Sappho Fresco

The Sappho Fresco
English: Portrait of a Young Woman with Stylus, Italian: 'Saffo'
Year	55-79
Medium	fresco
Movement	Pompeian Styles
Subject	A young educated woman with stylus, popularized as an icon of Sappho
Dimensions	37 cm× 38 cm(15 in× 15 in)
Location	National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Naples, Italy
Accession	9084

The Sappho Fresco or Portrait of a Young Woman with Stylus is a Pompeian-style Fresco dating to the 1st century, from the city of Pompeii, which got buried during the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Believed to be of the Fourth Style painting, it was recovered on 17 May 1760. Currently displayed at the National Archaeological Museum, Naples, alongside the Portrait of Terentius Neo, it is among many examples found in Pompeii that demonstrates the autonomy of that women had in ancient Rome. ^[1]

Subject

During the 19th century, scholars speculated that the portrait is that of Sappho of Lesbos, which lent fame to the work. Due to the fact that there is no label attributing the portrait to her, modern scholars now attribute the portrait to an upper-class educated Pompeiian woman. ^{[1] [2]}

The woman holds the tablet and stylus contemporary to that of Roman citizens during the 1st century AD, and the clothing and hair closely reflect the styles made popular during the mid-century. ^{[3] [1]} With the contemplation and direct stare to the audience in thought, she is known as a docta puella (learned girl), and such portrait suggest she was of the upper-class family, as 15% of the Roman population was literate at the time. ^{[1] [3] [4]}

The "Sappho" portrait too is paired alongside a portrait of a young man, paired as a couple. ^[1] Such visual depictions, along with the records of female landowners through Pompeiian history that women held egalitarian or essential dominant roles. ^[1]

Excavation

The Youth Portrait

The first major excavations began in Pompeii in the year 1748. ^[5] This Fresco was uncovered in 17 May 1760. It was found in the Regio VI, Insula Occidentalis region of the city, which belonged to the local Cuomo family. ^[3]

Excavation Report of the Mural, Naples Royal Printing House (1762)

Also uncovered with it was a central panel depicting the myth of Andromeda and Perseus, and subsequently on the center of the side panel, the Sappho fresco was paired with a pendant medallion of a young man clutching a scroll, likely her husband. ^{[1] [3] [6] [2]}

It currently resides at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. ^[2] It was removed from the walls of the original excavated house, a practice commonly seen from the 18th century excavations, where ornamental pieces, typically smaller than 30 cm2 were eyed for extraction. ^{[2] [7]}

References

1. Silberberg-Peirce, Susan (1993). "The Muse Restored: Images of Women in Roman Painting" . Woman's Art Journal. 14 (2): 28–36. doi:10.2307/1358447. ISSN   0270-7993. JSTOR   1358447.
2. Bernardeau, Sandrine (21 August 2013). "Portrait de jeune femme par - œuvre d'art analysée en images". Panorama de l'art (in French). Retrieved 2025-08-06.
3. Iacobelli, Natalia (2025-07-17). "Woman with Stylus: What a Portrait Can Tell Us About Women in Ancient Rome". DailyArt Magazine. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
4. "The archaeology of Roman literacy | Berkshire Archaeological Society". www.berksarch.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
5. "Pompeii - Excavations, Ruins, Archaeology | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2025-08-20. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
6. Bragantini, Irene; Sampaolo, Valeria (2009). La pittura pompeiana[Pompeian Painting]. Electa, Soprintendenza archeologica Napoli e Pompei (published 526). ISBN   9788851005757.
7. Moormann, E. M. (1987). "Destruction and restoration of Campanian mural paintings in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries". In S. Cather (ed.). The Conservation Of Wall Paintings (PDF). pp. 87–101.