Chapter 9 - Fourth Style Skenographia

Summary

This chapter focuses upon Fourth Style perspective painting. We outline the very extensive historic scholarly debate about the possible depiction in such paintings of Roman stages, while developing our own, more nuanced, assessment. We discuss the different types of theatrical influence we believe are evident in many of these works, including examples the composition of which we suggest were influenced by theatre architecture and scenery. Fourth Style walls often displayed ornamental architectonic structures strongly evocative of the theatrical scaenarum frontes (stage façades) that featured both as elements of actual Roman theatre architecture as well as appearing in cognate edifices such as nymphaea. The Fourth Style frescoes prominently featured the painted depiction of curtains, drapes and, ubiquitously, theatrical masks.