Herculaneum Archaeological Park: restoration accessible to public for mural painting from Villa of the Papyri

Until Feb. 5, 2019, the restoration of a wall painting from the Villa of the Papyri is accessible to visitors and enthusiasts in the Herculaneum Archaeological Park: a temporary workshop is set up in the teaching spaces of the park’sAntiquarium to house the painting before it is displayed at the Getty Museum in Malibu from June 26 to Oct. 28, 2019, for the exhibition Rediscovering the Villa of the Papyri.

The painting, depicting architecture in perspective, has been dated to 50-30 B.C. and was made at the time of the villa’s construction; it is about 2.50 meters long and 1.20 meters high and corresponds roughly to 1/6 of the entire decorative scheme of the wall. The latter included a complex architectural composition, embellished with a rich series of decorative accessory elements that accentuated its illusionistic character.

“In the interplay of interior and exterior, some precious furnishings catch the eye, such as the splendid glass vase filled with late summer fruits, grapes and pomegranate, placed on display on a riser that we would expect to find on a prince’s table rather than on a cornice shelf. Everything looks real, with its own weight and texture, but nothing is: the illusion is perfect, and we can only imagine the disorientation of the visitor who, having passed through the Villa’s small peristyle and atrium, in this environment was projected into a completely different architectural space from the one he had left behind right behind these walls,” said Herculaneum Archaeological Park director Francesco Sirano.

The paintings in the Villa not only confirm the refined taste of the owner, as known to have belonged to the senatorial class of Rome, but above all greatly enrich our knowledge of the expressive capabilities of the Campanian painting workshops of the II Style period in a context, such as that of Herculaneum in general and the Villa of the Papyri in particular, privileged both because of its proximity to Naples and because of the presence in the city of numerous members of the urban aristocracy.

With the regular admission ticket to the Archaeological Park, visitors will be able to watch the restoration work from Monday to Friday from noon to 1 p.m. and will find restorer Elisabetta Canna at their disposal, who will illustrate her work.

Also on Sunday, February 3, the appointment with Domenicalmuseo returns: access will then be free.

Ph.Credit Archaeological Park of Herculaneum

Herculaneum Archaeological Park: restoration accessible to public for mural painting from Villa of the Papyri

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