Interior of a Pompeiian Home with Figures (The Impluvium) / Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number

1976/2.20

Title

Interior of a Pompeiian Home with Figures (The Impluvium)

Artist

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

Artist Nationality

French

Artist Life Dates

1814-1879

Medium and Support

ink and wash over graphite on cream wove paper

Object Creation Date

1873

Object Creation Place

Europe (continent)

France (nation)

Creation Place 1

Europe (continent)

Creation Place 2

France (nation)

Credit Line

Museum Purchase

Inscription

Dated, inscribed and signed, l.r.: 1873/ Pompeii/ E. Viollet el Duc Inscribed on center of old mount (destroyed during restoration): pl. 168 (sic)/ Pompeii.Maison; regio VII.Insula XII. no. 28/ Impluvium

Dimensions

20.6 cm x 29.6 cm (8 1/8 in. x 11 5/8 in.)

Century

19th century

Primary Object Classification

Drawing

Physical Description

An ink drawing in shades of gray with very exact detailing of objects and architectural elements in the scene. It shows the interior of a Roman house with sunlight streaming into an open courtyard with a fountain. The stone fountain has a square basin supported by a pedestal and a standing nude sculpture above it. One wall of the courtyard is decorated with floral designs and two figural scenes. A small bush is growing in a dirt area of the floor and there are two large vessels against the wall. Two figures are standing in a colonnade to the left of the courtyard. One is a woman dressed in a toga who is looking at a man dressed in a short sleeved tunic. The decorations of the floor, walls and ceiling depict ancient classical designs such as ascanthus leaves, meander and scroll patterns and the roof tiles have floral plume decorations and lion's head spouts.

Subject Matter

The drawing is an artist's rendering of the interior of a house (domus) in the ancient city of Pompeii. Here, the artist is imagining what the inside of a Pompeiian house might have looked like during ancient Roman times. It shows the open-air courtyard which allowed sunlight and fresh air into the house. This scene shows an "impluvium" style courtyard where the rain water run off from the roof was collected in channels on the floor.

Primary Keywords

architecture (object genre)

house

houses

interior spaces

interiors

plants

seated

sitting

standing

statues

vessels

Secondary Keywords

architecture

building divisions

buildings and the land

components

components and systems

components by specific context

containers

containers by form

descriptors

dwellings

figures

genres

landscapes (environments)

natural landscapes

object genres

objects

objects we use

people and culture

people and occupations

physical activities

physical activities by general context

residential structures

rooms and spaces

rooms and spaces by location or context

sculpture

sculpture by subject type

settlements and landscapes

single built works

single built works by function

single built works by specific type

the natural world

vegetation and vegetation components

vegetation components

visual works

visual works by medium or technique

Rights

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Technical Details

Collection

University of Michigan Museum of Art

Image Size

1335 x 939

File Size

103 KB

Record

1976/2.20

Link to this Item

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1976-sl-2.20/1976_2.20.jpg content_copy

Related Links

IIIF

Manifest

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1976-SL-2.20:1976_2.20.JPG content_copy