1. Terentius Neo and wife Date: after 62 AD Dimensions: 65 cm high x 58 cm long Technique: Fresco Style: Early Fourth Style wall Pompeii

2. Terentius Neo and wife Name: Baker was thought to have owned the house where the portrait Pacuvius Proculus – a was found. OR The house may have been owned by Terentius Neo – a lawyer.

3. Terentius Neo and wife Woman  Red ribbon (signifies married woman)  Chestnut coloured hair in curls  Winged eye-brows  Light pink skin tone  Clearly quite young  Eyes wide and almond shaped  Stylus  Hinged wooden writing tablet  Red/purple dress (aristocratic)

4. Terentius Neo and wife Man  Short (and fashionable!) haircut  Large crease on forehead  Darker skin tone  Straggly beard and ‘tache  Scroll with wax seal  Big ears

5. Terentius Neo and wife  Figures overlap  Frontal aspect  Typical southern Italian features  Skin tones reflect some Greek influence – lighter for the woman  Background is plain and light-coloured which complements and does not detract from the subject – typically Pompeian red frame.

6. Terentius Neo and wife  Study in ambient light, with highlights and shading to give a realistic modelling of both features and clothes.  Frontal aspect – couple’s bodies are angled SLIGHTLY towards each other, with faces forward.  Only head and torso are considered important.

7. Terentius Neo and wife Artistic conventions:  Scroll – maybe a marriage scroll (which would make this a wedding picture)  Stylus and tablet are more conventional – and can be seen in other Pompeian paintings…even the pose is replicated elsewhere

8. Terentius Neo and wife

9. Artistic conventions:  Fashionable to portray women with stylus and wax tablet – we can’t assume that she was literate.  It is, however, being held open to her husband…some commentators have suggested this indicates openness between the couple?