North wall of cubiculum 20 in house of neptune pompeii vi 5,3 reproduced by lithographer vittorio steeger using original painting by steeger. Translated plate description: "table vi. Regio. Vi, ins. V, n. 3. Excav. 1844. Fp 97. As simple as this panel appears, the small cubicle to which it refers, turns out to be of great effect because of the combination of colors and the well-measured proportion of the drawings. Note the gradation of colors and forms in this wall that architecturally is well arranged, as pompeians often employed. The broadly transcending plinth is of a darker hue. The middle wall is divided into wide areas often interrupted by columns of vivid colors not too light nor too dark; the frieze is supported with lines of ornament, aerial architecture, and very clear distant views, on a white lime ground. The special ornaments consist solely of lines, somewhat archaic and rigid, except for the arabesque with birds of very fine design in the frieze, and which is reproduced in its particularities in the following plate. The middle picture, h. 1212, depicts ariadne handing theseus the ball of thread, by which he will find his way out of the labyrinth. Theseus is at the point of belting on his sword, while his club is leaning against a cliff. Figures suspended in the air (h. 1917) adorn, as is often the case, the side compartments. This room was roofed after excavation, and is therefore very well conserved. Date: 1877.
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