Figure Drawing: Le Pitture Antiche D'Ercolano

Le Pitture Antiche D'Ercolano was produced over the years 1757 to 1771 in Naples and illustrated the art works found in the excavations of Herculaneum which had been buried since 62 A.D. but revealed as the result of several earthquakes.

Herculaneum (Ercolano) was buried at the same time as Pompei, it was a more affluent town than Pompei, which explains the interest in its artworks.

Wikipedia article.

The book was commissioned by Charles III, the King of the two Sicilies.

Here i

s a photograph of the frieze depicted in the first image. It depicts Theseus, one of the legendary kings of Athens. He was the slayer of the Minotaur. Read about him on the About.com page: Theseus. More color photos frescoes from the area of Campania around Naples. Campania includes Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other towns whose buildings, paintings, and sculptures were preserved by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79 are available at: art-and-archaeology.com Roman Painting: Frescoes From Campania.

Another image of this fresco is at wikimedia.org: Affreschi romani - Ercolano - Teseo liberatore.

Authors of the plates are, in alphabetical order: Giuseppe Aloja, Nicola Billi, Peter Bell, Nicola
Cesarano, P. Gaultier, Francesco Martano, Filippo Morghen, Camillo Paderno, Rocco Pozzi, N. Ricci, Nicola Vanni, Francisco de Vega.

From The History of Ancient Art By Johann Joachim Winckelmann, translated from the German by Giles Henry Lodge, "Engravings of the best of the ancient pictures, very well executed on the whole, and accompanied by learned explanations, are found in the Herculaueum museum, in five volumes, under the title Lc Pitture Antiche it Ercolano e Contorni incise, con qualche Spiegazione. They constitute a portion of the Herculancum Museum or Le Antichità d' Ercolano, a work in eight volumes, and a Catalogue, making the ninth, which may be found in every library of any extent."