Pompeian Red.

This magnificent and well-preserved ancient Roman fresco from the villa of P. Fannio Sinistore in Boscoreale (Pompeii) makes remarkable use of perspective and colour. There are visual ambiguities to tease the eye and create illusion, including architectural details painted to resemble real ones, such as masonry, pillars and columns that cast shadows into the viewer’s space. Objects of daily life were presented in such a way as to seem real, with metal and glass vases on shelves or tables appearing to project out from the wall. These teasers reveal the owner’s pleasure in impressing guests at his comfortable summer retreat.