Strolling musicians
These two pictures show the same subject portrayed using different techniques. The subject is a scene taken from Theophoruméne (The Possessed), a play by Menander of which thirty lines are extant. That we are dealing with a recital is not only clear from the presence of the "rostrum" which is particularly evident in the mosaic and which in fact is simply an expedient for giving a little background to the characters and some depth to the scene, but also from the masks which the three main characters are wearing on their faces. We recognise the paràsitos by its aquiline nose and frowning forehead, in the figure of the player of the tympanum, while the kòlax, or flatterer, in the character of the cymbal player, wearing a mask with curving nose, flushed cheeks and shiny forehead; the diàmitros etàira can be identified as the player of the double-pipes whose hair is tied up in a headscarf. The fourth character is a child, or dwarf, with an emaciated face and unkempt hair, wearing a short tunic typical and following in the train of the festive procession as it winds its way towards a doorway, whose fixture is partially visible. These two works are noteworthy on account of the use of colours which ranges from black-brown in the shaded areas to the light blue and yellow of the most highly-illuminated parts; this ability betrays great awareness of the effects that can be obtained by shifting degrees of colour, and complete mastery of the technical aspects of painting such as how to obtain shape and size by use of colour and not merely by outline.
That the two replicas are independent with respect to each other - the mosaic is certainly older than the fresco above all because of the inscription bearing the name of the artist Dioscouridhs Samios epoihse dating it to 100 B.C., is suggested by some details which prove that a different model was used for the fresco compared to the mosaic. While the latter has the white cloak of the kòlax describing a double almond-shaped fold at hip level, quite out of keeping with the rest of the clothing, and the female character does not appear to be resting on the ground, the fresco, which generally speaking is of rather indifferent quality, does not display these anomalies; in addition to which the child is set apart from the other figures. The original of which these two are reproductions has been dated to the first half of the 3rd century B.C., on account of the presence of shading which enhances scenic depth and the absence of stains for the production of the chiaroscuro effect.
Bibliography: Bianchi Bandinelli in EAA III, s.v. Dioskourides 3° pp.132-133; L. Bernabò Brea, Menandro e il teatro greco nelle terracotte liparesi, Genova 1987 pp. 189-190, 192, 230-234
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NAPLES, Museo Nazionale
http://museoarcheologiconazionale.ca...um_view?page=6
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