Wall Fragment of a Muse in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Wall Fragment of a Muse
Unknown
Roman, Italy, A.D. 1 - 75
Plaster and pigment
H: 24 7/8 x W: 15 3/4 x D: 1 11/16 in.
70.AG.92

A muse, one of the goddesses of the arts and learning, reaches up and adjusts the wreath on her head on this fragment of a Roman fresco. She carries a tragic theater mask, and probably represents Melpomene, the muse of Tragedy. Her slightly windblown clothing and the position of her feet give the impression that she is floating against the broad expanse of the yellow background.

Floating figures in the center of a fresco panel were common in Roman wall painting of the first century A.D. The Romans frequently decorated their homes with images drawn from the theater. Theatrical references found in wall-painting range from entire stage scenes to isolated theatrical masks, from portraits of playwrights to images of the Muses.

This fragment is only a small section of a fresco that once covered an entire wall of a room. It is said to come from Boscoreale, one of the towns located at the base of Mount Vesuvius destroyed when the volcano erupted in A.D. 79. Boscoreale was a resort town housing the country villas of rich Romans escaping the noise and crowding of the city.

Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=7625