Wall painting from the west wall of Room L of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale

ca. 50–40 BCE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 164

This large painting fragment comes from the west wall of the exedra (Room L), opening off the rear of the villa's peristyle. A sacrificial bull's head (boukranion) originally occupied the center of the wall, from which an opulent garland of fruits and leaves is suspended to left and right against a brilliant wall of simulated masonry. Preserved are parts of four of the original five red slabs of the central zone, separated by golden bands and crowned by a white molding. There follows a course of alternating green and golden blocks that bears an elaborate entablature consisting of a white architrave, a purple frieze decorated with brackets in the form of bearded horned snakes with interlacing tails, and a white cornice. Hanging from a red cord tied in the bull's mouth is a wicker basket, the cista mystica, its lid removed to reveal a snake uncoiling from a bed of ivy. Suspended from the garland also in red cords are a cymbal and a satyr mask.

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Artwork Details

Overview

References

Title: Wall painting from the west wall of Room L of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
Period: Late Republican
Date: ca. 50–40 BCE
Culture: Roman
Medium: Fresco
Dimensions: Overall: 77 x 107in. (195.6 x 271.8cm)
Classification: Miscellaneous-Paintings
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1903
Object Number: 03.14.4
Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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1254. Wall painting from the west wall of Room L of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale

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This fresco fragment comes from the walls of an alcove that opened to the peristyle of the villa at Boscoreale. Notice how the highlights and shadows indicate a light source from the left. They would have given the impression that the wall and objects were illuminated by actual daylight from the courtyard surrounded by the peristyle.

Take a moment to appreciate the amazing details, especially the sacrificial bull’s head festooned with lush garlands. On the garlands are fruit, grape leaves, wheat, and even pinecones. On the left, a snake slithers out of a wicker basket dangling from the mouth of the bull’s head.

In the center of the garland hangs a mask of a bearded satyr. Satyrs—consorts of the god, Dionysos—were often shown drinking or making music with instruments like the bronze cymbal that hangs from the garland on the right. These details evoke sculpted and painted images that one might have actually seen in a sanctuary of Dionysos.

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