Saturday, October 9, 2010

Fresh as a Roman Fresco

The fresco is as ancient as 30,000 years old.  The first paintings being found in the Chauvet cave in France as shown below.


 


However, I want to focus on a particular type of fresco.  These were buried by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE when it erupted, after decimating Pompeii and Herculaneum, along with everything and everyone around it like a holocaust of hellfire.  They've since been discovered in the 18th century, and are made by painting upon wet plaster.  Though the technique used is lost, as these frescoes are even better preserved than any we make today.  



Owait.  That not fresco.
Pompeii itself was a vibrant city which was something of a merchant town.  One of its specialties involved frescoes which depicted goods and services, especially those which were raw and pornographic, indicating the highest quality of service one could ever hope for.

What's the point?  Enjoy the frescoes and triforce.  Peace.

Want elaboration?  I drew on this article for much of my information, and credit them:  http://www.italianfrescoes.com/history.asp

10 comments:

  1. Amazing... 30k years ago they were drawing better then me now ^^

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  2. The cave paintings are amazingly detailed! They're usually so basic! Or the ones I see are anyways. But THESE! These are amazing. Thanks for posting them.

    Also, the freso made me laugh :D

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  3. 30,000?! Insane. I find it hard to think what life was like in the 1800s, let alone 30,000 years ago.

    And they still draw better than I do.

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  4. i have to agree with Rorschach Redemption on this, i also can't draw anything.
    Good post though, interesting pictures.

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  5. nice collection, they look great

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  6. Oh wow these paintings are really old! So much to learn!
    Mesty =)

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