House at Fruit Orchard
The House at Fruit Orchard was painted in a decade before the earthquake hit Pompeii in 62 C.E., in the style of Livia’s villa at Primaporta. The dining room was decorated in gardenscape in the third style of mural painting in which the walls of the orchard house are divided into three distinct sections. The bottom section is set against a dark monochromatic background with red and orange ornaments painted in a linear fashion. The midsection of the mural is most like Livia’s paintings, which is why this painting could be mistaken as the second style. There is a fence surrounding a garden where most of the foliage is blocked. The opening in the fence allows the viewer to see a statue or fountain of some sort. This section gives symmetry pleasing the eyes of the viewer. There is a set illusionism in this zone because the entrance to the garden is high above the floor, so it is harder to imagine stepping into this world. The top section is split into three parts, giving an already symmetric mural more symmetry. This section is eerie, with the trees popping out above the fence, but you cannot see base of the trunks. The dark blue sky lingers in the background contrasting the greens of the trees and shrubs. A snake coils itself up the tree in the center of the top section, making its way toward the looming sky. Each section of the House of Fruit Orchard distinguishes itself. There is a beauty in the use of color as the viewer's eye moves up the painting toward the dark hue of the sky.
Bibliography:
Kleiner, Fred S. A History of Roman Art. Enhanced ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2010.