Fragment of a wall painting with Bacchus

Installed in Art Before 700 CE, Spring 2025 Label Text:

In the sparsely furnished interiors of Roman houses, painted walls were the backdrops of daily life. Buried in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE, they emerged from the rubble in pieces, their colors miraculously preserved.

Our eye goes to the center of the yellow surface, where Bacchus, the god of wine, revelry, and transformation, poses nude. Wearing boots and a crown of grapes, he cradles his fennel and pinecone staff (the thyrsus) in his left arm. With his right hand, he tips a libation bowl, drizzling wine into the open mouth of his panther. To his side, a small statue of the god Priapus stands looking up at Bacchus, drawing our gaze back to him.

Above, two proud peacocks strut along a white border. Peacocks were extravagant pets imported from India, and sometimes consumed as delicacies. The frescoes offer a glimpse of the ancient Roman domestic sphere. The imagery would have fit perfectly into a space for entertaining, like a triclinium—a formal dining room.

– Bettina Bergmann, Professor Emeritus of Art History

[Displayed with 1958.3.C.PI, 1958.5.C.PI and 1958.4.C.PI]