August Mau

1. Born: 1840 • Died: 1909 • Nationality: German • Began excavating Pompeii in 1860 • Worked on the site for over 25 years • Originally worked on inscriptions August Mau By Claire, Georgia, Katerina, Jocelyn.

2. WHO was HE? Contribution to Archaeology? • August Mau was an early excavator of Pompeii: named the four Roman wall painting style categories. He developed a chronological typology of the wall paintings, providing an approximate date for each. • he was the first to put forward his theory that Roman art was not dependent on Greek origins, which was a very high achievement • Mau wrote a book, ‘Geschichte der decorativenWandmalerei in Pompeji’, where he published his famous four stylistic periods: a “First Style” -decorative, a Second and Third Style, and a “Fourth Style” -illusionistic and architectural, based upon theater. This characterization of Roman wall painting remains the organization used today. • His archaeological knowledge of the inhabitants of Pompeii was used to write an account of their daily life in 1886 for the updated series ‘Handbuchder römischenAlterthümer’, edited by Mommsen. • In 1900, Mau published ‘Pompejiin Leben und Kunst’, a projection of the city as it might have been, based upon the archaeological record of the time. • The book quickly appeared in many translations and remains a major guide to the site.

3. What he did: THE 4 STYLES • A classification of Greek and Roman wall‐paintings into four main categories based on typology: • Incrustation Style (c.300–80 bc) • simple decoration that imitated coloured marble • The House of the Faun in Pompei; Samnite House in Herculaneumi • Architectural Style (c.80–10 bc) • architecturally detailed, with realistic paintings of columns and ledges in correct perspective and with views of sacred landscapes visible between the columns as a mixture of illusion and reality • Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii • Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum • Ornate Style (c.10 bc–ad 60), • treated the flat wall as a painting rather than a window and with mythological scenes presented in a panel against a monochrome background • Intricate Style (c.ad 60+), • combined architectural detail with scenes painted in frames and panels within the larger architectural scheme • The house of Vettii

4. evaluation OF HIS CONTRIBUTION • Criticisms: • Assigned dates to the styles but all that is really known is that they were painted before 79AD • It is subjective and not accurate as it is reliant on his interpretation (not scientific). Very subjective • Many of the paintings have aspects of each classification and don’t fit into one (however this also happens today and is not considered a major issue) • While it is easy to identify the 1st and 2nd category, the system breaks down in the 3rd, 4th categories. • Benefits: • Made it easier for people to discuss and categorize • wall paintings from Pompeii • It is still being used today • He was significant in creating an sense of • international cooperation on the site of Pompeii