The imperial villa at Boscoreale

7/29/2019 The imperial villa at Boscoreale

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Boscotrecase is the modern name of a small residentialarea to the southof Naples; the region's name may imply that there were once threehouses of great importance in the area, which was originally wooded. InantiquityBoscotrecasecommanded a sweeping view of the Bay of Naples.All seventeen of the paintings from Boscotrecase n the Metropolitancomefrom a villa of the late first centuryB.C. that stood near Torre Annunziata.The distinction of the villa at Boscotrecase s that it was the country resi-dence of certain members of the first Roman imperial family the familyof the emperor Augustus. It was discovered on March 23, 1903,when thetrain line that runs from Naples around the base of Mount Vesuvius wasunder construction.The owner of the propertyon which the villawas found,CavaliereErnestoSantini, excavated t with the help of an eminent Italianarchaeologist,Matteo Della Corte, and was richly rewarded for his efforts.The villa was large; the excavated area including bedrooms extendedabout 150 feet, and this was only part of the whole complex. Second Stylepaintings of columns decorated Peristyle B; in front of these were actualstucco-coveredbrick columns. This illusion of a double porticowas used aswell in the Boscorealevilla. The Second Style portion of the Boscotrecasevilla was not, however, excavated. What was retrieved instead included

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THEIMPERIAL VILLA

ATBOSCOTR

The Metropolitan Museum of Art


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severalsectionsof painted wallsfrom four bedrooms in the villa;of thesethe Metropolitanowns the greaterpartof three, includingthe BlackRoom.The MuseoArcheologicoNazionalein Naples houses the fourth, as well aspart of the Black Room. These paintings are presumed, on the basis oftheir remarkablesimilarity o paintingsin Rome'sVilla Farnesina,to havebeen executed by artists from the capital.The bedrooms had southern entrancesthat faced a long walkwayopen-ing to a breathtakingviewof the Bay of Naples. Most panels feature deli-cate ornamentalvignettesand landscapeswith genreand mythologicalcenesset againstrichlycolored backgrounds.Taken together,the paintingsfromBoscotrecaseafford a glimpse into the taste of well-to-do Romans at thevery end of the firstcenturyB.C. This glimpseis rendered especially mpor-tant because of the discovery by M. I. Rostovtzeff in 1926 that the villaoriginallybelonged to Agrippa, as did the Villa Farnesina.Whilethe Boscotrecasevillawas probablyconstructedaround20 B.C. andPeristyleB painted at that time, the paintings in the bedrooms are of theThird Style,or date sometime after 15 B.C. Becauseof Rostovtzeff's nter-pretationof some inscriptionsfrom the villa, a date of 11B.C. iS indicatedfor this second campaignof decoration. In 11B.C., the year after Agrippa'sdeath, the villathen nominallypassed into the hands of his posthumouslyborn infant son, Agrippa Postumus.The child wasonly a few months old,and the completionof the villawould havebeen overseenbyJulia,Agrippa'swidowand the infant'smother. The emperor Augustus must have visitedhis beloved daughterJulia in this splendid summer house where she andhis son-in-lawand good friend Agrippa had planned to live together.The date of 11B.C. would place the paintingsin the bedrooms at least ageneration ater thanthosefromBoscoreale.Boscoreale'sSecondStylepaint-ings of the 40s B.C. (and Boscotrecase'sSecond Style PeristyleB) exhibitmore of an interest in the possibilitiesof trompe l'oeil. During the ThirdStyle, as we have noted above, the wall'stwo-dimensionalitywas acknowl-edged, not denied, in the decoration; landscape vignettes were subordi-nated to the whole decorativescheme and rendered as paintingson a wallrather than as imaginaryviews out of rooms.The decorative scheme of the Black Room, or Room 15, with its subtlygeometricsocleand candelabra, s linkedto thoseof other Third Stylecom-missions, like the decorated interior of the probablycontemporaryPyra-mid of Cestius in Rome (12 B.C.). One entered the Black Room and theother bedroomsof the villa from a walkway D), facing south;the westwallwas thus on the left (see drawing p. 36 and fig. 47). A slim entablature,painted on a black background,runs the length of the wall. Unobtrusivebut colorful parakeetssurmountthe entablatureat regularintervals; heseand heads of Medusaare the principalfiguralelementson the wall. A smalllandscapescene like those on the east and north sides of the room was inthe center of the wall.The floor wasentirelyof white mosaicexcept for a patternof nine hexa-gons in a box about three feet square n the center of the floorand a smallerpatternat the entrance;bothdesignsweredelineatedbyblack esserae (tiles).The north wall of the BlackRoom (fig. 48) was visiblefrom the terraceoutside the bedroom. It was the centralwall of the bedroom;the east (fig.50) and west wallsare essentiallymirrorsof one another.A deep red socleruns along the bottom of the wall on all sides of the room.

46. Thewestwall(top)of Bedroom5, theBlackRoom,wason theleftas oneenteretheroomrom thesouth.At the ar leftwasadoorway onnectingwithBedroom 6. Thpreferenceor delicatepatterns ather hanf xedpointsof interestn thepainted chemsignals henew tasteof theThirdStyle.Thnorthwall(center)ouldbeseenromthe erraceoutsidehe bedroom.t was thecentrawallof the bedroom, hile he eastandweswallsmirrorone another.On theeast wal(bottom),landscapenthecenterecalls hosof thenorthand westwalls,andtheentablaturesanddecorativeriezeson the hreewallare almostdentical s well. Unlike hedecorationon thewestwall,however,haton theastwallis totally ymmetricalince t is un-interruptedya doorway. hecentral anopof thenorthwall is connectedothecandelabra o its leftand rightbya seriesofhorizontallinesandshortriezes.Like he ocle, hescontinuedroundheentire oom,inking hthreewalls.The ffect, nthispitchblack oomwasthatof a colorfulbutethereal age.

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47. Six sections f theBlackRoom'swewallsurvive, hree f which re n theMeropolitanMuseum.A seventh, he landscape cene llustratedn blackand whion thispage, asnow lost but wasonce theMuseoArcheologicoazionale,NapleThepanelsat the ar left and right,published ereforhefirst ime, re n the torrooms f theNaplesmuseum.Thaton thleft shows he lowerpart of a tripod.Thwall has a cornicen the center,whichsupported y hinstalklikeupportswithslim entablature.The cornice eaturegriffinsand masks fMedusaat theendA parakeets perched t theouter dgeoeachentablature. hetripods, lose o thendvsf thewalls,aredeliberatelyepictwithout nysenseof depth; hepreferenfor shallowdecorations characteristithisThirdStyle nterior. ike he wansothe northwall (fig. 49), the tripodsmabea referenceoApollo,whowas inkedAugustusduring hisperiod.aples20. 192.6

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48. The hreeections f thenorthwallhavebeenpreservedo theiroriginalheaght.Theminiaturezgur(ltivematgesre salhouettedatgainslheexpanse f blackwall.7he Egyp-tianizing cenen the eftpanelshowshedi-vinityApis, hebull,beingpropiticltedy wfzgures;he igure(lt theright s Anubis.Ac()br(lncoils nder he able.The malland-scape n lhe center f themainpanelshowsreligi()useremonyaking lacebefore tower(seedetail,backcover).Closer o us in thepicture laneis a pairoJslimcolumnsup-porting n ornate ediment. hepedimentp-pear.sobe madeout of metalor wood,whilethe olumn rumslternateetween etal ndvegetal ections. bove ach olumnndbelowthepediments a portrait nclosedn a me-dallion. t seemsikelyhat heportrait ntheleft is of Julia, thedaughter f the emperorAugustus, nd thaton the right s ofLivia,theemperor'sife seealso gs. 56,57). Thereareno othermages fimperialubjectsnozunin Romanpainting.

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The panels to the left and right of the main panel on the north wall aralmost the same, showing a central candelabrum surmounted by a yellopanel with an Egyptianizingscene. Halfway up each candelabrum,a paiof swans holds up a fillet that stretchesfrom their beaks.The yellow paneare loose evocations of motifs inspiredby Egyptian art, whereas the swanmay symbolize Augustus and his family. Swans appear in a very similaarrangement on the principal sculptural monument of this time, the ArPacis n Rome (constructedbetween13B.C. and 9 B.C.). The Ara Pacis,whicwas built to commemorateAugustus'spacificationof the known world, wamethodicallydesigned with symbolsand imagery associatingAugustus witAeneas, the founder of the Latin race. The large main panel has a sma

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landscape in its center that apparently shows a religious ceremony takingplace before a tower. On a plane nearer to us in the picture is a psir of slimcolumns supporting an ornate pediment; above each column and below thepediment is a cameolikeportrait set in a medallion.One can make out both here and on the other panels the artists'subtledifferentiation of one wall from another by the use of shadows. Since theunique source of natural ightfor the room was at the south end from theBay of Naples the decorativeelements of the room cast shadows in direc-tions consistent with their situation relative to the sunlight; on the east wall,the wall on the right as one entered the room, the light raked across thesurface from right to left, and the shadows are painted accordingly.


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_i suruive. hepanelatthefarleft(MuseoAologicoNazionale,Naples) s published efor the rst time, and mustbe imaginedhave reached he heightof the tripodoppsite, center also in Naples). The other oupanelsare in theMetropolitanMuseum.

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IAlthough he paintingsof the tripods identicaln almost verydetail, ncluding direction f theshadowsromright o left,_ waspossible o determineheposition f eaby he cracksn the threepanelsat the righ

i , The missing ornice bove he central anscape wouldhave closely esembledhat othe westwall (fig. 47). Thecolorful riezsurmountedy arakwets,ppearsodrawup_ thesame raditions f lateArchaicGreek _ chitecturehatareechoedn theForum f Au_ gu.stus19 B.C.) in Rome.Thehistoricism_ Augustanarchitecturend its consciousnof classicalformseparatesttrom hebaroq_ Hellenistic endencies f lateRepublicanchitecture, uch as that in BedroomM Boscorealef g. 23).Naples46


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+ yW >^ On the westwall, he shadows all in the oppositedirection, nd on the,^, Zw northwall, hey fall in bothdirections way rom the center.This systemt 4 + t of intimatinghe direction f light s fairly ommon nPompeian rescoes

, .: Of theWhiteRoomonly twopanelssurvive, ndthese are in fragmen;.t tary condition.Enoughremains o show that the wallswere paintedoff4, iW white, witha red socle and blackpredella,and that the room includeflct'8ty (,''t. elaboratehymiateria,r incenseburners,whichwereprobably ituatedon*'-' *,-,9,, '8; . -, the left andrightdoor ambsof the room's outhern ntrance.The Whit

4 - X Roomwas he bedroom o the leftof the Mythological oom,Bedroom19w : It hada doorway t the rightof the entrance,ust as theMythological oom

X had a doorway o the left of its entrance; hese side doors opened to an commoncorridor.J .v InBedroom 9, he Mythological oom,ornamentalatterns readmixe.,


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The woman at the lower right of the panel may be a local nymph orAndromeda'smother.Like the paintingshowingPolyphemus and Galatea,this panel, cast in ablue-greenhue recalling the sea, alludes to the fortunes of love. The miss-ing landscapefrom the bedroom'snorth wall must have depicted a scenefrom mythologyas well,perhaps that of the Deathof Actaeonor the Fall ofIcarus, two popular themes in Third Style painting.Room 16 of Boscotrecase s preservedalmost in its entiretyin the MuseoArcheologicoNazionale,Naples.There all three paintingssurvive,buttheydepict landscapeswith bucolicfigures rather than scenes from mythology.Returning to the history of the villa'sownership, we must consider insome detail the twoportraitmedallionsmentionedin the description of theBlackRoom's northwall.As waslong ago established,Julia'sconnection toBoscotrecasecontinued after her husband'sdeath in 12 B.C. It seems logi-cal thatthe decorationwasoccasionedbyher remarriage o Tiberius, whichtook place in 11B.C., the year in which the paintingsappear to have beendone. With this in mind, the identificationof the two portraitmedallions nthe main panel of the Black Room as Agrippa or Augustus was recentlychallenged. Eventhough the second marriageofJuliawas not a happy one,it would have been unusual to include images of her past husband in thevillameant to be a home for the new couple.

51-53. Opposite:The directionrheshad-ows in eachrhe twopanelstrom Bedroom20, the WhiteRoom, suggeststhat thepanelwith the lowerportionpreserved s trom thewestside of theroomand that with theupperportionistrom the eastside. Theyare coinci-dentallybrokenn sucha way that theywouldalmostJit together;rom theirmeasurementwe can determinehat theminimumheightrtheroomwasalmost welvefeet.Above:In theblackpredella is a small bird about to peckatsometruit;atrieze above hepredellashowsa leaty vine, which may also be seen as aseriesorbirds'heads.The WhiteRoom,accord-ing to the descriptionrhe excavator, wasvery similar in its decorativescheme to theMythologicalRoom,Bedroom 9, andincludedthree argepaintings on the west,north, andeast walls.

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54. In thedrawingbelow f thewestwall ofBedroom9, theMythologicaloom, heupperzonehasbeen econstructedn theexarrlplefthat rom theCasa ei C5ubicoliloreali fig.9). Thedrawing ndicateshedoorwszyt thefar left opening o thecorridorhared y heWhiteRoom s wellas theposition f the ourpainted ections hat survive rom the wall.ThepanelwithPolyphemusnalGalatea op-posite)was n thecenter, nd theyellowriezemayhave been nterruptelby the top of thepainting. n the rawing an attempt asbeenmade o linkthe twopanelssharing yellowfrieze.A largeredpanel was at the rightofthewall,and only hecenter ortionwith hethymiaterionhas urvivedlower ight).Theexcavationeport f l922 describessoclewithpaintings f off ringdishes, r paterae; hesehavebeen ddedn the econstructionrawing.

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55. TheMythological oom'sastwall mir- (opposite) s preserved n the storeroomsrorsthe westwall except hat t is not inter- of the Naplesmuseum nd is herepublishedruptedbya doorway,o that two redpanels for the rst ime. n describinghewallsof theflank thecentral aintingdepicting ndrom- Mythologicaloom, heexcavatorsuggestshatedaandPerseusopposite).he ntire edpanel the centralpaintingshad a large white ur-from theleft end (below) urvives;upon its round,which ouldhavebeen o eitherideofexcavation t was wrongly oined with the theputative olumnsestoredn thedrawing,portion of yellowfrieze from the right althoughno evidence f whitepigmenthasendof thewestwall (seep. 51, upper zght), been ound. As in thereconstructionf thebutthesehave beenreproducedereas sepa- eastwall,all featuresother han thoseof theratepanels.Thecenter f therightredpanel surviving ections rehypothetical.

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Until recentlyboth medallionswereassumed o be identicalportraits fone man. A closer ook at the twoportraitmedallions evealeda startlinfact: n the medallion n the left (above), restorerhad inadvertently lteredthe sitter'seatures, ransformingheoriginalportraitromthatof ayoungwoman ntothatof a man,despite he fact hatphotographsaken n1929,beforerestoration, learly how he left-handportrait o be thatof awoman.On the basisof comparisonswithotherportraits f women romtheAugustanperiod, t seems ikely hat heportrait n the leftrepresenJulia,the mistressof the villa,and the portraiton the right(below) s awoman s well,andrepresentsLivia, he wifeof the emperorAugustus ndJulia's tepmother nd newmother-in-law.This newidentification f the portraitmedallionsprovides ascinatininsight nto the private ivesof theimperial amily, ince hereareno otheimperial esidences nownwithpainted magesof the owners. t shouldnosurpriseus thatJulia'sportraitwas not removedwhen she wasexiled in2 B.C.; by then the villamay havepassed nto the handsof the villamanagerand wouldnot have attractedmuchattention.This is not an officiaportrait or publicdisplay,but a small private mage. We mayspeculatabout he ntended ccupant f theroomon thebasis f these dentificatioalongwithotherevidence: heroom's pareaspect, omewhat ut of characterwith he othercubicula ndreminiscent f the houseof Augustus nRome; ts use of a distinctive ecorative mblem the swan thought osymbolizeAugustusand his familyand featured n the principal fficiamonument f the day, he AraPacis; ts importantocationasthe easternmostbedroom;and the fact thatthe emperorwas a close friend of thevilla's ormerowner, he doting atherof thatowner'swife,andthe grandfatherof the subsequentnfantowner.One sobliged o askwhetherCubiculum 15 was decorated to acknowledge he taste and interests of thefifty-two-year-oldmperorof Rome,who might,when risingand retirinon a visit o the villa,glanceatunostentatiouslyituatedportraits, isplayelikephotographs n bedrooms oday,of his beloveddaughterand wifeOthermembers f the imperialamily, ikeTiberius r AgrippaPostumushouldalso be considered s possibleoccupants.Whoever heintendedoccupantmayhavebeen,the sparedecoration the BlackRoom s instructive bout the decorativedevicesappealing oAugustusand his entourage.The firstemperorof Romeencouraged hcreation f a newstyle hatabandoned heimposingdisplays f wealthanderuditioncommon n the Second Style and took a differentview of thepaintedwall.Theoccupants ndthosewho visited he villaatBoscotrecawerenot greetedby vistasof architecturalplendor,but shallowarchiteturalelementsandslender, legantdecorativeorms,playfully llusive ocontemporaryultural nd politicaloncerns.Theornamentalestraint overning the decoration f the cubicula s especiallynoteworthyn light owhathad preceded t in the villaatBoscoreale, nd t speaks olumes boutheaestheticallyophisticatedmagination f theage of Ovid,asopposed othe somewhat ndiscriminateppetitesof prominentRepublicansuch aCicero,whoordered argequantities f statues orhisvillagarden. t wasathismoment n Western ulture hat art beganto look backon itself withumorand intelligence ather hanawe and that a nativeRoman eculaism produced culture ied to the formsof thepastbut alsowedded o thgreatfutureof the Empire.

56,57. Above:Theportraitmedallionsf theBlackRoomareshown rior o their estora-tionand overpainting. achmedallion p-pears o bea cameo ortrait;hepurple olorof thebackgroundsas seen in Jig. 48) wasreservedor imperialubjectsn the Romanworldduring hisperiod.

58. Opposite: heseamonsterketos) romthepaintingwithAndromedandPerseusseep. 53, lower eft) is among he mostaccom-plished assages f theMythological oom.54


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The imperial villa at Boscoreale

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