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Trier: Fausta's Fresco
Bust of Fausta. Louvre, Paris (France). Photo Marco Prins.
Fausta  (Louvre, Paris)		 Augusta Treverorum: Roman city, modern Trier.
   
History Pictures

Among the most splendid objects in Trier's Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum belongs this fresco from the first years of the fourth century, which once decorated the ceiling of a splendid mansion that was destroyed when the cathedral was built. The fresco consists of no less than 30,000 fragments and it comes as no surprise that it took ten years to complete this puzzle. The greatest surprise was the central scene: a lady who must be identified as the empress Fausta, wife of Constantine the Great.
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Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins.
Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins.
Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins. Mosaic from the Bischöfliches Dom- und Diözesanmuseum, Trier (Germany). Photo Marco Prins.
Erotes Lady Erotes Lady Erotes
Philosopher Erotes Fausta Amor & Psyche Philosopher
Erotes Philosopher Erotes Lady Erotes

It is hard to identify the individual scenes. Amor and Psyche, well-known from the fairy tale told by Apuleius in the Metamorphoses of Lucius (the "Golden Ass"), the three philosophers, and the erotes can mean anything. The three ladies may be representations of the splendor, education, and elegance that were - according to the imperial propaganda - typical of this happy age (felicitas temporum). Alternatively, they can represent adornment, music, and beauty. However that may be, the representations are completely pagan in nature. The persons who ordered this work of art, were no Christians.
History Pictures
© Jona Lendering for
Livius.Org, 2009
Revision: 27 March 2009
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