Portrait of Terentius Neo
| Portrait of Terentius Neo | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Terentius Neo and his wife, from Pompeii, c. AD 50 | |
| Type | Fresco |
| Period/culture | Early Imperial period |
| Discovered | House of Terentius Neo Pompeii, Campania, Italy |
| Present location | National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy |
| Culture | Roman |
The Portrait of Terentius Neo is a Roman fresco, created circa 50 AD, depicting a couple holding objects important to literacy. It was found in Pompeii in the House of Terentius Neo in Regio 7, Insula 2, 6, and is now in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples.
It is highly unusual for individualized painted portraits to survive from the Roman era, but holding objects to do with literacy is common in portraits, which are mostly more idealized, and may be intended to represent authors, or real people depicted as dead authors. That does not seem to be the case here. In its original setting the portrait was underneath a smaller painting showing Cupid and Psyche in a "passionate embrace", Psyche with wings, and her buttocks mostly displayed to the viewer.