. What were features of the hortus of the House of Pansa?
    • Took up a third of the whole area
    • Commercial garden and grew vegetables and fruits.
    • Irrigation channels
    • Garden plots 2.5m wide
  5. What were features of the small peristylium of the House of Pansa?
    • 16 columns with ionic capitals
    • bottoms half of the columns is yellow plaster
    • has a pool (2.65m x 6.4m x 2m) and a fountain
  6. What hellenistic features are seen in the House of Pansa?
    • seperate triclinium(right used in summer)
    • peristyle gardens
    • ionic columns
    • These were used to try and give more ellegance to traditional Roman style
  7. What are the basic facts of the House of the Faun?
    • 180bc
    • Cassius family
    • 2950m2
  8. How did the house of the faun get its name and how do we know it is owned by the Cassius family?
    • It gets its name from a statue of a dancing floor found in the impluvium
    • Election slogans found on the wall and a named gold ring found on the skeleton of a women in the Tablinum
  9. What are the feature of the large peristylium of the House of the Faun?
    • Added 110bc, replaced a hortus
    • 44 doric columns
    • The outside has half columns set against the wall
    • Room for doorman and gardener (top right corner)
    • Small raised stage (cente back)
    • Lararium (back left corner)
  10. What are the eastern influences of the House of the Faun?
    • Nilotic mosaic
    • Alexander mosaic
    • Variety of eastern artifact, Persia, Asia Minor
  11. What are the basic facts for the Nilotic Mosaic?
    • First century BC (30bc)
    • 5.92m wide by 0.7m high
    • Found on the threshold of the exedra in the house of the faun
  12. Explain the history behind the Nilotic Mosaic?
    In 331bc Alexander the Great began building a city on the banks of the Nile river. 300 years later Cleopatra killed herself and Egypt became a Roman province(30bc). This led to an upsurge of interest in Egyptian products between the wealthy.
  13. What are Egyptian symbols shown in the Nilotic Mosaic?
    • Indian Lotus Flower: symbol of Egypt
    • Crocodile: symbol of Egypt
    • Cobra: belief that Cobra escorted you to the afterlife
    • Reeds: found throughout the Nile delta
    • Shellducks: found in Nile but also elsewhere
    • Ibis: sacred to the goddess Isis. There was a strong following of Isis within Pompeii and a temple dedicated to her
  14. What is a good example of opus vermiculatum in the Nilotic Mosaic?
    • Shellduck wings
    • Animals
  15. How is depth created in the Nilotic Mosaic?
    • Foreshortening- tail is smaller than cobra's head
    • Overlapping- reeds overlap hippo
    • Shading and hilighting-hippo's face and body, shadow under cobra, lotus leaf, ripples in water under ducks
    • Linear perspective- redds behind ducks
  16. How is a sense of movement created in the Nilotic mosaic?
    • Cobra in a 3/4 position
    • In the duck scene, one about to fly off and another going to eat a frog
    • Ripples of ducks in the water
    • Hippo half submurged and eye contact makes it look like its charging
  17. What are the basic facts for the Alexander mmosaic?
    • Late 2nd century bc (120bc)
    • From the exedra of the house of the Faun
    • 5.8m wide by 3.13m high
  18. Who is Alexander the Great
    • He is Alexander III of Macedon and he was the king of Macedonia
    • He created one of the largest empires on Greek history
    • He inherited his empire from his father Philip II of Macedon
    • He invaded Persian ruled Asia Minor and led a series of campaigns that lasted years.
  19. What happened at the Battle of Issus?
    • Alexander the Great led a charge throught the Persians and broke the Persian line. He charged directly at Darius. Darius, in a moent of panic, considered the battle lost and fled aswell
    • It occurred in 333 BC
    • Although Alexander and Darius met at the battle of Gaugamela in 331bc it is accepted the mosaic is of Issus
  20. How is Depth created in the Nilotic Mosaic?
    • Highlighting and shading-horses rear, Persian's face, horse
    • Layering-overlapping of people, spears ect
    • Foreshortening- horses, horses hooves
  21. How is Opus Vermiculatum used in the Alexander Mosaic?
    • It is Insitu
    • Over 2 million tesserae pieces used
    • tesserae 1-2mm wide
    • Reflection in shield
    • Blood flowing from horse
  22. What do the following mosaic terms mean
    Tesserae
    Opus sectile
    Emblemata
    In Situ
    • small pieces of stone, marble and glass
    • Geometric shapes or designs were set into empty spaces, often used to form pavements
    • Prefabricated mosaics set in panels and laid in floor
    • Larger mosaics or those adding decoration to existing objects were completed on site, after the base had been prepared for the tesserae to be laid
  23. What were the characteristics of first style wall paintings?
    • 150-80 BC
    • plaster was painted to resemble marble slabs
    • this was an attempt to imitate the rich Hellenistic houses
  24. What were the characterstics of second style wall paintings?
    • Walls were decorated with architectural features
    • Red was a prominent colour
    • Theatre masks were common
    • This was an attempt to try and pass off the walls as 3d
    • 80-14 AD
  25. What were the characteristics of third style wall paintings
    • 14-62AD
    • Symmetrical
    • animal motifs
  26. What were the characteristics of fourth style wall paintings?
    • 45-79AD
    • mythological scenes
    • multiple paintings on the one wall- motifs and architecture
  27. What were the steps in the frescoe technique?
    • A rendering coat would be applied
    • several layers of plaster containg lime and grit were applied
    • Layers of plaster containing lime and marble powder would be applied, the final would be smooth
    • The painting was painted while the plaster was still damp so that the paint was absorbed into it
    • Paint was made of natural pigments (chalk, soot, ochre)
    • Shiny effect obtained by a layer of wax that was polished
    • Some of the finer detail was painted over the rough picture once the plaster was dry
  28. What are the basic facts for the Trojan Horse?
    • date unknown AD62 onwards
    • Original location unknown- probably part of a 4th style wall
    • 62cm wide by 39 cm high
  29. How is depth created in the Trojan Horse?
    • Shading and hilighting-columns
    • Atmospheric perspective- walls of Troy, small temple behind column
  30. What features of Sacro-idyllic are used in the Trojan Horse?
    • Column with urn on top
    • small temple in background
    • tree
    • mountain
    • prominant in left third
  31. How is mood created in the Trojan Horse?
    • Onlookers, in the front women and children, behind are soldiers. Overcrowding creates tension. Gives a sense of foreboding horror, the dark colours contrast with the rejoicing.
    • Three figures. The first is dancing which suggest the short lived joy. The second is praying and the third running away which creates a sense of foreboding horror (hannah suggests all 3 are dancing)
    • Men pulling back horses contrast with surrounding gloom which creates foreboding feelings
  32. Explain Cassandra and Queen Hecuba's roles in the Trojan Horse
    • Cassandra is the woman walking towards the soldiers holding a torch.
    • Apollo granted her the gift of prophecy but when she didn't return his love he cursed her so nobody would believe her.
    • Her presence foreshadows Troy's destruction
    • A figure kneels in prayer, arms outsrteched before the Minerva statue. It is believed this may be Queen Hecuba.
    • Her presence creates a mood of despair
  33. What supernatural features are seen in the Trojan Horse?
    • There is a Minerva(Athene) statue on a podium
    • We know its her because of the shield, spear and corinthian helmet
    • Presence foreshadows Troy's destruction
    • Woman rushing forward is thought to be Ate, the personification of ruin
    • Her pose mimics Minerva
    • Holds up a lighted torch, about to cast on troy-symbolism
    • Foreshadows Troy's destruction
  34. What are the basic facts for the Harbour Scene at Stabiae?
    • 60-79AD
    • Found in a Villa at Stabiae
    • 26cm wide by 24.5cm high
  35. Describe features in impressionism in the Harbour scene at Stabiae
    • Brief brush strokes are used to capture the essence of the building rather than using detailed and exact lines
    • man fishing on rocks
    • white scribble for sunlight reflecting off waves
    • yellow dots suggest people walking down a colonnaded street
  36. What is the composition of the Harbour Scene at Stabiae?
    • Convergence of objects to the upper right corner
    • Pier creates a horizontal break across the bottom third of the painting
    • Foregrounds consists of rocks and small boats and is sparce. This contrasts with the background clutter and draws the eyes across the painting
  37. What are the point of views used in the Harbour Scene at Stabiae?
    • Aerial Perspective-collonaded street
    • Linear view-buildings on left and wharf
  38. How is depth created in the Harbour Scene at Stabiae?
    • Shading and hilighting-statues on columns
    • Atmospherice Perspective
    • Linear perspective-temple, collonnated peconet and ampitheatre
  39. What are the basic facts for Perseus and Andromeda?
    • Date unknown 50-79AD
    • Found in the house of the Dioscouri-4th style wall
    • 93cm wide by 106cm high
  40. Why is it believed that Perseus and Andromeda is a copy?
    • Nicias was a fourth century bc, late classical Athenian artist who portrayed famous myths.
    • He reduced the surrounding landscape to the barest essentials and put a lot of emphasis on the character's expressions and gestures
    • Portrayed the psychological tension of the closing minutes of the drama, rather than its build up.
    • Perseus and Andromeda has these features
  41. Describe Perseus in Perseus and Andromeda
    • He is a hero in Greek mythology who killed the Gorgon Medus and freed and married Andromeda
    • Holds Adromeda's arm to support her, gentle
    • Looking at the monster he just killed
    • Wears only a cloak, holding a harpe and Medusa's head which he is shielding from Andromeda, wearing wingend boots from Mercury
  42. Describe Andromeda in Perseus and Andromeda
    • As divine punishment for her mother bragging of her beauty, Andromeda was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster. Pentheus saved her from death and married her
    • Her arm is still lin chains
    • She has a calm expression
    • Holding up her dress so she doesn't trip
  43. What is the composition in Perseus and Andromeda?
    • Triangular composition
    • Little background scenery-monster and rocks
    • Pentheus and Andromeda look like they could be sculptures
  44. How is depth created in Pentheus and Andromeda?
    Shading and hilighting-folds on Andromeda's dress and Perseus's muscles
  45. What are some Hellenistic influences seen in Perseus and Andromeda?
    • Painting of a Greek myth
    • Background unimportant-figures in the foreground
    • Idealisation-Perseus strong and musclely
    • Perseus has darker skin than Andromeda
Author
clara
ID
104865
Card Set
Classics-Pompeii
Description
House of Pansa, House of the Faun, Nilotic mosaic, Alexander mosaic, Dionysiac Frieze, Trojan horse, Perseus and Andromeda, Harbour scene at Stabiae
Updated