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Today we are visiting #Pompeii to discover the House of the Gilded Cupids (Regio VI, 16, 7) and the House of Jason (Regio IX, 5, 18). We will have a look at certain mural paintings which share a fairly similar composition in both houses.
The House of the Gilded Cupids owes its name to the glass medallions with golden cupids, meant to be in the blank round spaces you see in this cubiculum. They are known to have been kept in place through iron staples.
https://www.pompei.it/scavi/amorini-dorati.htm
https://www.pompei.it/scavi/amorini-dorati.htm
Two medaillons were recovered during the excavations, but they are lost since the Second World War. Were it destroyed due to any of the bombs or rather stolen? https://twitter.com/pompei79/status/1254467433403789312
The House of Jason is named after this representation. The young man at the right side is known to be Jason thanks to a lovely detail: he lacks his left sandal because of having helped Hera, disguised as an elderly woman, to cross a river.
https://www.pompei.it/scavi/casa-giasone.htm
https://www.pompei.it/scavi/casa-giasone.htm
Let’s start from the beginning. Jason was the son of Aeson, king of Iolcos (Thessaly), overthrew by his brother Pelias. After that, Jason was raised and educated by the centaur Chiron at Mount Pelion.
Once he grew up, Jason decided to take revenge for his father. On his way to Iolcos, he helped Hera, who favoured him from that moment on. The instant depicted in this painting represents the interruption of Jason when Pelias and his daughters were about to perform a sacrifice.
Pelias was aware of a prophecy related to a man with only one sandal who would bring disgrace upon his kingship. To avoid this, he sent Jason to Colchis to find the Golden Fleece, a barely impossible quest, which was accomplished thanks to Hera and the Argonauts.
As you may have already observed, there is an almost identical scene at the House of the Gilded Cupids. It follows the same pyramidal scheme with Pelias and his daughters on the stairs, Jason entering at the same place and the servant bringing the animal for the sacrifice.
Even the objects at the table, the position of the maid and what appears to be the walking stick of Jason are identical. The optimal conservation of the painting of the House of Jason let us imagine how the upper part of the one at the House of the Gilded Cupids would look like.
As we have already mentioned in another #thread, it would have been frequent for painter workshops in #Pompeii to have a pattern book, often adapted from Greek models, which would be shown to the clients so as to choose the desired depictions. https://twitter.com/cinnabarim/status/1256643137033863169
Additionally, this tripartite structure, with a relevant character upstairs, is present as well in other houses of #Pompeii, such as the House of the Citharist (Regio I, 4, 5; depicting Leda and the swan) and the House of Cassandra (Regio I, 2, 28: showing Cassandra’s prophecy).
Beyond the Greek tradition, there is a genuine Roman addition to both paintings: the posture of Jason, similar to that of the servant at the centre of another Pompeian mural painting. According to certain authors, it could be related to other scenes of the Campanian genre.
Thanks to this tweet by @pompei79 I have been able to find a photograph of the same mural painting identified in the drawing of the last tweet. https://twitter.com/pompei79/status/1212101439964798981
On the other hand, this scene of Jason is not the only coincidence between both houses of this #thread, what has led some authors to attribute them to the same “master” of the 3rd Pompeian style or, at least, to one or two workshops that shared the same pattern book.
In this example, the painting of the House of Jason (left) helps us again to imagine how the one of the House of the Gilded Cupids (right) would have looked like. Here we have Paris (sitting on the left) and Helen, who is tempted by the cupid pointing out to the opened door.
This scheme seems to have been fairly common as well, as we can observe in this tweet by @GaggioliAmanda. The door and both columns balance the composition. https://twitter.com/GaggioliAmanda/status/1256978765587943425
This is the end of today's #thread, although there are more coincidences in the mural paintings of both houses that will be addressed in the future.
Aquí te cuento este #hilo sobre #Pompeya en castellano: https://twitter.com/cinnabarim/status/1259533069587021824
