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In 79 AD Mount Vesuvius, just north of Naples, erupted with devastating effects on the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Boscoreale, which had been built on Vesuvius’s slopes as vacation retreats. The wealthy residents had decorated their homes with copies of Greek sculptures, lavish mosaics, and frescoes. Today the art found under the debris of Vesuvius is among our best source for how Romans lived. The frescoes also provide most of our information on large-scale painting during the Greek and Roman eras. (See Innovators in Painting, chapters 10-14.)

Some of the most spectacular works at the National Archeological Museum in Naples – including items 1, 2, and 3 below – were found beginning in the mid-1700s in excavations of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Boscoreale. This post is available as a video at https://youtu.be/l6YG337ePaE.

1. Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)

The Doryphoros or Spear-Bearer, a Greek sculpture whose original dates to ca. 450 BC, is famous as an early example of contrapposto. The sculptor represented the body as an organic whole by showing that a change in one part (a shift in weight) always leads to changes in the rest of the body. See Innovators in Sculpture, Ch. 3.

The Romans seem to have liked the Doryphoros’s head, even without the body. From Herculaneum come Roman copies of the head in bronze and in marble, as well as a full-length copy. Which do you prefer? These copies were all made manually, so there are slight differences due to the copyists as well as the medium.

2. Alexander Mosaic

The Alexander Mosaic, excavated at the House of the Faun in Pompeii, is as close as we get to an ancient painting: it was probably adapted from a painting by a major artist. I use it in Innovators in Painting to illustrate asymmetrical composition (Ch. 12).

Serendipity is wonderful, but sometimes you need to do your homework beforehand. I had a few hours at the end of the day to visit the Museo Arqueologico in Naples, and had no idea that the original of the Alexander Mosaic was there. By the time I reached that gallery, the guards insisted on shooing me away.

3. Young Hermes Seated on a Rock

This elegant figure – identified as Hermes or Mercury by his winged sandals – was probably intended for a garden. The work is probably a Roman copy of a Greek original dating to the late 4th or early 3rd century BC. It’s often associated with the fourth-century BC sculptor Lysippus, who was notable for his innovations in sculpture. (See Innovators in Sculpture chapters 4 and 6.) The Hermes became one of the most famous works excavated at the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum, in 1758.

4. Farnese Cup

This cameo cup, about 8 inches (20 cm) in diameter, was carved from sardonyx agate. The scene on the inside seems to be an allegory incorporating divine figures. No other version of the figures is known, and the interpretation has long been disputed. This one made the cut not for the subject, but for the artist’s ability to carve a cameo this large.

On the outside of the cup is a Gorgon’s head, a protective device.

The Farnese Cup has always been recognized as spectacular. It was probably carved in Hellenistic Egypt, sometime between 300 and 20 BC. Eventually it was taken to Byzantium, then brought back to Europe in 1204, when Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade. After a stay at the court of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (early 1200s), it was carried off to the Persian court, but was brought back to Naples by the mid-1400s. In 1471 it was in Florence, having been purchased by Lorenzo the Magnificent. After that, it was purchased by a member of the Farnese family, most of whose collection is now in the Naples Archeological Museum.

5. Donatello, Bronze Head of a Horse

For years, scholars debated whether this was a Greek original or a work by Donatello. Documents found in 2012 proved it was Donatello’s. For an absolutely fascinating story about Naples and the huge horse sculpture that preceded this one, see here.

Donatello is one of my all-time favorite sculptors for his mind: he rethinks everything. See Innovators in Sculpture Ch. 8 on why he’s so remarkable. For where this work falls in Donatello’s oeuvre, see here.

More

• Almost made the list: Musicians from a Pompeii mosaic. The instruments (from left) are a horn, a double flute, cymbals, and a drum.

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