18 décembre 2018
Paolo Tomassini et al., « La pittura ad Ostia prima di Adriano: bilancio di una “riscoperta” e prospettive della ricerca », HAL-SHS : histoire de l'art, ID : 10670/1.q6dcfk
As far as the wall paintings are concerned, Ostia is mainly known for its decorations dating to the second century onwards. Except for the paintings of the Domus dei Bucrani and the Santuario della Bona Dea in the Regio V, very few evidence is known for previous periods, corresponding to the four styles. However, recent studies carried out by members of the Centro Studi Pittura Romana Ostiense (CeSPRO) on fragmentary wall-paintings preserved in the Depositi Ostiensi reveal the presence in the city of several 1st c. BC and 1st c. AD wall-decorations. The wall-painting fragments studied in this project were found in secondary position, in different buildings of the site excavated during the 1970s and 1980s that remained unpublished after the discovery. After a thorough work of reconstruction of the fragments, it was possible to better clarify the characteristics and the evolution of Ostia’s wall-painting in a period prior to the great urban transformations linked to the construction of the port of Trajan. This contribution aims to present a first synthesis of the pictorial production of Ostia emerging from the recent studies, thanks to the analysis of the numerous plaster fragments of First, Second, Third and Fourth Style coming from the so-called Caseggiato delle Taberne Finestrate (IV, V, 18) and the Caseggiato dei Lottatori (V, III, 1). These two contexts were studied on the occasion of two PhD theses, discussed in 2017 respectively at the Université catholique de Louvain and the Università degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata. Even if the original provenance of the fragments is unknown, their study is particularly relevant, as they reveal the exceptional level of Ostian wall-painting production during the 1st c. BC and 1st c. AD, as well as the adherence to the urban decorative repertoire.