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November 28th - A History of Art - Pompeii

By Melissa Markham on November 28, 2007 9:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Pompeii...a city frozen in time by a mass catastrophe. Can you imagine the amazement of those who discovered Pompeii in 1748....1700 years after life had virtually stopped in a moment? This tragic story does have a happy ending. It preserved a moment in time for future generations to explore and to learn from. We know what they ate, how their homes were designed, and what we wore. And we are able to study the art that was preserved through the centuries.

The town appears to have been moderatly wealthy and every house was decorated with wall paintings. Mosaics were also very common. Artwork found in Pompeii is known as Campanian Art, and is representative of all southern Italian paintint at the time. As Pompeii was then under Roman rule, it is also indicative of Roman art at this time, which had been heavily influenced by earlier Greek art.

This particular fresco was painted onto a wall adjacent to the baker's house, and many believe that it depicts the baker, Paquius Proculus, and his wife. Others contend that the man may be a wealthy lawyer named Terentius Neus. The couple appear to be upper class; the woman is elegantly dressed and coiffed, while he sports a white toga and carries a scroll.

This photograph shows a detail from one of the most celebrated ancient mosaics to have survived into the modern era. The mosaic depicts Alexander the Great's defeat of the Persian king Darius; the detail here illustrates Alexander himself.The mosaic highlights the wealth and power of the occupier of the house, since such grand and elaborate mosaics are extremely rare, both in Pompeii and in the wider Roman world.

Pompeii Lesson Plan for 6th graders - I Got a Lava Livin' to do in Pompeii - draw a random livelihood, keep a journal based on your lifestyle.Gives list of things to be aware of.

In Old Pompeii Lesson Plan. In this lesson, students take a virtual field trip to the ruins of Pompeii to learn about everyday life in Roman times, then create a travelogue to attract visitors to the site and write an account of their field trip modeled on a description of Pompeii written by Mark Twain.

Make a Two-Headed Snake BraceletUsing the images of snake bracelets found at Pompeii young students will create a snake bracelet out of card stock. Older students will create a snake bracelet using the papier-mâché technique.

Make Your Own Mosaic. These are directions for making the real thing with tiles and all. A few years ago, we made something like a mosaic with construction paper.

First we pencilled in a picture on a piece of construction paper. Make it something large and simple for your first try like a vase or a cat. Then choose the colors of construction paper you would like to use. Tear that paper into little pieces (about 1" by 1", but not all uniform). This is great therapy by the way! Then put glue on your drawing and start putting on the pieces of paper. This is great fun!

For other Art History lessons and information, be sure to click on the Art History category in my sidebar!

Pompeii Virtual Tour (the link at the beginning is a different virtual tour so check it out too!)