Alexander Mosaic In The House Of The Faun

Naturalism in ancient Roman art has developed over time and we are able to see this through the Alexander Mosaic found in the House of the Faun. The human form is depicted in an effective way in this work and gives the viewer an insight of classical society. There is a clear development of the artistic skill portrayed through techniques such as opus vermiculatum and opus regulatum, as well as using colour to show human form in a natural way.

The forms of Alexander and Darius as well as others in the piece are depicted as accurate human figures and this was done through the artist's techniques of the free form opus vermiculatum and the contrasting opus regulatum that is used for the background. Opus vermiculatum allows the artist(s) to portray human anatomy in artworks and this shows the development of art culture in Rome, particularly Pompeii. The Alexander Mosaic is said to be based off earlier paintings by either Philoxenus of Eretria or Aristides
This allowed the artists of the Alexander Mosaic to find new ways to execute a piece of work with accurate human forms while referencing older artwork. Opus vermiculatum makes up most of the figure and makes the art more alive and animated through the techniques’ worm like properties; the artist lays the tesserae in a way that flows naturally so the viewer’s eyes naturally moves throughout the piece. About one million and a half tesserae are in the mosaic so the piece is incredibly detailed and allows opus vermiculatum to further bring the human forms to life. This technique is only present in the figures on the main piece and is contrasted by the background which is made by opus regulatum. This is when the tesserae are lines up neatly in straight rows to usually show an uneventful area. The artist(s) uses this to their advantage as they can create contrast between human figures and the plain background which gives the piece life by adding a 3D effect. This contrast is used so