The so-called Aldobrandini Wedding: research from the years 1990 to 2016

Abstract

The years between 1990 and 2016 have witnessed a remarkable upsurge in the interest in the famous Roman fresco known as the Aldobrandini Wedding (Le Nozze Aldobrandini), now in the Vatican Museums. The present author published a monograph on this fresco in 1994, but a spate of new information prompted him to rethink afresh the problems posed by the Aldobrandini Wedding to a contemporary viewer. The main research questions of the present publication relate to the original shape and form which the fresco must have had in antiquity; when and where it originated; why it cannot possibly be the representation of ancient wedding rituals (as is generally assumed); the meaning of the image depicted on the wall painting; problems relating to the original archaeological context and the formal relationship with other representations which are also considered to be 'Brautbilder'. The overriding purpose of the writer has been to situate the famous wall painting as fully as possible within the body of Roman wall paintings found elsewhere, notably in Pompei and Herculaneum. The value of this new study on the Aldobrandini Wedding may be found primarily in the choice of different premises and the consistent application of a 'microscopic' iconographical analysis. This monograph offers a more reliable base and a new orientation for further discussions on the famous fresco.