CERILLO Edoardo Dipinti murali di Pompei. Medaglie. Istituto d’incoraggiamento di Napoli. Esposizioni di Londra e Milano. Versione francese pel Cav. Giulio Cottrau.

First edition.

In his note to the reader, Giulio di Petra indicates that this text, written by the architect Edoardo Cerillo, is illustrated with plates based on the work of the famous French archaeologist Raoul-Rochette (1789-1854). Published in 1886, this collection, introduced by the eulogies of Giulio de Petra, is one of the most important works of its time.

For the first time since their discovery, the painted walls discovered at Pompeii were considered as a whole, without the focus being exclusively on the figurative frames, which had hitherto been studied out of context and considered as autonomous representations. In this way, the twenty walls presented are treated analytically, and the architectural decoration is given its rightful place alongside the figurative representations. The paintings are presented in twenty chromolithographs captioned with the name of the house in which they were discovered.

These reproductions, by Vincenzo Loria, display a chromatic richness that is rare for editions of the period, and represent an important source of information for us today. Each plate is accompanied by a rich commentary in French and Italian by the architect and engineer Edoardo Cerillo, translated by Giulio Cottau.Cerillo’s technical eye is expressed in his skilful mastery of architectural details, which provide the observer with keys to interpretation. Among the paintings left in situ, Plate III reproduces the eastern wall of one of the two tablinums in the house at La fontana piccola (VI 7, 23-24).

Excavated between 1826 and 1827, this house was under construction at the time of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The architectural composition chosen by D’Amelio, a remarkable example of the 4th Pompeian style, was created after the earthquake of 62/63 AD, the tremors of which did not spare this domus. Organised in three superimposed fields, this decoration reproduces the very layout of the tablinum flanked by two lateral passages where, in reality, the lack of space did not allow for such an architectural solution, as Edoardo Cirillo points out. In this interplay of references, the reality of the house’s planimetry is complemented by the painting, which can only be fully understood by looking at it as a whole.

The twenty plates, drawn by Vincenzo Lorai (1850-1939), show in particular : House of Princess Marguerite; House of Vedius Siricus; House of the small mosaic fountain; House of Arianne; the abandoned House of Arianne; House of Marcus Lucretius; House of the Black Wall ; House of the Tragic Poet; House of Castor and Pollux; House of Orpheus; Pantheon; House of the Notary; House of Salluste; House of  Apollo; House of Vedius Siricus; House of the Wueen of Italy; House of Elpidius Sabinus; House of Adonis; House of Decumanus Maior; Stabian Thermal Baths.

Some occasional foxing, else a fine and complete copy.