Living with Images at Ephesos and Ostia

Images in wallpaintings are constant companions of everyday life in a Roman townhouse confronting the viewer with wellknown topics or evoking a special atmosphere on a subconscious level. They mark the difference between representative space, living and commercial quarters, they set the stage for everyday indoor living, together with the architecture and other decorative elements. Whereas this phenomenon has been studied thoroughly regarding the cities destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius, there was no evidence so far for later townhouses with wallpaintings. This situation improved in the last years especially at Ephesos in the east and Ostia in the west, concerning both quality and quantity of the monuments. At Ephesos six peristyle houses of the Hanghaus 2-insula have been studied. In interconnected groups of rooms several layers of wallpaintings are preserved which were until now dated stylistically in late antiquity. Recent research allows for a precise date in the early 2nd till the late 3rd century A.D. leading to a multifold image of the living style of this era and a better knowledge of the different stages of contemporary art history. Only at Ostia, comparable extensive research could be undertaken regarding its townhouses and wallpaintings which also led to precise dates of the paintings. Recent excavations and architectural studies in the Case a Giardino show the distinction between different forms of living in domus and luxury appartements. This also led to a better understanding of the changes in the distribution of ownership as well as the development of style and their impact on the wallpaintings. As at Ephesos, it was possible to correct the older datings which had been based mostly on stylistic arguments. Therfore, the moment has come now to combine the new results of these recent studies undertaken in two centers of the Roman empire in a comparative study. This study focuses on the different modes of the formation of living space of which the wallpaintings were an integral part. Moreover, it focuses on the change in the repertoire of images and the decorative systems in time and in the eastern and western part of the Roman world. Important for the study is the distinction between similarities and differences regarding the use of wallpaintings for rooms of first and secondary order, the choice of motifs for representative and residential quarters and the stucture of their wall- systems. In this respect, local preferences as well as caracteristics of contemporary style are evident. Whereas certain wall-systems and ornaments are used specifically in certain locales, similar fashions in east and west may be recognized like the popular images of muses or the preference of marble revetments instead of figural wallpaintings in the representative areas of the townhouses. A comprehensive study of the wallpaintings of 2nd and 3rd century townhouses in their context is still lacking as the respective monuments had not been presented properly until now. The aim of this new study is, first, the analysis of the stylistic development of postpompeian wallpainting based on a body of well dated complex monuments. Furthermore, the innovative approach of this study focuses on questions of cultural history and sociology: regarding the relationship between patron and painter, landlord and resident and the interaction between man and his living space.

Images in wallpaintings are constant companions of everyday life in a Roman townhouse confronting the viewer with wellknown topics or evoking a special atmosphere on a subconscious level. They mark the difference between representative space, living and commercial quarters, they set the stage for everyday indoor living, together with the architecture and other decorative elements. Whereas this phenomenon has been studied thoroughly regarding the cities destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius, there was no evidence so far for later townhouses with wallpaintings. This situation improved in the last years especially at Ephesos in the east and Ostia in the west, concerning both quality and quantity of the monuments. At Ephesos six peristyle houses of the Hanghaus 2-insula have been studied. In interconnected groups of rooms several layers of wallpaintings are preserved which were until now dated stylistically in late antiquity. Recent research allows for a precise date in the early 2nd till the late 3rd century A.D. leading to a multifold image of the living style of this era and a better knowledge of the different stages of contemporary art history. Only at Ostia, comparable extensive research could be undertaken regarding its townhouses and wallpaintings which also led to precise dates of the paintings. Recent excavations and architectural studies in the Case a Giardino show the distinction between different forms of living in domus and luxury appartements. This also led to a better understanding of the changes in the distribution of ownership as well as the development of style and their impact on the wallpaintings. As at Ephesos, it was possible to correct the older datings which had been based mostly on stylistic arguments. Therfore, the moment has come now to combine the new results of these recent studies undertaken in two centers of the Roman empire in a comparative study. This study focuses on the different modes of the formation of living space of which the wallpaintings were an integral part. Moreover, it focuses on the change in the repertoire of images and the decorative systems in time and in the eastern and western part of the Roman world. Important for the study is the distinction between similarities and differences regarding the use of wallpaintings for rooms of first and secondary order, the choice of motifs for representative and residential quarters and the stucture of their wall- systems. In this respect, local preferences as well as caracteristics of contemporary style are evident. Whereas certain wall-systems and ornaments are used specifically in certain locales, similar fashions in east and west may be recognized like the popular images of muses or the preference of marble revetments instead of figural wallpaintings in the representative areas of the townhouses. A comprehensive study of the wallpaintings of 2nd and 3rd century townhouses in their context is still lacking as the respective monuments had not been presented properly until now. The aim of this new study is, first, the analysis of the stylistic development of postpompeian wallpainting based on a body of well dated complex monuments. Furthermore, the innovative approach of this study focuses on questions of cultural history and sociology: regarding the relationship between patron and painter, landlord and resident and the interaction between man and his living space.