Religion and the painters

In the years 1938-1942 an enormous part of Ostia was excavated, by order of Mussolini. The "excavations" were in reality little more than emptying the buildings. The excavation diaries are superficial. The work had to be finished quickly, before the opening of a world exhibition, the Esposizione Universale di Roma, scheduled for 1942. Due to the war the exhibition never took place however. The abbreviated name, EUR, was given to a new suburb of Rome. When you visit Ostia by train it is to your left, directly after leaving station EUR Magliana, marked by the so-called Square Colosseum (in this district is also the Museo dell'Alto Medioevo, where the famous opus sectile from Ostia can be seen).

After the war the need arose to take paintings from the walls and take them to the store rooms and museum. Unfortunately there seems to be hardly any photographic documentation of the work, and few notes were taken. As a result the exact place of discovery of quite a few paintings is not clear. One group of paintings is said to have been found "to the west of the House of Hercules" and in building IV,II,5, which is to the west. Some preliminary research has shown that they were in fact found in the double row of shops behind the Porticus of Hercules, mostly in the west half. Here traces can be seen of the removal. The story is explained in more detail on pages about the preservation of the Ostian paintings and the meaning of "to the west of the House of Hercules".

The nature of the paintings is quite surprising: architectural motifs, judicial scenes, and religious depictions. A painting of Fortuna was found in the eastern row of shops. She is holding a rudder and cornucopiae. To her right is a red diagonal band. The deity and the band can just be seen on a photo taken during the excavation.

The painting of Fortuna.
Photo: ICCD E040764.

The painting of Fortuna on the back wall of room 11 of the Porticus of Hercules, behind the supporting wooden beams on the left side.
Photo: Ostia neg. B2913 = Stoeger 2011, fig. 5.38.

On another painting the lower part of three deities, or of a priest and two deities, has been preserved. To the left is a male figure wearing low boots and a long mantle. With his right hand he holds a flap of his mantle, the left hand is near the belly. Next comes a female figure wearing a long mantle. Her right arm is not visible, with her left hand she was holding an object (a sword?) of which only the lower part has been preserved (a stick with a knob). The object must have passed over her left shoulder. The third figure, with bare legs, is male. The lower part of a sceptre or lance stands on the ground, apparently held with his left hand. It has been suggested that we see Jupiter, Minerva, and Mars, but this is quite uncertain.

Painting with the lower part of three deities.
Photo: ICCD E040753.

Of yet another religious painting two compartments have been preserved, partially, above vegetation and a bird. In the left compartment is a male naked figure, thought to be Dionysus. In his left arm is a slightly curved stick. To his left is a low tree, to his right a dog or panther, moving left but looking back at the figure. In the right compartment are two figures. In the left part is Diana. With her right hand she takes an arrow from the quiver on her back, in her left hand is a bow. To her right and behind her a deer is being chased by an animal, amongst vegetation. In the right part is a disproportionately large female bust. The figure is wearing a veil and a necklace from which a rectangular object is hanging down. Partly crossing her body and to her left are two narrow diagonal bands, perhaps torches. Further to her left is a horse, jumping to the left. The figure has been interpreted as Aurora and Terra Mater.

Painting of deities: Dionysus, Diana, and Aurora or Terra Mater.
Photo: ICCD E040762.

The same painting.
Photo: Baccini Leotardi 1978, Tav. X.

These and the other paintings found in the double row of rooms clearly do not belong in shops. A better explanation is, that the rooms were a showroom of the painters, where customers could see examples of what the artists could do for them. If that hypothesis is correct, then we may look for an office of the painters in the neighbourhood. The obvious candidate is the Inn of the Peacock. This building has been interpreted as a hotel, in view of the presence of a bar in the back part, not intended for passers-by.

The bar counter in the Inn of the Peacock on a postcard.

However, several rooms are decorated with high-quality wall paintings. This building could have been the main office of the painters, where more examples of paintings could be seen on the walls and on parchment, and where the business deal was made, while a drink was offered to the customer. A further clue may be provided by a pseudo-aedicula with the depiction of a peacock, which provided the name for the building. The shrine was erected in a corner of a little courtyard, next to a bench.

A corner of the little courtyard in the Inn of the Peacock, with the remains of a bench to the left and the pseudo-aedicula to the right.
Photo: Mark Locicero.

The pseudo-aedicula rests on the back part of a brick podium. Above the niche is a tympanum. On either side of the niche, on a level with the bottom, are two layers of bricks with a cornice, apparently the bases of engaged columns or pilasters that were painted or made of stucco or wood.

Detail of the pseudo-aedicula.
Photo: Mark Locicero.

Detail of the pseudo-aedicula.
Photo: Mark Locicero.

A painting on the back of the niche is divided into an upper and lower part by two dark-red horizontal bands. In the lower section a light-red garland is seen, hanging down from the lower band. Resting on the upper band are two objects on either side of a peacock. The bird has its tail unfolded and is mainly blue. To the left is a round object, blue with a yellow rim, perhaps a patera. To the right is a yellow vessel, a cornucopiae or rather a rhyton. Remains of plaster are furthermore found on the left side of the pseudo-aedicula: green bands followed by red lines create rectangles, imitating marble revetment.

The peacock in the pseudo-aedicula.
Photo: Gasparri 1970, Tav. XIII.

Remains of paintings on the side of the pseudo-aedicula.
Photo: Gasparri 1970, Tav. XIII.

The peacock is related to the cult of Dionysus, and a symbol of immortality. I do not know of any parallels for this reference to the afterlife in private shrines. The subject makes sense however when we realize that the painters were active not only in the city, but also (and perhaps even more) in tombs. The painters may have felt that they contributed in a significant way to the afterlife of the deceased, by painting in the tombs the works of Hercules, Dionysiac motifs, mythological scenes, animals and flowers.