Gaius Fabius Pictor () made some of the earliest Roman paintings that are recorded, although none of his works have survived. At least some of his works were painted in 304 BC. No tradition of Roman painting exists earlier than the time of Fabius, nor does his example appear to have been followed by any of his contemporaries; for an interval of nearly a hundred and fifty years occurs before any mention is made of another Roman painter. Fabius, called Pictor, a Roman artist, descended from the celebrated family of the Fabii, painted principally at Rome. Pictor was the grandfather of the Roman historian

Quintus Fabius Pictor Quintus Fabius Pictor (born BC, BC) was the earliest known Roman historian. His history, written in Greek and now mostly lost besides some surviving fragments, was highly influential on ancient writers and certainly participated in introducing Gre ...

. In 304 BC, Pictor decorated the Temple of

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on the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has c ...

, with a representation (presumably) of the battle gained by

Bubulcus The cattle egret (formerly genus ''Bubulcus'') is a cosmopolitan clade of heron (family Ardeidae) in the genus '' Ardea'' found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. According to the IOC bird list, it contains two species, th ...

over the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic peoples, Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan language, Oscan-speaking Osci, people, who originated as an offsh ...

. His paintings were preserved until the reign of the Emperor Gaius, when the temple was destroyed by fire. They were probably held in little estimation, as Pliny, to whom they must have been known, neither acquaints us with the subjects, nor commends the execution. The art of painting in its rude and early forms was general in Italy, but was founded on the Etruscan style, which never advanced beyond a flat

polychromatic Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and a ...

treatment. In painting Romans never acquired the individuality in which it did in the other arts. Painting was then little respected by the Romans, and that the title of ''Pictor'' was not considered as an honourable distinction, but rather intended to stigmatize the illustrious character who had degraded his dignity by the practice of an art which was held in no consideration, may be inferred from a passage of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

, in the first book of his ''

Tusculan Disputations The ''Tusculanae Disputationes'' (also ''Tusculanae Quaestiones''; English: ''Tusculan Disputations'') is a series of five books written by Cicero, around 45 BC, attempting to popularise Greek philosophy in ancient Rome, including Stoicism. It is ...

'': "An censemus si Fabio nobilissimo homini laudatum esset quod pingeret, non multos etiam apud nos Polycletos et Parrhasios fuisse." (That is: "Do we imagine that if it had been considered commendable in Fabius, a man of the highest rank, to paint, we should not have had many Polycleti and Parrhasii.")

Notes

Sources

*''World Book Encyclopedia''. Vol. F, p. 2. Attribution: * Year of birth unknown 4th-century BC births Year of death unknown Ancient Roman painters 4th-century BC Romans Pictor, Gaius 4th-century BC painters {{Italy-painter-stub