New discoveries of painted tombs, along with the results of archaeometric investigations, have confirmed earlier identifications of groups of ateliers, based on decorative systems, patterns, and the style of figured paintings. These discoveries have also shed new light on the spread of the custom of painting the inner walls of tombs, especially in its earlier stages. A new series of tombs that are frescoed, but lack figured scenes, have filled the gap between the Tomb of the Diver and the earliest previously known subsequent painted tombs, dating from the late V century. One of these new finds, Tomb 781 from the necropolis of Arcioni, is even slightly earlier than the Tomb of the Diver. This evidence proves the coexistence of two styles of tomb painting in the central part of the century: in one, the walls were decorated with architectural motifs; in the other, they were completely covered with white plaster, or with plaster painted a uniform red color, or decorated with bands of color. All these graves belong to groups of individuals inhumed in spaces lying outside the urban necropoleis. Archaeometric investigations have proved that their paintings all show the same technical features. Furthermore, the working methods are very similar to those of the painters who decorated the Paestan temples, as borne out by studies on plasters and pigments, prevalently of the Temple of Athena. When painted decorative elements begin to appear on the inner walls of graves, innovations are introduced in the range of colors, which nevertheless draw on a long-standing wall painting tradition of the Greek city. The plant friezes appear to be an integral part of a structural system. At this time, two distinct ateliers began to elaborate on the same tradition. One continued to partition the slab surface in zones, gradually adding objects and figured elements. The other was decidedly more pictorial. During the IV century, as figured scenes gained in importance, the partitioning of wall space remained just about unchanged. The technique for spreading the preparatory layer, however, became more rapid, except in very special cases. Some recent finds from the necropoleis of Gaudo and Arcioni, mainly recovered by the police after having been dug up illegally, have added to our knowledge of Paestan funerary painting. The pitched roofs of tombs Ar 693 and G92/ 1987 are plastered and decorated with figured motifs, which is very unusual in Paestan painting of the full IV century. Besides, their paintings bear witness to the rise and evolution of an atelier that spawned, within two generations, the artistic personality of the painter who shortly thereafter executed the decoration of the Tomb of Contrada Vecchia at Agropoli. This evolution paralleled that of red-figure pottery in the years when the vase painter Assteas came to the fore. On the pediments of Tomb G 92 is pictured a female bust shown in profile, facing left. The woman wears a cloak bordered in red, an innovative element that is so far unique in local funerary painting. In size and attributes - a pomegranate twig and a fowl - this image finds parallels in well-known examples from the Campanian world. However, the artist's pictorial language is fully reflective of Paestum's cultural specificity, and belongs to the tradition of a local atelier that flourished before the middle of the IV century BC. This poses some chronological problems, since the Campanian tombs in question all date from the end of the century. A decidedly innovative atelier decorated a slab of unknown provenance. It has been ascertained that it belonged to the same tomb as an already previously known fragment of a long slab, probably from Scigliati, in the territory of Paestum. On the first slab, one can make out part of a sword hanging from the wall and a circular shield graced by a lion. Both slabs presumably come from a plundered chamber tomb. On the fragmentary long slab are a helmet on which a small gorgoneion is pictured a macchia, and a returning warrior greeted by two women, the first of whom reaches out a skyphos to him. This decoration innovates on the traditional theme of the return of the warrior. It reflects well-known models attested in the Nola area, but adapts them to local customs, as indicated by the women's dress. The pictorial quality of this document, datable within the last decades of the IV century, can be further linked to the coeval, or only slightly later, tombs of Spinazzo. Thus, this tomb bears witness to an internal evolution of local tradition, which in this phase, while clearly adhering to Campanian cultural models, retains its specific character.

Sistemi decorativi e officine a Paestum

PONTRANDOLFO, Angela
2010-01-01

Abstract

New discoveries of painted tombs, along with the results of archaeometric investigations, have confirmed earlier identifications of groups of ateliers, based on decorative systems, patterns, and the style of figured paintings. These discoveries have also shed new light on the spread of the custom of painting the inner walls of tombs, especially in its earlier stages. A new series of tombs that are frescoed, but lack figured scenes, have filled the gap between the Tomb of the Diver and the earliest previously known subsequent painted tombs, dating from the late V century. One of these new finds, Tomb 781 from the necropolis of Arcioni, is even slightly earlier than the Tomb of the Diver. This evidence proves the coexistence of two styles of tomb painting in the central part of the century: in one, the walls were decorated with architectural motifs; in the other, they were completely covered with white plaster, or with plaster painted a uniform red color, or decorated with bands of color. All these graves belong to groups of individuals inhumed in spaces lying outside the urban necropoleis. Archaeometric investigations have proved that their paintings all show the same technical features. Furthermore, the working methods are very similar to those of the painters who decorated the Paestan temples, as borne out by studies on plasters and pigments, prevalently of the Temple of Athena. When painted decorative elements begin to appear on the inner walls of graves, innovations are introduced in the range of colors, which nevertheless draw on a long-standing wall painting tradition of the Greek city. The plant friezes appear to be an integral part of a structural system. At this time, two distinct ateliers began to elaborate on the same tradition. One continued to partition the slab surface in zones, gradually adding objects and figured elements. The other was decidedly more pictorial. During the IV century, as figured scenes gained in importance, the partitioning of wall space remained just about unchanged. The technique for spreading the preparatory layer, however, became more rapid, except in very special cases. Some recent finds from the necropoleis of Gaudo and Arcioni, mainly recovered by the police after having been dug up illegally, have added to our knowledge of Paestan funerary painting. The pitched roofs of tombs Ar 693 and G92/ 1987 are plastered and decorated with figured motifs, which is very unusual in Paestan painting of the full IV century. Besides, their paintings bear witness to the rise and evolution of an atelier that spawned, within two generations, the artistic personality of the painter who shortly thereafter executed the decoration of the Tomb of Contrada Vecchia at Agropoli. This evolution paralleled that of red-figure pottery in the years when the vase painter Assteas came to the fore. On the pediments of Tomb G 92 is pictured a female bust shown in profile, facing left. The woman wears a cloak bordered in red, an innovative element that is so far unique in local funerary painting. In size and attributes - a pomegranate twig and a fowl - this image finds parallels in well-known examples from the Campanian world. However, the artist's pictorial language is fully reflective of Paestum's cultural specificity, and belongs to the tradition of a local atelier that flourished before the middle of the IV century BC. This poses some chronological problems, since the Campanian tombs in question all date from the end of the century. A decidedly innovative atelier decorated a slab of unknown provenance. It has been ascertained that it belonged to the same tomb as an already previously known fragment of a long slab, probably from Scigliati, in the territory of Paestum. On the first slab, one can make out part of a sword hanging from the wall and a circular shield graced by a lion. Both slabs presumably come from a plundered chamber tomb. On the fragmentary long slab are a helmet on which a small gorgoneion is pictured a macchia, and a returning warrior greeted by two women, the first of whom reaches out a skyphos to him. This decoration innovates on the traditional theme of the return of the warrior. It reflects well-known models attested in the Nola area, but adapts them to local customs, as indicated by the women's dress. The pictorial quality of this document, datable within the last decades of the IV century, can be further linked to the coeval, or only slightly later, tombs of Spinazzo. Thus, this tomb bears witness to an internal evolution of local tradition, which in this phase, while clearly adhering to Campanian cultural models, retains its specific character.
2010
9788895044811
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11386/3016278
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