Habiter le décor. Peinture murale et architecture domestique en Italie centrale (fin Ier-fin IIIe s. p.C.)

Researchers working on Roman wall painting in Italy have long focused on the rich Campanian documentation, prior to the eruption of Vesuvius, to the detriment of the period between the late 1st and late 3rd centuries. We have chosen to study the latter period, through the prism of household decoration. We seek to resituate stylistic developments in the context of houses and apartments at a time when housing was undergoing a major transformation, particularly in central Italy with the development of collective housing. The aim is to understand how painting, combined with other types of decoration, structured household space throughout the period and how, in return, this role brought about formal developments. To answer these questions, we have focused our research on central Italy, which offers numerous contexts with well-preserved plans, elevations and decorative schemes. Analysis of these contexts reveals a major turning point in pictorial production at the end of the 1st century, followed by a period of considerable stability in the repertoire. The socio-economic diversity of the contexts studied also makes it possible to understand the decorative strategies of the different social classes and the responses of craftsmen for their different patrons. Last but not least, a comprehensive study of architecture and decoration enables us to gain a detailed understanding of the way people lived at the time, the way in which household space was designed, arranged and occupied. By placing the paintings in their context, we hope to have restored to them their full scope as living objects, part of the everyday life of an entire society.