Erotic art in Pompeii: Encyclopedia II - Erotic art in Pompeii - Erotic images from Pompeii

Erotic art in Pompeii - Erotic images from Pompeii

Wall Painting of Priapos, House of the Vetti

An older reproduction of the same painting

The older version of the painting is from Schefold, Karl: Vergessenes Pompeji: Unveröffentlichte Bilder römischer Wanddekorationen in geschichtlicher Folge. München 1962. Schefold explains (p. 134) that the picture was locked away "out of prudishness" and was only opened on request. Also note the much more brilliant colors in this only slightly older version. Here is a retouched version of the younger, higher resolution image to use the same colors.

Tile Mosaic, Satyr & Nymph, House of the Faun

Wall Painting, House of the Epigrams, Reign of Nero

Tile Mosaic, Pan & Hamadryad

Wall mural of Mercury

Marble Bas-Relief

Wall Mural

Mural of Venus

The mural of Venus from Pompeii was never seen by Botticelli, the painter of The Birth of Venus, but may have been a Roman copy of the then famous painting by Apelles which Lucian mentioned. In classical antiquity, the sea shell was a metaphor for a woman's vulva.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Erotic images from Pompeii", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki