Painter at work

A seated female artist gazes at the sculpture before her while reaching back with her paintbrush to a box of pigments. Her painting of a sculpture has been placed on the floor directly beneath its model as the artist applies the finishing touches. The artist’s focus is not disturbed by two richly dressed woman, perhaps patrons, looking on thoughtfully from behind a pillar.

Painter at work

Medium:
Fresco
Dimensions:
45 cm wide, 45.4 cm high
Context:
House of the Surgeon, room 19, east wall, central section, Pompeii
Date:
1st century CE
Inventory Number:
MANN 9018
Lender:
National Archaeological Museum of Naples
Credit:
Image © Photographic Archive, National Archaeological Museum of Naples