Pic o' the day #1315- "Sit Down! You're blocking the view!"

In the world of Roman painting, there are four periods, or styles, which are used to guess at the age of the decorations. They were originally delineated and described by the German archaeologist August Mau, 1840 – 1909, who ran the digs at Pompeii and published numerous illustrations of what they found to raise money to continue the projects.

Page from Mau, Pompeii, It's Life and Art.  You can view and download this entire book here

I won't go into detail on the styles right now (save that for another post!) but just skip ahead to the third and fourth styles, which were the last to be used before Vesuvius blew and encapsulated everything for 1700 years. In the third and fourth styles there is often found a division of the visual spaces into tiers both vertical and horizontal that seem to some (including me) to be a reflection of the scenae frons, which was the vertical stage front of Roman theaters.

Model of the scenae frons at the Theater of Marcellus in Rome. Actors could appear on all levels, creating a very dynamic staging. Imagine if they'd had spotlights!

Here's a couple of shots of murals in Stabia and Oplontis. It is easy to see how they relate to the stage front, with their protruding balconies and numerous openings. In addition, the dramatic poses of figures framed by these kinds of murals, as well as depictions of the masks of classical dramas would seem to be clear reference to the stage.

Mural in the Villa of Arianna at Stabia.  Notice the mask from the drama sitting on the white balcony area at right.

Mural in the Villa of Poppaea at Oplontis has architecture that is similar to what one finds on the scenae frons. This mural would actually be considered to be in the second style, with a hearty trompe l'oeil emphasis that was later generally dropped.

Here is how an artist has interpreted the decor of the House of Augustus (Rome) in terms of a small stage front. From Thomas Gordon Smith's Vitruvius on Architecture (Monacelli, 2004)