Caption
Modern Version of a Roman Mural
This image is a modern interpretation of a garden fresco from the dining room (triclinium) of the Roman Empress Livia Drusilla, wife of the first Roman Emperor Augustus. The original was painted between 20 and 10 BC for a summer villa located nine miles outside of Rome and it can now be seen in a separate room in the National Roman Museum, Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme, Rome, Italy. The painting illustrates a garden with different types of ornamental and fruit trees, a wide variety of flowers and various types of birds.
This new work, very faithful to the spirit of the original, was recently completed by Rose Hughes Steuart and is located in a recreation of Thomas Jefferson’s private house, Poplar Forest. This new house, located outside of Front Royal, Virginia, was completed in 2005 by Patricia and Tory Failmezger and maintains the Virginian Palladian Style of the original while incorporating aspects for modern living and other elements of the classical past.