DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31189#0019
13
The reconstructions, i. e. the placing of the extant fragments and the restoration
of what is missing, are derived in the main from two sources, first, the descriptions
by Della Corte, and second, the internal evidence of the paintings.
The first source gives a rough plan of the villa, with a metre scale, which affords
the approximate size of each wall, except for the ceiling height, and a description in
general terms of the several rooms. The second, internal, source gives intimations
as to which wall—north, east, or west—a particular fragment comes from, and
whether this fragment was to the right of center or to the left.
To enlarge upon this last observation: the cubicula in question were built in
a rank running east and west, and facing south toward the downward slope of the
mountain. The source of light in each room was a wide south doorway; in no
instance has any of the painted surround of this doorway been preserved. Through-
out all of the decoration, the artist has consistently represented the shadows as
falling toward the right or toward the left. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that
he followed the general practice and painted each wall according to the hght in
which it was actually seen, that is to say, in this series of cubicula an east wall has its
shadows falling toward the spectator’s left; a west wall is shadowed toward the right;
on a north wall the shadows fall left and right from center. This principle has been
used for placing each fragment on its proper wall. In addition, the painter has here
and there throughout the decoration shown three-dimensional objects in perspective.
Keeping the center of the room as the point of sight, the fragments have been
placed with the lines of sight diverging right and left from center, as they appeared
in perspective to the beholder in his central stance.
When all the elements have been arranged on the walls according to this scheme,
it is seen that the east and west walls, wherever both are preserved, reproduce each
other mirror-fashion. The missing portions have therefore been restored, the east
from the west and vice versa, mirror-fashion.
These principles are in some cases supported by Della Corte’s description, and
in no instance do they contradict it. For the sake of brevity, placements made in
accordance with them are referred to in the following remarks as certainties. In no
case has a corner of a room (where two walls meet, or where wall meets ceiling)
been preserved, and no guesses have been made as to the decoration in these regions.
To recapitulate: the relative positions in which the decorative elements are
placed can be regarded as sure, the spacing between them is conjectural.
Cubiculum No. 15. A black room, with a narrow west doorway in addition to
the south entrance. Floor space circa 15 ft. 6 in. by 17 ft. 8 in. (4.7 by 5.4 m). Height
as preserved, 7ft. 10 in. (2.38 m).
Della Corte describes this room as black over a dark red dado, with a central
aedicula containing a small, frameless landscape on each wall. The east and west
walls have tripods at the sides. There are yellow tablets, he says, with Egyptianiz-
ing scenes. In his figure 9, two such tablets are shown left and right reversed, but
identified by their breaks as those on the north wall.
The reconstructions, i. e. the placing of the extant fragments and the restoration
of what is missing, are derived in the main from two sources, first, the descriptions
by Della Corte, and second, the internal evidence of the paintings.
The first source gives a rough plan of the villa, with a metre scale, which affords
the approximate size of each wall, except for the ceiling height, and a description in
general terms of the several rooms. The second, internal, source gives intimations
as to which wall—north, east, or west—a particular fragment comes from, and
whether this fragment was to the right of center or to the left.
To enlarge upon this last observation: the cubicula in question were built in
a rank running east and west, and facing south toward the downward slope of the
mountain. The source of light in each room was a wide south doorway; in no
instance has any of the painted surround of this doorway been preserved. Through-
out all of the decoration, the artist has consistently represented the shadows as
falling toward the right or toward the left. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that
he followed the general practice and painted each wall according to the hght in
which it was actually seen, that is to say, in this series of cubicula an east wall has its
shadows falling toward the spectator’s left; a west wall is shadowed toward the right;
on a north wall the shadows fall left and right from center. This principle has been
used for placing each fragment on its proper wall. In addition, the painter has here
and there throughout the decoration shown three-dimensional objects in perspective.
Keeping the center of the room as the point of sight, the fragments have been
placed with the lines of sight diverging right and left from center, as they appeared
in perspective to the beholder in his central stance.
When all the elements have been arranged on the walls according to this scheme,
it is seen that the east and west walls, wherever both are preserved, reproduce each
other mirror-fashion. The missing portions have therefore been restored, the east
from the west and vice versa, mirror-fashion.
These principles are in some cases supported by Della Corte’s description, and
in no instance do they contradict it. For the sake of brevity, placements made in
accordance with them are referred to in the following remarks as certainties. In no
case has a corner of a room (where two walls meet, or where wall meets ceiling)
been preserved, and no guesses have been made as to the decoration in these regions.
To recapitulate: the relative positions in which the decorative elements are
placed can be regarded as sure, the spacing between them is conjectural.
Cubiculum No. 15. A black room, with a narrow west doorway in addition to
the south entrance. Floor space circa 15 ft. 6 in. by 17 ft. 8 in. (4.7 by 5.4 m). Height
as preserved, 7ft. 10 in. (2.38 m).
Della Corte describes this room as black over a dark red dado, with a central
aedicula containing a small, frameless landscape on each wall. The east and west
walls have tripods at the sides. There are yellow tablets, he says, with Egyptianiz-
ing scenes. In his figure 9, two such tablets are shown left and right reversed, but
identified by their breaks as those on the north wall.