Pompeii, City of Painting

Virtually destroyed on one terrible day in AD 79 by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii has been almost completely excavated to reveal a treasure-house of paintings preserved under the cinders and ashes which buried the city - the only paintings of all classical antiquity to have survived. Hellenistic and Roman, the variety of the artists is great: the pictorial panorama presents styles derived from the theater, fabulous depictions of Trojan legends, serenely contemplative views, and vibrantly impressionistic representations of myth and reality. Regal portraits alternate with epic characters and men and women of Pompeii. In the silent houses, in slow progression along the walls of precious, glowing color, the eternal vitality of art brings to life for us the serene spirit, the harmony and humanity of classical times.

`Points out what one does not normally see and captures the exuberant nature of this rich art.'

UNESCO

© 1998-2008 The Roland Collection & Pira Intl.