Architectural Space in the Wall Painting of the Roman Tomb in Brestovik

Abstract

Previous scientific research of the Roman tomb in the village of Brestovik, on the Danube near Belgrade, was focused on its architectural structure. The painted decoration is described in detail only in the work of Mihailo Valtrović, who recorded what he saw during excavations at the end of the 19th century. Although there is an assumption that all the rooms of the tomb were once painted, today the decoration exists only in the room with graves, and in a very poor state of preservation. Discussed in this paper is the treatment of space in the wall painting of the tomb, with the use of imitations of architectural techniques and elements. Apart from the imitation of the opus sectile technique on the walls of the tomb, as well as the coffered ceiling painted on its vault, special attention will be devoted to the three-dimensional presentation of the beams on the walls, since in the ancient painting in the territory of today’s Serbia, it has been found only in the tomb in Brestovik.