Born: 1840
Died: 1909
Nationality:
German
AUGUST MAU
By Claire, Georgia, Katerina, Jocelyn.
Began excavating
Pompeii in 1860
Worked on the site
for over 25 years
Originally worked
on inscriptions
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 decorativen Wandmalerei 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 ‘Handbuch der
römischen Alterthümer’, edited by Mommsen.
• In 1900, Mau published ‘Pompeji in 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.
WHAT HE DID: THE 4 ST YLES
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
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). Ver y 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 1 st and 2 nd categor y, the system breaks
down in the 3 rd , 4 th categories.
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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