This is the first general, and modern, history of Roman painting in English. Even the reprints of the classic studies by L. Curtius are now some 20 years old. The remaining seminal work is generally unavailable outside specialized channels, and often published in languages other than English. Recent research has provided a much clearer idea of the chronology of Roman paintings, their sources of inspiration, and their significance to the various classes of patrons who commissioned them. The publication of this new study therefore fills a genuine void. Among the other subjects the book discusses are the Four Pompeian Styles (based on the sequence first worked out by the German scholar, A. Mau, in 1882), their spread to the provinces and the broad developments in layout, style, and subject matter which followed them. By the early Imperial period, a new Roman identity had emerged from the shadow of Greece. It is within this crucial phase that Roman painting flowered from its Greek roots. Paintings from this period survive primarily in Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, and the surrounding region. The text discusses the relationship between Roman paintings and the Grecian so-called old masters, the factors which dictated the choice of particular subjects and the way they were represented. The last two chapters deal with the technical processes of ancient wall painting, the painters, and the organization of their workshops. (Abstractor's note: The text is a rare work of erudition and a must for any library. Considering the influence of Imperial Roman painting upon European artists of the Renaissance and Neoclassical periods, it will be a source of pleasure and benefit for both specialists and the lay reader.)