Harbour Scene at
Stabiae
Statistics
 Size:
24.5 cm high, roughly square
 Cut from a larger wall panel in a Stabian
house
 Date: 60-70 AD
 Location: Stabiae, Now in Museo
Nazionale, Naples
Background Information
 At
first sight, doesn’t seem particularly
noteworthy
 Closer inspection: intricate detail and an
unexpected mastery of technique
 Artistic style chosen deliberately for effect
 Reminds the viewer of 19th C French
Impressionist style
Impressionist
Style
Impressionism

Style emphasises the
overall colour, shape
and movement of
objects without
delineating them in
detail.
 Three main
characteristics of this
style:
-Sketchy outlines
-Economy of brushstrokes
-Hinting at, rather than
depicting, realistic details
Composition/Perspective
 Basic
structure: diagonal
 The eye is led from bottom left to top right
 The painting combines linear (ground
level) and aerial (bird’s eye) perspective
simultaneously
 This creates the illusion of depth: objects
diminish in scale into the distance & are
represented in fainter, hazier tones
Colour

Surprisingly
limited palette
 Overall
impression:
white on purple
with blue sea
and sky
 Also: yellow,
pink and brown
What do you see in the painting?
Key Features

3 storey
building with
colonnades




Lighthouse


Fishermen


Rock
4 statues on
columns
Inner harbour
Arch decorated
with a triton
blowing a
trumpet and
octopus (?)
Arched gate
leading into
colonnaded
street
Arched pier
jutting into the
harbour