Gardenscape, Villa of Livia essays

Gardenscape, Villa of Livia essays The Gardenscape at Villa of Livia in Primaporta, Italy (Livia was the wife of Emperor Augustus) decorates a vaulted, partially subterranean chamber of the villa. The dry fresco is done in the second style of Roman art and depicts an ideal garden scene. The second style describes the artist's attempt to dissolve a room's confining walls and replace them with the illusion of an imaginary three-dimensional world. This can be seen in the artist's lack of using framing devices, thus creating a picture-window wall. Through my research of this painting I have discovered that it uses atmospheric perspective- indicating depth by the increasinly blurred appearance of objects in the distance. This is illustrated by the fence, trees and birds in the foreground, which are precisely painted and the details of dense foliage in the background, which are indistinct. Since the painting is set up horizontally, objects look wider rather than taller, and horizontal bands of fence, background and border have been created so your eye seems to see a wide-angle view. The lines of the work creat movement and a natural beauty throughtou the composition. An evident line is in the foreground. Together the trees and birds, which are curvy and flowing, creat an almost vine-like effect. The more detailed parts of the painting have darker outlines that make them stand out, creating a focal point for your eye. The whole design of the painting is based on soft, natural forms flowing together in a harmonius movement, reflecting the beauty of nature. Also, through my research, I have discovered that in the second style era of wall paintings the people of Rome wanted always to be in the beauty of nature. And so they created homes that would allow outside light and air into the house and they adorned the walls with beautiful paintings of ideal gardens. The gardens and fruits Romans produced were important to the people in cities like Primaporta. Cultivate...