Wall Paintings – History of the Fresco

This course is a historical and visual analysis of the ancient art of the fresco. Focusing on Rome and Pompeii to provide the perfect setting to study layers of stylistic transformations throughout the centuries of Roman wall painting.

During this course, students will learn to recognize and differentiate the various wall painting styles used for decorative purposes throughout private and public buildings of the ancient Roman Empire. Students will study the varied religious settings and pictorial languages of wall paintings found within Rome’s Mithraeums (one of Rome’s mystery cults) as well as early funerary paintings within the Roman catacombs. Arriving at the early modern age, this class will analyze how the techniques of fresco painting evolved to be utilized by the greatest master artists of the Renaissance. This course will strengthen the students’ aesthetic comprehension of the step by step process of fresco painting, familiarize them with the materials used, as well as provide an introduction to the history and theory of the ideology restoration and conservation used to preserve Rome’s artistic heritage.