Pompeii's Lost Art

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Nearly two millenniums ago a massive eruption rocked the Roman city of Pompeii, destroying buildings and coating the town in deep layers of volcanic ash. Fortunately, this same ash served as a tool for preservation and has allowed archaeologists to discover the remains of various types of Pompeii’s art. The values, beliefs, and daily workings of Roman culture have been brought to new light through the paintings, mosaics, statues and other forms of art found in the lost city of Pompeii.
The discovery of Pompeii showed a rich pictorial heritage and provided insight into a previously limited knowledge of Roman aesthetic. Frescoes and paintings found in Pompeii are marked with unique characteristics. For example, “the walls of some rooms are painted with frescoes designed to give viewers the impression that they are looking out upon gardens and distant buildings” (Fiero 163). This art can be categorized into four styles. Style I was a simple and bare style of painting that sought to imitate marble veneering and mainly featured black, yellow, and red coloring. Style II was dominated by t...

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