"Visitors to the former residences of wealthy citizens of ancient Rome cannot help but be astonished by their grand architecture and enchanting wall paintings, still vibrant with cinnabar reds, golden yellows, and deep greens. The beauty and intricacy of these ancient frescoes are showcased in the sumptuous volume Domus: Wall Painting in the Roman House, published by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 2004 and now available in this abridged and affordable edition ... Following an introduction to the Roman domestic ideal that inspired these wall decorations and a discussion of the evolution in painting styles, the author conducts a tour of twenty-eight houses in Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, and the city of Rome. Here are painted scenes - rich with fabulous details of illusionistic architecture, Irish gardens, exotic animals, and erotic adventures - impressive in their display of technical mastery and enduring in their visual impact"--Jacket. "Thanks to this volume, the reader can visit the Roman houses of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Boscoreale, Oplontis, and Rome that display superb Roman frescoes on their walls ... An essay by Donatella Mazzoleni highlights the connections between Roman architecture and the programs of illusionistic wall paintings employed in these magnificent structures. Umberto Pappalardo examines the Roman domestic ideal and its realization in wall painting and through other elements of interior decoration. The two essays precede a sumptuously illustrated guide to twenty-eight of the most beautiful houses - among them, the Villa of the Mysteries, the House of the Vettii, and the House of the Faun in Pompeii; the House of Livia, the Villa Farnesina, and the Domus Aurea in Rome; the House of the Grand Portal in Herculaneum; and the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor in Boscoreale."--Jacket.