Authors: P. Baronio, R. Helg

Download article as .pdf: Tra illusione e realtà del costruito: le colonne con bugne nella pittura di Secondo Stile

 

 

Columns with lifting bosses are a recurrent iconographic motif within the Second Style paintings. Deduced from the building practice and often used in association with other motifs, these elements were introduced for decorative purpose in the representation of illusionistic architectures. Despite the peculiar appearance, and the recurrence in some of the most famous decorative systems of the late Republican age, the significance of these columns has often been underestimated. The aim of this paper is to reconsider this decorative element in the light of recent acquisitions and to analyse its spread and multiple uses in Roman painting.