Roman Art, Portrait of a Maiden (The Poetess)

Description

The portrait of Sappho, in the fourth Pompeian style, was found in 1760 in the Insula occidentalis. The painting represents the bust of a young girl, with a polyptych of four waxed tablets in the left hand and a stylus Brought to the lips. The fresco is devoid of intention portraiture, this excludes the possibility of identification with the famous Greek poetess from whom it takes its name. The work was probably made with the intention of emphasizing the belonging of the girl to a wealthy family.T