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116 art: Rome fresco painting, however, was simple color and geometric shapes, intended to add variety to the rooms it decorated In some cases it imitated varicolored stone to suggest a richer and more expensive effect Roman wall fresco painting gives us a great deal of information about the artistic taste of the people whose houses it decorated The artists who specialized in wall painting were organized with a master craft sman as the lead designer and assistants to accomplish the more routine tasks There is historical evidence that a “figure painter” was paid more than the ordinary wall painter There is also evidence that Roman painters used pattern books for repeated decorative designs and types The technique of fresco painting required that the plaster be applied to the walls in sections, only as much as the painters could decorate in a single day The materials used, in addition to the lime plaster, were mainly natural pigments These included chalk white, carbon black, and earth colors such as red and yellow ocher Blue had to be specially produced from a copper compound The use of natural materials has contributed to the permanence and preservation of the paintings From archaeological evidence we can trace the development of Roman wall painting from the second century b.c.e to about the fourth century c.e Styles changed with popular taste At Pompeii, where many examples were preserved when the town was buried in 79 c.e by the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius, it is possible to distinguish four styles Not all scholars agree on the historical sequence, but the “four styles of Pompeian painting” form a basis for the general study of the art form The first style consisted of a combination of paint and plaster, imitating stonework, often brightly colored The second style kept some of the imitation stonework but added fanciful views of imaginary architecture with the intention of suggesting illusions of depth In the third style the illusions of architecture became less important, and images on the walls were treated more like surface decoration, even when they represented landscapes The fourth style reverted to an emphasis on fantastic architecture and illusionist spaces and became even more elaborate In addition to fresco painting, interior walls were often further ornamented with plaster decoration This work often imitated relief carving in stone and served to make interiors even richer in appearance Decorative plasterwork was a highly skilled craft, used in the embellishment of buildings as important as Nero’s palace in Rome, the Domus Aurea (Golden House) MOSAIC Mosaic was another important art form used in the decoration of architectural spaces The Romans especially favored it because it added color and interesting compositions to floors in a much more durable material than rugs or carpets It was not only hard wearing but also easy to keep clean Mosaics consist of small pieces (tesserae) of stone, or sometimes ceramics or glass, set in a cementlike matrix The stones were generally of natural colors, collected from many different sources The designs of mosaic floors might be simple geometric patterns, scenes of daily life, illustrations from Greek and Roman mythology, or special themes such as the seasons or months of the year In some cases mosaics were made in imitation of famous paintings Usually, the subject of figural decoration was selected to suit the purpose of the building For example, the designs in Roman public baths were often compositions with Neptune, god of the sea, surrounded by mermaids and mythical sea animals At Ostia, the seaport of Rome, mosaics in an area of commercial offices depict the various kinds of business and trade carried out The subject matter of a domestic mosaic floor could suggest the cultural interest or special occupation of a householder Some exceptional mosaics were made as small wall decorations Usually composed of very small pieces of stone, they approach the art of painting in their detail and realism Some of these wall pieces are compositions of familiar objects that would today be called “still lifes.” Depicting bottles, glasses, fruit in baskets, and similar items arranged in interesting groupings, they suggest the skill of the mosaic makers as well as of the painters who probably originally designed them CERAMICS AND METALWORKING Pottery or ceramics, the art of working with clay, has been a necessary and important craft in almost every civilization and culture In the ancient world pottery took the place of many materials in use today, such as glass and plastic Efficient ceramic manufacture was especially crucial to the Roman economy, because vital products such as olive oil and wine were shipped in clay containers In addition to the simple containers made for cooking, eating, storage, and shipment, the Romans developed several art forms based on clay Small statuettes or figurines made from molds were popular as decorative and religious objects They included carefully detailed and brightly painted representations of gods and goddesses or even favorite athletes and gladiators Useful items such as clay oil lamps were made by the hundreds of thousands, but they were often enhanced with interesting designs Probably the most important type of ceramic ware made in Roman times was the pottery called Arretine ware, made in the region of modern Arezzo This type took advantage of a kind of fine red clay that lent itself to the production of cups, plates, and bowls with fine designs, made in figured molds Arretine ware was imitative of designs made in silver and may have been a substitute for the more expensive material Often these clay vessels were stamped to designate the maker and even the individual craftsman responsible for the design, suggesting that Arretine ware was special enough for the artist-designers to take pride in their work Roman craftsmen were particularly skillful in making objects of metal In part this was one the traditions learned from the Etruscans, who had been famous as metalworkers throughout the ancient world Roman bronze workers created objects ranging from colossal statues to simple pots and
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