Fresco of an enthroned Venus, from the Casa della Farnesina
Closeup of one of the details from a cubiculum fresco from the Casa della Farnesina, a wealthy Roman villa on the banks of the Tiber outside of the city walls. Here, an enthroned Venus seems to receive a flower from her son, Cupid, who wears a fabulous body chain. A handmaiden either places (or removes) a sheer lilac veil trimmed in a thin border of blue on the goddess' head. The extremely fine and delicate details of the frescoes in this house are missing from those in the Vesuvian towns. The images are very reminiscent of ancient Greek pinakes (paintings), made on marble, which would remind a modern viewer of a cartoon, since the characters are outlined instead of dimensional, as one usually sees in Roman frescoes.
These frescoes come from a rich Roman house discovered in 1879 during the consolidation of the banks of the Tiber River. It was excavated in Rome, in the garden of the Sixteenth-century Villa della Farnesina, from which takes its name.
In the Augustan era, the building was a suburban villa and its construction is connected to events of Augustus' family. According to some scholars, the Roman villa was built on the occasion of the wedding of Vipsanius Agrippa and Augustus' niece Claudia Marcella (28 BCE); according to other scholars, when Agrippa married Julia, daughter of the Princeps (19 BCE).
Late 1st century BCE.
Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome
Fresco of an enthroned Venus, from the Casa della Farnesina
Closeup of one of the details from a cubiculum fresco from the Casa della Farnesina, a wealthy Roman villa on the banks of the Tiber outside of the city walls. Here, an enthroned Venus seems to receive a flower from her son, Cupid, who wears a fabulous body chain. A handmaiden either places (or removes) a sheer lilac veil trimmed in a thin border of blue on the goddess' head. The extremely fine and delicate details of the frescoes in this house are missing from those in the Vesuvian towns. The images are very reminiscent of ancient Greek pinakes (paintings), made on marble, which would remind a modern viewer of a cartoon, since the characters are outlined instead of dimensional, as one usually sees in Roman frescoes.
These frescoes come from a rich Roman house discovered in 1879 during the consolidation of the banks of the Tiber River. It was excavated in Rome, in the garden of the Sixteenth-century Villa della Farnesina, from which takes its name.
In the Augustan era, the building was a suburban villa and its construction is connected to events of Augustus' family. According to some scholars, the Roman villa was built on the occasion of the wedding of Vipsanius Agrippa and Augustus' niece Claudia Marcella (28 BCE); according to other scholars, when Agrippa married Julia, daughter of the Princeps (19 BCE).
Late 1st century BCE.
Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome