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Artwork: Pan and Hermaphrodite Artist: Unknown Created: c. 50 CE Medium: Fresco (detail) Location: Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Naples, Italy ——————————————— “When the Roman city of Pompeii, which is thought to have been inhabited by 10,000 people, was displayed during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, many of the paintings on the walls of the building of the city were left intact. The volcano buried the city under many feet of ash and it was lost for 1,600 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748. Four distinct styles of Roman mural have been identified. This mural is painted in the “architectural style” — space extends beyond the room with various perspective changes being employed. Roman artists came close to developing a true linear perspective. The artists used wet and dry plaster infused with powdered marble and alabaster to create a luster. The intent of the artist was a near photorealism although the murals found in Pompeii are often quite abstract. In Pan and Hermaphrodite, the notoriously lustful Pan is fleeting the advances of Hermaphroditus having seen his male genitalia. Hermaphroditus, the son of the messager god Hermes and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was pursued by a nymph who, having had her advances spurred, fused her body to Hermaphroditus thus causing him to become endowed with the physical traits of both sexes. Pan’s intriguing features are well shown here. He was the deity who watched over shepherds and had the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat. This is a beautiful fresco, exquisitely executed, which captures the aching solitude of Hermaphroditus as well as the bestiality of the satyrlike Pan. (OR) #1001beforeyoudiecollections #1001beforeyoudiecollection #arthistory #historyofart #webgalleryofvisualart #1transcribedtext #artlover #1001andmore

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