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Saturday, March 1, 2014

Pompeii No.1: How It Came To Be

I live in a small house with a dining room merely 10x7½ feet. When I bought the house, the last owner's rather large dining table was still there, and it seemed to me as if it would almost be easier to walk across the table than around it! And because I prefer to dine out anyway, I kept the space bare, using it as a walk-through and calling it "The Great Hall."

There would be those days, though, when I'd have supper off a TV table in the living room, and ponder the empty space. It wasn't as starkly bare as it looks above — I had an antique chest of drawers against that yellow wall, and over it, a handsome collection of framed lithographs. But I'd look at the room and think, "I really should do something more creative with that space!"

Then one birthday, my friends Sandy and Greg gave me an inspiring book, Ca'Toga, by Carlo Marchiori. Marchiori is an amazing decorative artist who found great success as a muralist. He built a splendid house in the Napa Valley, and created a magical world within it.

Carlo Marchiori's living room
How's this for a living room?!

I was greatly inspired by Carlo Marchiori, not just because he's an incredibly accomplished artist, but because he also has a bold vision.

His book got me to thinking about the possibility of painting a mural in my dining room. That in itself was a bold vision for me because I usually paint on a small scale; I could easily have been the fellow painting portraits on ivory or designing bank notes.

You may have noticed that when you have a good idea — or discover something excitingly new — the Universe has a way of conspiring to remind you of it at every turn. As I pondered the possibility of a mural, my New York friend Yvonne sent me a bulletin from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was on the great Andrea Mantegna, who ranks as my favorite Renaissance artist.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin   |   Fall 2009
Mantegna is probably best remembered for creating (some time between 1465 and 1474) one of the earliest trompe l'oeil masterpieces, a painted oculus for the palace of Ludovico Gonzaga of Mantua.

click to enlarge   |   Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin   |   Fall 2009
Here's a detail view of Ludovico Gonzaga's family and court, from a wall of the same room. Mantegna was so well respected for his work that the Gonzaga granted him armorial bearings.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin   |   Fall 2009
I am especially enamored of a series of paintings Mantegna painted entitled, The Triumphs of Caesar. They were acquired from the Gonzaga by Charles I of England and now reside at Hampton Court. Like the others of the series, this painting measures approximately 9x9 feet.

No sooner had I digested the bulletin on Mantegna than Yvonne sent another Metropolitan Bulletin, this one on Pompeii.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has done a wonderful favor to lovers of Antiquity by taking Pompeian frescoes that have been scattered to museums all over the world and reuniting them in virtual rooms.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin   |   Spring 2010

Those rooms still sing out in rich and amazingly vibrant color. I look at rooms like this and find it funny that despite all our technology and sophistication, so many of us timidly cling to white and beige walls. I say, don't be afraid to experiment with color — after all ... it's only paint!!

Then I had an epiphany! As I studied all those great Pompeian frescoes, I recognized that so many of them were divided by columns into panels. And I realized that if I divided my dining room into panels in the same manner, no matter how much time I spent on the mural —or how many breaks I took from it — the mural would look finished at every stage! In my mind, I was halfway finished before I had begun!

So Pompeii it would be!

Now before we get started, I want to share some great rooms with you in the next posting, rooms that have inspired me. Some are Pompeian, some have descended from Pompeian style, and some are more generically Neoclassic. When you see them, you'll have a hint of what I had in mind.
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30 comments:

  1. Mark, this is terrific. I have a very small and narrow dining room too and have often contemplated the mural idea. Can't wait to see what you are doing. And I love the bust of "Ruffnerius."

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    1. Hello, Silverinthebarn,

      I have found, as many interior designers will say, that something done on a large scale in a small space can make the small space larger, though our natural instinct is to put small details or furniture in small rooms. The scale of my own dining room will be helped by the fact that the living room leads directly to it, and thus whatever happens in the dining room can be viewed from a little distance.

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  2. Dear Mark - first of all I am endeavouring to decide which of the famous Roman Emperors you have become? You don't look like Julius Caesar but have a good head of hair like Mark Anthony, but he never became an Emperor. Perhaps you are just Emperor Marcus Ruffner.
    I have visited the palace of Ludovico Gonzaga in Mantua, and also spent a day in Pompeii, so will relish seeing your Pompeian creation in "The Great Hall".

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    1. Dear Rosemary,

      I think the name would have to be Marcus Ruffnerius.

      I have only been to Florence and Sienna in Italy, though I would like to take a much greater tour of that country, and I would very much like to see Pompeii someday. I had about ten days to go to Italy, and decided to totally immerse myself in Florence, retracing some steps on different days and at different hours, and I don't regret for a moment having done that. My memories of Florence are that much better etched into my memory, and fondly so!

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  3. My interest is piqued, Mark. My dining is not much larger than yours and I've always wanted to have a mural of some kind to create an illusion of space. I love the scale of Carlo Marchiori's characters who also seem to holding up the ceiling.

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    1. Hi, Steve,

      Perhaps you can slightly discern from Carlo's book cover, that he has dress balls at his grand house, and many of the photographs show him and his friends in period costume. Clearly he has a lot of fun with his fantasies.

      I could see you own dining room having a theme that nods to the period of your house, and to your locale — and even to your own interests. I have a great book on American decorative wall painting from 1700-1850, and many, many houses in your neck of the woods had murals.

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  4. Hello Mark,

    This is a brilliant idea and we cannot wait to see it completed. Your house would lend itself so well to this kind of treatment....a nod to the past whilst still firmly in the present. Perhaps, too, there may be a touch of the Ruffnerian humour with an amusing detail hidden somewhere amongst the faux architecture? We wait to see.

    It is indeed the case that once when gets an idea buzzing around in one's head, one is very conscious of it or related things everywhere. Why is this? Is it a universal theory of chaos or something? Whatever, it does serve to enable one to develop an idea and really make it into one's own.

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    1. Hello, Jane and Lance,

      I'm so glad you're coming along for the ride! I'm going to be throwing a lot of history into the mix, so I hope that keeps it interesting.

      Speaking from a metaphysical perspective, I think that the strange phenomenon of, say, learning a new word and then seeing it in print repeatedly, has to do with consciousness drawing like-consciousness to itself, like a magnet. Or perhaps we just plug into cosmic wavelengths. Anyway, I find it deliciously perplexing!

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  5. Hi Mark, My mind is seething with questions about how you are going to attack this project, The Marchiori room of course is magnificently realized, and reminiscent of the John Soane Museum, but I think would be hard to live with for most people. The Metropolitan room, on the other hand, is more restful and livable.

    I remember a book called, I think, Pompeii Now and Then, which had pictures of the ruins, with plastic overlays that restored their original appearance.
    --Jim

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    1. Hi, Jim,

      The John Soane Museum — now there's another place that's very high on my bucket list. I've drawn a lot of inspiration from Soane and his incredible attention to detail. I think that in many ways he was very modern, and I pay particular attention to the way he played with scale.

      I have not heard of the Pompeii book you mention, but I'd love to see it. In a way, the Metropolitan has done the same thing by reuniting so much art in virtual rooms. On one hand, it's a shame that so much art was removed from the walls of Pompeii, but I understand, on the other hand, that many interiors of Pompeii are deteriorating because of all the tourism.

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  6. What a grand idea!! I love a bold statement in a small space. Look forward to your mural wall, Mark. Don't keep us waiting too long!!

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    1. Hi, Loi,

      I won't keep you waiting too long, but I am going to unfold this in many stages, and I think that will be at least half the fun.

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  7. Love your new bust image - you clever thing!! ;-)

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    1. Thanks, Loi. Creating it has kept me off the streets.

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  8. Very excited to see what's next! Never heard of Catoga but am intrigued and off to buy the book. That living room is just amazing

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  9. Hi, Stefan,

    You will not be disappointed by Ca'Toga, in fact I'm sure you'll be as inspired as I was. Marchiori created many period rooms throughout his house, with much tompe l'oeil.

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  10. Oh my, oh my, oh my, Mark this is going to be wonderful! You are beginning a new adventure - that's how I look at it anyway. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Throw caution to the wind, my friend.

    I'd never heard of Ca'Toga either but I'm going to see what I can find online.

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    1. Gear Yvette,

      I hope that we are beginning an adventure together, and that we'll share in the fun and discoveries, for it wouldn't be the same without good traveling companions!

      I think you'll find quite a bit about Carlo Marchiori online — he's had a great career and is very productive.

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  11. Dear Mark, Can't wait! I am so curious to find out how you will tackle this project. It will definitely "keep you off the streets". In my case, whenever I take on a new assignment Mr G tells everyone that "it keeps her out of the bars".

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    1. Dear Gina,

      After so many years in an office, sitting in front of a computer all day, it really is refreshing (maybe a better word would be "restorative") to get back to paints and paint brushes. Of course I still spend a lot of time at the computer, but it's so good now to have a better balance of the two modes.

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  12. Hello hello Mark! Wow-- such an exciting new project-- I can't wait to see the progression! It sounds like the perfect design solution: I once painted a Georgia O'Keefe-esque mural of enormous red poppies on our dining room walls, and as it wasn't segmented into sections as you're so wisely doing, it looked "under construction" for quite some time! I love your new bust-- fabulous!
    With warm regards & great anticipation,
    Erika

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    1. Dear Erika,

      Your Georgia O'Keefe mural sounds like it must have been very dramatic! It reminds me of one of our dining rooms as I was growing up. We had a wooden table and six unmatched wooden chairs, and everything was painted the same Chinese Red. Within five years, my brothers and I were out of the house, and it was all replaced with lovely French Provincial furniture.

      Thanks for enjoying the bust — I have fun playing around in PhotoShop!

      Best wishes,

      Mark

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  13. Dear Marcus Ruffnerius,
    As a long-time fan of things Pompeiian I am looking forward to seeing the results.
    One sees a lot of Pompeii inspired interiors in English country houses and so I am interested to see what has inspired you!
    I had not heard of Carlo Machiori before so I am now going to investigate.
    Bye for now,
    Kirk
    PS
    I have had the privilege of seeing many works of Mantegna and agree with you that he was a fabulous artist.

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    1. Dear Kirk,

      I believe that 18th-century trend toward red rooms was inspired by Pompeii. It must have been a very exciting time, as England expanded and decoration was affected by cultures as far away as India and China.

      I'm glad I have a kindred admirer of Mantegna! I don't believe he receives all the credit he's due.

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  14. Will you for a holiday to Sydney and paint some for me ? On my bedroom wall are small framed pictures, (prints) from the 1950s of the famous portions of Pompeii murals better than nothing

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    1. A holiday in Australia sounds very tempting! It will be interesting to see how alike or different my dining room is to your prints!

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  15. I like your fleur de lis cushion

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    1. Thank, smr! you can read about it in a posting I devoted to it, here:

      http://allthingsruffnerian.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-needlepoint-collaboration-no-2.html

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  16. Dear Marcus Ruffnerius,

    I salute you for going hand to hand combat against sameness and beige. I will enjoy watching you soldier on. Love big ideas for small spaces and people big enough to make them happen.

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    1. Thank you, Home Before Dark, for your kind and supportive comment which is more prescient than you can know. I live on a street that is being bought up by a retirement community, and every time they purchase another house, they paint it beige! I am hoping that one day they will become daring and at least paint the doors something other than white!

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