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Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale by http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/3e3940b8c9c01ce0b15500a1a74964e1

http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/3e3940b8c9c01ce0b15500a1a74964e1 · 0001-01-01

View the artwork: Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale →

This is a fresco from a grand reception hall in the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, near Pompeii. Painted around 50-40 BCE, it was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Rediscovered in 1900 and acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1903.

The seated woman wears a gold diadem and plays a gilded kithara from an ornate throne. But the real key is the young girl standing behind her, looking directly outward. Her gaze connects us to the larger story.

This panel was one of three on the east wall. Scholars believe they are Roman copies of early Hellenistic paintings celebrating a dynastic marriage in a Macedonian royal court. The central panel shows the wedded couple, and the right panel shows a prophetess holding a shield that reflects a vision of a male heir.

The girl’s outward stare was designed to draw viewers into that prophecy across two millennia. What do you think she sees?

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Details

Her direct, serene gaze and crown mark her as a figure of high status , possibly a Hellenistic queen or muse; the impressionistic brushwork gives her face unusual liveliness for a fresco.
Her direct, serene gaze and crown mark her as a figure of high status , possibly a Hellenistic queen or muse; the impressionistic brushwork gives her face unusual liveliness for a fresco.
The saturated Pompeian red (cinnabar or hematite) has survived nearly 2,000 years; its evenness shows the plaster was prepared in large, expertly timed sections.
The saturated Pompeian red (cinnabar or hematite) has survived nearly 2,000 years; its evenness shows the plaster was prepared in large, expertly timed sections.
The large, ornate stringed instrument is the compositional center; its golden color and scale suggest a ceremonial rather than everyday object, linking the scene to Apollo or the Muses.
The large, ornate stringed instrument is the compositional center; its golden color and scale suggest a ceremonial rather than everyday object, linking the scene to Apollo or the Muses.
Her smaller scale and position behind the chair suggest attendant or pupil status; her gaze toward the viewer breaks the scene's self-containment and implicates us as witnesses.
Her smaller scale and position behind the chair suggest attendant or pupil status; her gaze toward the viewer breaks the scene's self-containment and implicates us as witnesses.
The visible craquelure and paint loss document the fresco's physical survival , excavated in 1900 and later cut from the wall , giving the image an archaeological texture that coexists with the artistry.
The visible craquelure and paint loss document the fresco's physical survival , excavated in 1900 and later cut from the wall , giving the image an archaeological texture that coexists with the artistry.
Transcript

She looks like a musician. But her instrument is a throne. A gold diadem. A gilded kithara. The emblems of a Hellenistic queen. Behind her, a young girl stands and stares out at us. She is the clue. This is not a concert. It is a dynastic marriage. The missing panels show the royal couple and a prophetess foretelling a male heir. The girl’s outward look was meant to include you in the prophecy.