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Roman Art 's Influence On What We Call Art Today

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Throughout history, Roman art has had a great impact on what we call art today. Through their sculptures, architecture and paintings, the Roman artists have uniquely imprinted their style. In particular, the Roman wall paintings evoke the wealth and splendor of the palaces and pavilions of rulers. A great example of this is the wall paintings from a Cubiculum Nocturnum from the villa of P. Fannius Synistor. This villa, in which the paintings were created, is in Boscoreale, a commune in Italy and is about a mile north of Pompeii. These paintings are from the Late Republican period and are dated back to ca. 50-40 B.C. Today, these wall paintings are located in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, New York. The medium is fresco paint on dry plaster and its scale is large. The depiction of these wall paintings, which was located on the walls of a bedroom, would have been used by the owner to show off his wealth/ status and exquisite taste, as shown by the use of bold colors and designs. The villa was buried in AD 79 because there was a huge eruption from Mount Vesuvius.1 This led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other areas. Some of the most important wall paintings have fortunately survived and were found at the Roman villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale. This villa was only partially excavated. It consisted of three stories and included baths, agricultural quarters, and an underground passage with a stable. The

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