Pompeii in the Nineteenth Century

During the nineteenth century, important changes took place in the study and representation of antiquities. New technologies, such as lithography (a medium used to transfer ink into paper using a stone or metal plate) and photography, facilitated and modernized the study of ancient artifacts. Colored images were now an option and featured prominently in publications such as Les ruines de Pompéi by François Mazois (1824-1838), and Le Case ed i monumenti di Pompei: disegnati e descritti by Fausto and Felice Niccolini (1854-1896). These technological innovations gave rise to a more scientific and objective style of representing ancient monuments. At the same time, advances in archeological methods, such as Giuseppe Fiorelli’s creation of plaster casts of human remains in Pompeii, called for new approaches. A new emphasis on context fueled greater interest in the daily life of the ordinary citizens in cities like Pompeii. After centuries of studying the major of public monuments of the Roman empire, archeologists now turned their attention to everyday objects. Carlo Ceci's Piccoli bronzi del Real museo borbonico (1854) is an important document of what were then new trends in the study of antiquity.

This part of the exhibition is divided into three sections: "François Mazois in Pompeii," curated by Guillaume Pinaut; "Piccoli bronzi del Real Museo Borbonico," curated by Carlos Muñoz; and "The Niccolini Brothers in Pompeii," curated by Sarah Soulen.

To find out more about each section, click on the links below.