4 ms·

For me, it's astounding to witness such vibrant and colorful imagery from 2000 years ago. It forges an unexpected, yet profound, sense of connection to the past

For me, it's astounding to witness such vibrant and colorful imagery from 2000 years ago. It forges an unexpected, yet profound, sense of connection to the past.

santiagobasulto 3y ago
I was thinking the same thing. What "technology" (chemicals) did they use to paint that? It's crazy that has such level of detail after 2k years.
- Daub 3y ago
  The painting was a fresco. There are a few ways to make frescos but the one employed here was likely buono fresco: colored pigment applied directly to wet plaster. In this way the painting becomes a physical part of the wall. In contrast, an oil painting is typically a thin layer of paint applied on top of another layer of paint on top of fabric. Though this way of painting is ridiculously long lived, it is very difficult to work with. The plaster dries so quickly that the painting has to be done is small chunks, like a jigsaw puzzle. There is also very little room for correction.
- _giorgio_ 3y ago
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440311001816 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03054... " natural earths, minerals and rare artificial pigments. Paintings are made up of thin paint layers (0.01–0.10 mm thick) strongly adhering to the underlying preparation layer." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1386142508006136 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S13861... " To obtain the green color, green earths and malachite were used, together with mixture of Egyptian blue and yellow ochre."
troad 3y ago
If you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend a visit to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. There are many more vibrant images from Pompeii and Herculaneum preserved there. It's striking how lively some of the preserved images are. They really don't feel like they are over two thousand years old, and seeing them seriously deepened my appreciation for the civilisation of ancient Rome. It's a unique experience. (I would advise trying to read up a little in advance though. The labels in the museum are rather self-indulgent. There's reams of text about how various pieces came to be in the collection, and quite little about what the piece is / represents.)
CobrastanJorji 3y ago
Me too. I think when we think about times before 100 AD, we think of unpainted marble, columns, and those ancient red-and-black Greek vases. We don't really consider that their painters also knew about, y'know, realistic portraits and shading and that sort of thing, but they absolutely knew how to do those things: https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/europe/italy-museums/naples-museums/national-archaeological-museum-naples/frescos-from-pompeii/ https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/europe/italy-museums/naples...

For me, it's astounding to witness such vibrant and colorful imagery from 2000 years ago. It forges an unexpected, yet profound, sense of connection to the past.

santiagobasulto 3y ago

I was thinking the same thing. What "technology" (chemicals) did they use to paint that? It's crazy that has such level of detail after 2k years.

Daub 3y ago
The painting was a fresco. There are a few ways to make frescos but the one employed here was likely buono fresco: colored pigment applied directly to wet plaster. In this way the painting becomes a physical part of the wall. In contrast, an oil painting is typically a thin layer of paint applied on top of another layer of paint on top of fabric. Though this way of painting is ridiculously long lived, it is very difficult to work with. The plaster dries so quickly that the painting has to be done is small chunks, like a jigsaw puzzle. There is also very little room for correction.
_giorgio_ 3y ago
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440311001816 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03054... " natural earths, minerals and rare artificial pigments. Paintings are made up of thin paint layers (0.01–0.10 mm thick) strongly adhering to the underlying preparation layer." https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1386142508006136 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S13861... " To obtain the green color, green earths and malachite were used, together with mixture of Egyptian blue and yellow ochre."

troad 3y ago

If you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend a visit to the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. There are many more vibrant images from Pompeii and Herculaneum preserved there. It's striking how lively some of the preserved images are. They really don't feel like they are over two thousand years old, and seeing them seriously deepened my appreciation for the civilisation of ancient Rome. It's a unique experience. (I would advise trying to read up a little in advance though. The labels in the museum are rather self-indulgent. There's reams of text about how various pieces came to be in the collection, and quite little about what the piece is / represents.)

CobrastanJorji 3y ago

Me too. I think when we think about times before 100 AD, we think of unpainted marble, columns, and those ancient red-and-black Greek vases. We don't really consider that their painters also knew about, y'know, realistic portraits and shading and that sort of thing, but they absolutely knew how to do those things: https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/europe/italy-museums/naples-museums/national-archaeological-museum-naples/frescos-from-pompeii/ https://joyofmuseums.com/museums/europe/italy-museums/naples...