"Representing Mythic Pain in a Pompeian Garden"
Dr. Scott Weiss, Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics, Knox College and Honorary Guest Scholar, Washington University in Saint Louis
This talk will examine a set of paintings excavated from the peristyle of the Casa dei Dioscuri in Pompeii. Two paintings depict scenes of Medea contemplating the murder of her children and of Perseus freeing Andromeda in a style of mimetic realism, whereas on the other side of the garden panels show the deaths of the Niobids in a highly stylized and fantastical manner. I argue that by coordinating these images the peristyle encourages a viewer to interrogate how art can represent what seems to reside beyond the bounds of representation.
This is a virtual-only event. To attend, please RSVP to Betha Whitlow, bwhitlow@wustl.edu.