Early Christian into Byzantine Hagia Sofia

Byzantine Art
Time Line
Beginning of Pagan Roman Empire- 200 B.C.E.
Roman Empire- 200 B.C.- 315 C.E.
Early Christian/Byzantine 315-750 C.E  (some sources say the Byzantine style survived all the way to 1450)
Romanesque 800-1150 C.E.
Gothic 1150-1350 C.E.

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Hagia Sophia (Sofia) 532-37 architects: Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus Istanbul, Turkey (Byzantium) Byzantine Form:  This is a central-plan design that expands on the original basilican design.  The design incorporates the use of pendentives, buttressing half domes, and arch and dome technology creating a large many storied central area.  Expands on the concept, engineering and design function of the Pantheon by adding cross vaulting technology that the Romans had developed. A good example of this cross vaulting technology is in the Basilica of Constantine. Decorative forms (in terms of two-dimensional designs) inside the Hagia Sofia reflect early Byzantine Style, which means that even up to the 1300's they are still using many of the same things in the Hagia Sofia to depict people. Iconography: The name Hagia Sofia can be translated as "Holy Wisdom."  The plan has the form of a Greek cross surmounted by a dome which as in the Pantheon is a symbol of the dome of heaven.  The engineering used is also symbolic of the power and intelligence of Constantine's empire. Context:  The geographic location of Hagia Sofia places it in the region of Byzantium. The city where they moved the empire to is called Constantinople that is in modern day Turkey, and is also now called Istanbul. The four minarets that surround it were built later.  They were added by the Muslims to them to call the faithful to worship after the church was transformed into a mosque. A mosque is an Islamic place of worship. The ornamentation of the interior is Islamic looking. For more details of images at Hagia Sofia go here.

Capital, Hagia Sophia (Sofia) 532-37 architects: Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus Istanbul, Turkey (Byzantium) Byzantine

Form:  This capital at first appears to be an almost Corinthian capital but on closer inspection it is the correction of the original Greek and Roman orders.  The designs on the capital are much more ornate and less solid looking then its predecessors.  The over all intricate organic patterning and weaving of the ornamentation is abstract and overly ornate. Iconography:  The organic vine like qualities refer to the symbol of Christianity as a vine that keeps spreading.   In the center of the column is the monogram or initials for Justinian the emperor who commissioned the structure.  The use of classical ornamentation and then the obvious changing of it is symbolic of the fusion of the Roman and Greek classic ideals wedded to the culture and decorative forms of the east as well as the iconography of Christianity. The symbology of the vine relates to many images of vines in the Old and New Testament:

John
Chapter 15

1

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.

2

He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.

3

You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.

4

Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

5

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

6

Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.

Go here for a Catholic Sermon on the iconography of vines: http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/jn15v1.html
 

Mosaic of Christ from the interior of Hagia Sophia created c 1300 For all the videos in order with a textbook and study guides please visit: https://www.udemy.com/user/kenneymencher/

Form:  Decorative forms (in terms of two-dimensional designs) inside the Hagia Sofia reflect early Byzantine Style, which means that even up to the 1300's they are still using many of the same things in the Hagia Sofia to depict people. The figures are stylized in a typical Byzantine mode.  The heads are too large and the bodies are covered completely with drapery that does not reveal the anatomy beneath.   It also shares some elements from the Arch of Constantine, the heads are big and there's no Contrapposto (liberal movement in figures).  The facial anatomy is stylized.  The face is also elongated and the nose meets the bridge of the brows and the eyebrows actually go directly into the nose.  These are some of the elements that become standardized in Byzantine Manuscript Iconography:  The distortions of the anatomy are symbolic.  The distortions and diagrammatic and cartoon like drapery deemphasizes the figure's naturalism and emphasizes the spiritual, intellectual and didactic aspects of the figures.  Jesus is represented as a teacher and his weapon against evil is the Holy Bible or Libris Mundi (Latin: "book of the world") and his compassion. Jesus is also surrounded by a halo which symbolizes an aura of light.  Possibly meant to be literally a symbol of "enlightenment."  Inscribed inside the halo is the cross on which Jesus was martyred and on either side of the cross are his initials IC XC.  Basically it is an acronim for his name in Greek.  The acronym when promounced sounds like "ichthys" which sounds very much like the Greek word for fish.  Hence the fish symbols on either side of his head. Context:  The Byzantine style, although centered around the geographic region of Constantine's Byzantium, expands all through out the Christian world.  It was used for manuscript and church art throughout France, Italy, Spain and the rest of Europe well into the 1400's and perhaps even later.   As an artistic style it is used well into the Romanesque and Gothic periods.  Even during the Renaissance there are still artists who use Byzantine drapery and facial stylization. For more details of images at Hagia Sofia go here.

Early Christian Art Catacombs and Sarcophagi

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The Catacomb of St. Peters and Marcellinus - 200 CE Rome, Italy Early Christian (go here for more detail views)

Form:  The catacombs were a series of underground tunnels dug into the soft volcanic rock beneath Rome.  Some of the tunnels were connected as an overall network system.  The small spaces were most often used as tombs in which the bodies were kept in crypts and in niches carved directly into the rock.  The cells or rooms for these tombs were often decorated with frescoes although in terms of the illusionistic and over all quality of the frescoes were not as fine as those found in Pompeii.This particular fresco is on the ceiling of one of the chambers.  It is a symmetrical design that fits the contours of the ceiling.  The over all shape is a medallion (circular form) which contains another circle.  Radiating from the inner circle is a cruciform (cross like) design that terminates in lunettes (small half circles).  Each of the empty spaces contained by the design hold a scene or a figure.  The figures all stand the orant pose but those inside the half circles and the central circle contain slightly different scenes. The central circle contains a naturalistically rendered image of a figure standing in contrapposto pose.  His over all pose follows the schema of the sculpture of the Moscophoros.   The surrounding lunettes show scenes from the story of Jonah and the Whale.  Iconography:  The imagery is neither wholly Roman, Jewish or Christian but instead a kind of composite of the best qualities of each.  The contrapposto pose and nude figures done in the Roman style demonstrate that the the ideas of kalos and beauty from the Greek classic periods have not completely faded.  The image of the youth carrying the lamb, is a borrowing from the Moscophoros image dealing with a sacrificial lamb but also refers to the Jewish and Christian ideas concerning King David from the Old Testament as a foreshadowing of the images of Christ as the "Good Shepherd."  The use of Old Testament themes to illustrate New Testament stories is referred to by Stokstad as typological exegesis.  (Go to Stokstad page 293 for more on Jonah) Context:  Stokstad has an excellent description of the context that these frescoes would have been found in on page 293.

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus c359 CE 4x8' marble, St. Peter's, Rome Italy Early Christian Culture and Period

Form:  The overall form of the casket is almost like that of a symmetrical classical or Roman building.  There are Composite columns, arches, entablatures and pediments.  Each of the scenes is contained within its own architectural niche.  Each of the individual scenes is then also structured into a symmetrical or semi symmetrical composition.  The fairly high relief figures, although a bit more classical in their depiction of contrapposto and drapery are still proportioned very much like the figures on the Arch of Constantine. Iconography: The use of classical orders and Roman arches is a link with the culture of Rome and a way of making the new Christian iconography "classic."  The scenes chosen are a selection of the stories of both the Old and New Testaments.  The purpose of placing these scenes together  is a typological exegesis.  Each of the Old Testament scenes is designed to link refer to the newer ideas expressed in the New Testament.  (See Stokstad The Iconography of Jesus pg 307 and the text on page 308-9.) This is a diagram of the scenes. Abraham and Isaac Peter Arrested for Preaching after Jesus's Death Christ Enthroned Christ before Pontius Pilate Christ before Pontius Pilate Misery of Job Fall of Man (Adam and Eve) Christ's Entry into Jerusalem Daniel in the Lion's Den St. Paul Lead to His Martyrdom Here's an example of one of these typologies from the Old Testament of the Jewish/Christian Bible that relates to a message or theme in the New Testament.   The story of "Daniel in the Lion's Den" is a story in which a Jew's faith was being challenged because he would not bow down to a Persian king.  He was thrown into a lion's den but because he put his faith in "god" he was not harmed.  His faith protected him and he was rewarded.  This is similar to how Jesus' faith was tested when he was before Pontius Pilate. As in the frieze on the Arch of Constantine, these images are much more diagramatic and straightforward.  The viewer has all the iconography placed before them in one single unobstructed view. Jesus, in the center panel, is placed in the center of the symmetrically designed composition which puts him in the most important position.  Perhaps this new digramatic style is related to the second commandment and its law against images.  It has also been suggested that the larger heads and reduction of naturalistic elements relates to the new Christian ideal of deemphasizing the physical world and reemphasizing the spiritual and mental. Context:  Junius Bassus was a city prefect (a minor official in the Roman government) who converted just before his death.  The practice of converting on one's death bed or shortly before one's death was a fairly common practice and a way of insuring that, just in case the Christian's were right, that the after life would be pleasant.

Some messy contextual notes on Catholicism/Christianity 300-1500 AD

• Catholic: means “universal”
• Monotheistic
• Triad of Three cultures ideas: Roman, Greek, Jewish
• Greeks and Romans gave it:
• Plays for morality,
• Symbols of dome and circle (iconography),
• Saints, Bldgs.,
• State religion w/ pope @ head, roads, technology, laws, language
• Jews gave it:
• monotheistic faith,
• Bible (Old Testament),
• rules,
• 10 Commandments
• Vulgate: common version of the Bible
• Christ: means “annointed”, blessed one
• Philosophical points: it’s all about love, be nice to one another, forgiveness, guilt
• So popular b/c: afterlife is rewarding, Jesus and apostles from lower class so people relate, rulers are dictators, (antiwar, afterlife, forgiveness).
• Edict of Milan: legalized Christianity
• Nicene Creed: standard Catholic (universal) philosophy
• Jesus was not a prophet but actually God on Earth
• Holy Trinity is three beings all of same vehicle;
1. God- creator,
2. Jesus- incarnate flesh,
3. Ghost- spirit
• Heretics are people against church; “wrong believers”
• Structure of Church’s Authority:
• Jesus’s #1 Main Apostle- Peter (Petrus) (“rock”, 1st pope)
• “On this rock I will build this church,” said Jesus.
• Hierarchy:
1. Pope
2. Bishops
3. Cardinals.
1. Bishops become priests and cardinals are important bishops that elect pope.
• Old Testament: prophetic book (typological exegesis) leads to life of Christ
•   Psalms: songs
•   Prophecy: coming of messiah
•   Apocrypha: history added on, leads up to birth Christ, family tree
• New Testament: Gospels (teachings & stories)
•   Acts: apostles’ stories after life Christ
•   Letters: lives of apostles
•   Revelation: apocalypse

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An Excellent Art Shipper I Use

November Art Shuttle Schedule Attached is the Art Delivery Service art shuttle schedule for November. The schedules for the entire year are available for review and download from our website, http://www.artdeliveryservice.com/south-west-schedule. The schedule and route is flexible based on your needs and therefore subject to change so please call or email our office for details.     Our next trip to the east coast will leave Santa Fe on Saturday, November 9. On this trip we’re anticipating the following general route and ETAs: Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder (11/9 and/or 11/10), Kansas City (11/10 and/or 11/11), Chicago (11/11 and/or 11/12), Michigan, Ohio (11/12 and/or 11/13), New England (11/14 and/or 11/15), New York City and Surrounding Area (11/14 and/or 11/15), Philadelphia (11/16 and/or 11/18), Washington DC (11/18), The Carolinas (11/19), Atlanta (11/20 and/or 11/21), Nashville (11/20 and/or 11/21), OKC (11/21 and/or 11/22), Tulsa (11/21 or 11/22), and return to Santa Fe (11/22 or 11/23).  Our Arizona / California / Nevada truck generally follows this route: New Mexico - Albuquerque, Las Cruces; Arizona - Tucson, Scottsdale, Phoenix; California - Palm Springs, San Diego, Los Angeles, Carmel, San Francisco, Sacramento; Nevada - Reno, Tahoe, Las Vegas; Arizona - Sedona, Flagstaff, Winslow; New Mexico - Gallup, Grants, Albuquerque, Santa Fe.  Look for us in these areas the weeks of October 28, and November 11 and December 2. Our Oklahoma / Texas truck generally follows this route: Texas - Amarillo; Oklahoma - Tulsa, Oklahoma City; Texas - Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Marfa, Midland; New Mexico - Carlsbad, Roswell, Ruidoso, Santa Fe. Look for us in these areas the weeks of October 21, November 4, and November 18.  Stops in cities in italics are available upon request. Please call our office to check availability. And remember all trips begin and end in Santa Fe so we can transfer pieces from our inbound truck to our next outbound truck which means we can take pieces from New York to San Francisco, San Francisco to New York, or just about anywhere in between.  Special trips are available upon request - please contact our office for details and availability. Contcat Us for Pricing and Availability More About Us AZ / CA Shuttle Schedule Biweekly run with stops in Tucson, Scottsdale, Palm Desert, San Diego, LA, San Francisco and many other locations as needed. Southwest Shuttle Schedule East Coast Shuttle Schedule Once a month run with stops in Denver, KC, Chicago, Boston, NYC, DC, Atlanta, Nashville, OKC, Santa Fe and almost anywhere along the way. East Coast Shuttle Schedule OK / TX Shuttle Schedule Biweekly run with stops in OKC, Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and many other locations as needed. Southwest Shuttle Schedule Get In Touch Art Delivery Service 2019 Galisteo Street, Bldg O, Suite 2 Santa Fe, NM 87505  505.982.6155 Info@ArtDeliveryService.com Website About Us FAQ

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Pompeii

Roman Art in Pompeii 
  

Pompeii 79 CE:Context:  Pompeii- on August 24, 79 AD a volcano on Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried two entire Roman resort towns near the coast under thousands of tons of volcanic ash. Poison gas was sprayed into the air and as it went down the heated gas killed all the people. The bodies which were covered with volcanic ash were destroyed but left a type of fossil impression in the dried ash and lava. The result was that the town and some of its people were completely preserved for archeologists and historians to uncover later. From the remains of the city we know how the people looked like, how they lived and how they did business. They had organized business and residential districts and paved streets. They even had hot and cold running water. The houses that were preserved by the ashes have left us with a good idea of what kind of lifestyle these people might have lead.

These plaster forms were made by pouring plaster into the air pockets created by the bodies of Pompeiian who were covered with volcanic ash.  The bodies disintegrated or burned and left hollows.  Some of the gestures and expressions are so life like that we can almost guess as to what they were thinking and we can actually see some figures protecting other figures.

Form:  The city was walled and laid out in a logical grid line plan that was divided into several zoned sections that were defined by the main roads named the upper and lower decumanus and cardo maxiumus.  These names were invented by modern archeologists. The sections were zoned as our own cities are today, with a forum (civic areas and shopping centers,) residential quadrants, entertainment areas with theaters and amphitheaters and combined areas. Iconography:  One would think that a city plan would not really be symbolic of anything but on closer inspection there is a lot of symbolism.  The city plan is evolved from both Greek and Etruscan culture's plans and in this way indicates that the Romans emulated them and saw themselves as heirs to these cultures. The triumphal arch (Herculaneum Gate) which served as the entrance to the town was basically a useless arch that was there as a symbol.  The use of the arch and the symbolic gate it covered was a way of expressing just how Roman they were. The city plans also install order on the plan of the city which represents the Roman mission in the world which they saw as civilizing the barbarians and bringing order to the world.  It also segregated, the way they spent their time and divided the rich from the poor, the sacred from the profane.

Street in Pompeii with stones for walking across.

Form: The cobbled city streets had drainage ditches, sidewalks and were laid out in a standard size because axle lengths were standardized throughout the empire.  The standardized sizes allowed the installation of walkways (the three stones across the street) that would allow pedestrians to walk above the street when it was filled with rain and avoid the horse poop and mud.  The stones also acted as a kind of "speed bump" because the carts would have to slow down to enable themselves to move through the ruts.Iconography:  The cliché "all roads lead to Rome" applies here in the idea that the Romans really believed that a solid civic infrastructure symbolized order and civilization.

Brawl in the Pompeii amphitheater, Fresco from  House I,3,23 Pompeii c. 60-79 CE  5'7"x6'1" Naples National Museum Empire Period

Form:  Fresco is a term that literally means "fresh."  There are two kinds, buon fresco and fresco secco.  This painting painting is made by coating a wall with plaster and while the wall is still damp, ground up pigments are mixed with water and lime and painted on the wall.  The paint soaks in and literally stains the wall up to a half an inch and becomes permanent.  This is called buon fresco (good fresh).  Details with more expensive colors (such as blue made from lapis lazuli) are added with tempera paint (egg yolks and glue) when the fresco is dry.  This is called secco fresco (dry fresh). This fresco depicts Pompeii's arena which was there version of the Colosseum, where gladiatorial events took place.  The building is rendered with the illusion of space called intuitive perspective and isometric perspective.  (This kind of perspective is not as illusionistic as the linear perspective that is invented during the Renaissance around 1400 CE.) Iconography:  Walls in both public and private homes were often decorated with frescos during the Roman era and it was a symbol of the person's status to be able to afford such decoration.  This fresco is rather like our posters and paintings of sports today and it expresses the importance of such activities in their culture.  Usually the gladiators who performed in such games were originally criminals or enemies of the state, however, if they were successful they became heroes of a kind and their careers were followed by fans. Context:  In 59 CE Pompeii hosted a game in which they competed with their neighbors the Nucerians.  A brawl erupted and a riot ensued which was similar to the soccer riots of today.  The riots and loss of life and property were so severe that the central government issued a decree that Pompeii was forbidden to have gladiatorial games for ten years. The fresco shows the velarium a cloth awning that protected arenas like this as well as the double set of steps that allowed the quick entrance and departure of the spectators.

Portrait bust of a Boy from the Popidous Family of Pompeii before 79 CE plaster with traces of encaustic paint

Form:  The veristic style of the Roman Patrician above is also expressed in Roman portrait busts.  According to Gardner, the Romans, unlike the Greeks, believed that a sculpture of the head alone was enough to fulfill the requirements of creating a portrait of an individual.  The Greeks believed that one needed the whole body for an accurate portrait.  Nevertheless, in each of these busts, every feature is recorded faithfully, but, the age of the sitter and the verism of the portrait was probably influenced somewhat by the gender of the sitter. This sculpture was originally part of a larger figure that was hurt or destroyed in an earlier earthquake or eruption.  The head was preserved and placed on a stand however the nose had been broken off.  The broken nose was replaced with a bit of plaster to fill in the broken off portion. Iconography and Context:  Portraiture like this was probably valuable in both an economic as well as in more sentimental and  familial context and that would explain why, rather than creating a new sculpture they repaired this one.  This sculpture also provides us with a record of one of the catastrophes the people of Pompeii lived with before the final one of 79 CE.

Form:  Many of the streets of Pompeii were lined with two story town houses.  These homes were made from brick and concrete which was later veneered with stucco, plaster and even marble.  The rooves were made from wood and often had awnings which jutted out over the sidewalks.  The fronts of these buildings usually contained shops that opened out on to the streets.  The more elaborate stores were two level and had windows that opened out above.  Located through a short passageway was usually a more elaborate or expensive dwelling that was the home of a wealthier family.  (see the floor plan below or Stokstad figure 6-52)Iconography:  These home/shop organization was integral to and symbolized the economic health that supported the infrastructure of Rome and its towns.  To own such a home in itself demonstrated the wealth and prestige of the landlord.  The types of shops fronting the homes was also up to the discretion of the zoning of the town as well as the homeowner who lived behind the shop. Context:  These houses had hot and cold running water and a plumbing system that ran underneath the house.  The center of the house had an open skylight above the atrium which caught fresh water and was stored in a cistern usually underneath or at the rear of the house's garden.

Form:  The typical atrium style house of Pompeii was fronted by the shops (1).  The structure usually housed a main house and sometimes even an additional ones (7) was rented out.  The fauces (latin for throat) or vestibulum (2) was a thin passageway that led into the atrium (8) in which the an open skylight above the atrium caught fresh water.  A similar open air peristyle courtyard (9) was located further in and the bedrooms, dining room, bathrooms, kitchen and other service areas radiated out from.  A vegetable garden in addition to the the flower garden provided delicacies such as fresh fruit and staples such as vegetables.Context:  These atrium style houses were really apartment houses and commercial districts combined into one structure.  As such, they were an incredible investment for the wealthy owner.  Not only were they self sufficient in terms of food, the rental on the shops and additional dwellings often paid for whatever loans and taxes owed on the complex.

Mosaic in the Fauces of an Atrium Style House.

Form:  Mosaics were made from small blocks of stone, ceramic tile or glass called tesserae.  These blocks were then pushed into either plaster, for walls, or cement, for floors.  The blocks, when placed together combined together like the pixels on a computer screen to make an image.  When one looks at the the images from a distance the blocks of color one next to the other mix because the eye would blend them together.  This is called optical mixing.  Depending on the skill of the workman/artisan, the work could be extremely realistic of cartoonish.  These were a particularly durable form of decoration as they were impervious to staining and fading.  Further up in this photo you can see the impluvium (pool) of the atrium.Iconography/Context:  The location and subject of this mosaic makes a lot of sense.  The image of the dog in the front hallway is apotropaic and roughly the equivalent of an alarm sticker on a window or "beware of dog sign."  In fact some mosaics are accompanied with the latin "cave canum" which means literally translates "beware of dog" and indicates a high degree of literacy if they expected a thief to be able to read the warning.

Two atriums from houses in Pompeii The lead pipes which moved the water through the houses.

The next stop in the house was the atrium.  The latin word for heart or chamber is atrium and  this room is where the water was gathered from an opening in the ceiling and then collected further back in the house in a cistern. In the center of the atrium was the impluvium or pool that collected the water.  In the image on the left you can see a fountain and a sink.This room, as almost every room in the house, had a mosaic floor, and frescoes on all the walls.  Depending on the home, some rooms even had special themes and addressed specific stories. This room is where a guest could stop and wash up before meeting with the occupants.  Bathing was an important part of Roman culture and there were even bathrooms with hot and cold running water.  The pipes that moved the water were made from a soft lead which in itself is a bit of health hazard and probably caused the early death of some of the wealthier citizens of Pompeii who could afford such luxuries..

Peristyle Court Peristyle Court at the house of Vetii

Form:  These peristyle courtyards had ornate sculpture and flower gardens surrounded by a perimeter of stylos (latin for column).  The perimeter columns held up the roof overhang under which furniture was placed.  The columns were often made of marble and often there was marble veneer on the concrete and brick wall.  The wall of the courtyard were often decorated with mosaics and or fresco.Iconography/Context:  The peristyle is almost misnamed because it is truly the atrium (latin for heart) of the house.  This is where the family gathered and in essence it was an outside living room.  Here air and light flowed through the space but the occupants would not be bothered by the noises and smells of the street.

Mosaic portrait from Pompeii

Fresco from the House of the Baker, The baker and his wife Context:  The sculpture we have seen already demonstrates the Roman propensity and desire for accurate portraiture.  This desire to have a likeness made was not limited to just the wealthy or upper class but also to anyone who might be able to afford such work to be made. The image on the top is a fresco.    Fresco is a term that literally means "fresh."  There are two kinds, buon fresco and fresco secco.  This painting painting is made by coating a wall with plaster and while the wall is still damp, ground up pigments are mixed with water and lime and painted on the wall.  The paint soaks in and literally stains the wall up to a half an inch and becomes permanent.  This is calledbuon fresco (good fresh).  Details with more expensive colors (such as blue made from lapis lazuli) are added with tempera paint (egg yolks and glue) when the fresco is dry.  This is called secco fresco (dry fresh). Mosaics were made from small blocks of stone, ceramic tile or glass called tesserae.  These blocks were then pushed into either plaster, for walls, or cement, for floors.  The blocks, when placed together combined together like the pixels on a computer screen to make an image.  When one looks at the the images from a distance the blocks of color one next to the other mix because the eye would blend them together.  This is called optical mixing.  Depending on the skill of the workman/artisan, the work could be extremely realistic of cartoonish.  These were a particularly durable form of decoration as they were impervious to staining and fading. Iconography:  The image on the left of the Baker and his wife depicts a couple how they would like to be seen.  The baker holds a scroll and his wife holds a wax tablet and a stylus that would have been used to scratch out notes and practice writing.  In all probability, the baker and his wife were either illiterate or semiliterate, yet they hold symbols of their literacy and therefore intelligence.  This is how they wanted to be seen. In both images the portraits are verist images; however, as in the portrait of Augustus they were probably "prettied up" a bit.  Their features are a bit idealized and their hair a bit too styled.

Iconography:  Frescoes like this one depicting fruit and glasses or pure water were symbolic of the pleasures of every day life and perhaps of the delicacies one might desire.  Fruit was not available all year and it is one of the fleeting pleasures.  The depictions of fruit and other delicacies, such as Herakleitos' Unswept Floor (fig 6-58) are references to the wealth of the patron and the skill of the artist.  The clear vessel of water is what is referred to as an artist's conceit or concetto (italian for conceit) because painting a transparent vessel is one of the harder things to paint.

The Three Graces Fresco from Pompeii before 79 CE Theseus and the slain Minotaur with the Athenian youths. Fresco from Pompeii before 79 CE

Formal:  These two frescos depict idealized human figures, all standing in the classic contrapposto pose, rendered with light and shadow.  The use of light and shadow, or value structure, to depict volume is sometimes referred to as chiaroscuro.  Chiaroscuro literally translates into Italian as light and shadow or dark and light.In the fresco depicting Theseus and the minotaur with the Athenian youths, is fairly complex in how it depicts space.  For example, the figures are placed in and around an architectural structure and the body of the Minotaur is depicted in a foreshortened pose.  As the head and torso of the Minotaur project into the foreground they begin to look shorter than if the view was a strict profile view. Iconographic:  Both of these images are powerful symbolic statements of the kinds of values the Romans held. The Three Graces, represent the three most important qualities a Roman could possess beauty, grace, and intellect (which was linked to virtue). The image of Theseus links him to the Doryphoros and to other images of athletic youths who possess kalos.  The Minotaur is a composite creature, that symbolizes antithetical qualities to our human hero.  The bull head represents certain negative qualities. Context:  The story of Theseus and the Minotaur at the heart of the maze would have a certain amount of resonance for citizens of the Roman empire because the maze represents the Minoan government lead by the evil King Minos and the Minotaur in its center, is represents the heart of Minos's problems as a ruler. (see the Legend of the Minotaur in Stokstad page 134). or go here : http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/bull20.html

chiar.oscu.ro n, pl -ros [It, fr. chiaro clear, light + oscuro obscure, dark] (1686) 1: pictorial representation in terms of light and shade without regard to color 2 a: the arrangement or treatment of light and dark parts in a pictorial work of art b: the interplay or contrast of dissimilar qualities (as of mood or character) 3: a 16th century woodcut technique involving the use of several blocks to print different tones of the same color; also: a print made by this technique 4: the interplay of light and shadow on or as if on a surface 5: the quality of being veiled or partly in shadowfres.co n, pl frescoes
[It, fr. fresco fresh, of Gmc origin; akin to OHG frisc fresh] (1598)
1: the art of painting on freshly spread moist lime plaster with water-based pigments
2: a painting executed in fresco -- fresco vt
The term fresco comes from the Italian word for fresh.  The paint is applied quickly in fresh patches of plaster that haven't had a chance to dry yet.  This allows the paint to sink into the plaster and stain it sometimes up to a quarter of an inch below the surface of the wall.
In buon fresco, which literally means "good fresh," the water color and lime (the mineral not the fruit) are painted directly on damp plaster that has just been applied.
Fresco secco (Italian for "dry fresh") is a little less permanent and the paint sometimes can flake off the walls.  Paint and especially details and expensive colors are applied to sections of the mural that have already dried.  The medium in this case is either tempera (egg and water) or some kind of glue usually made from animal skin or some sort of dairy product.

According to the Brittanica,

Fresco is a method of painting water-based pigments on freshly applied plaster, usually on wall surfaces. The colours, which are made by grinding dry-powder pigments in pure water, dry and set with the plaster to become a permanent part of the wall. Fresco painting is ideal for making murals because it lends itself to a monumental style, is durable, and has a matte surface.Buon', or "true," fresco is the most durable technique and consists of the following process. Three successive coats of specially prepared plaster, sand, and sometimes marble dust are troweled onto a wall. Each of the first two rough coats is applied and then allowed to set (dry and harden). In the meantime, the artist, who has made a full-scale cartoon (preparatory drawing) of the image that he intends to paint, transfers the outlines of the design onto the wall from a tracing made of the cartoon. The final, smooth coat (intonaco) of plaster is then troweled onto as much of the wall as can be painted in one session. The boundaries of this area are confined carefully along contour lines, so that the edges, or joints, of each successive section of fresh plastering are imperceptible. The tracing is then held against the fresh intonaco and lined up carefully with the adjacent sections of painted wall, and its pertinent contours and interior lines are traced onto the fresh plaster; this faint but accurate drawing serves as a guide for painting the image in colour.
A correctly prepared intonaco will hold its moisture for many hours. When the painter dilutes his colours with water and applies them with brushstrokes to the plaster, the colours are imbibed into the surface, and as the wall dries and sets, the pigment particles become bound or cemented along with the lime and sand particles. This gives the colours great permanence and resistance to aging, since they are an integral part of the wall surface, rather than a superimposed layer of paint on it. The medium of fresco makes great demands on a painter's technical skill, since he must work fast (while the plaster is wet) but cannot correct mistakes by overpainting; this must be done on a fresh coat of plaster or by using the secco method.
Secco ("dry") fresco is a somewhat superficial process that dispenses with the complex preparation of the wall with wet plaster. Instead, dry, finished walls are soaked with limewater and painted while wet. The colours do not penetrate into the plaster but form a surface film, like any other paint. Secco has always held an inferior position to true fresco, but it is useful for retouching the latter.
The origins of fresco painting are unknown, but it was used as early as the Minoan civilization (at Knossos on Crete) and by the ancient Romans (at Pompeii). The Italian Renaissance was the great period of fresco painting, as seen in the works of Cimabue, Giotto, Masaccio, Fra Angelico, Correggio, and many other painters from the late 13th to the mid-16th century. Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's Stanza murals in the Vatican are the most famous of all frescoes. By the mid-16th century, however, the use of fresco had largely been supplanted by oil painting. The technique was briefly revived by Diego Rivera and other Mexican Muralists in the first half of the 20th century.