The FOKUS DENKMAL series is entering its eighth round at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. In this format, monument preservation sets the tone. This time it’s about provincial Roman settlement remains from Lorch in Upper Austria, including wall paintings with the legendary head of Medusa, but that’s no reason to be afraid – on the contrary. It is a small […]

The FOKUS DENKMAL series is entering its eighth roundat the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. In this format, monument preservation sets the tone. This time, the focus is on provincial Roman settlement remains from Lorch in Upper Austria, including wall paintings with the legendary head of Medusa, which is no reason to be afraid – on the contrary.

It is a small window into the ancient world: the exhibition “The House of Medusa” at the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (KHM). The show tells the painstaking and extensive story of archaeologically uncovered Roman-Imperial settlement remains in the form of numerous wall painting fragments. In 2000, a garage was to be built in Lorch, a district of the Upper Austrian town of Enns. Lorch owes its name to the Roman city of Lauriacum, which flourished on the border of the Roman Empire on the Danube in the 3rd century. The first legionary camps in Enns were built around 185, during the reign of Emperor Commodus (161-192 AD). The emergency excavations carried out by the Federal Monuments Office at this site were significant. What was hidden under those layers of earth is a treasure of such magnitude that it represents a new fragment of our historiography.

The recovered fragments of painting date from the 2nd/3rd century – they are elegant room decorations of exceptional quality and artistic skill. “The House of Medusa”, as the former residential building from which the colorfully decorated remains originate is called, bears its name because of the three fresco portraits painted with the face of Medusa. Originally, all the ceiling medallions were probably decorated with this image. In ancient times, the head of this beautiful monster, beheaded by Perseus, was believed to ward off evil.

The rooms of the house were inhabited throughout the entire 3rd century, as the rooms in question are decorated in four phases, three of them with colorful paintings. A luxurious house, therefore, which was equipped with underfloor heating and had the presentation rooms facing south. It was probably the home of a high-ranking officer.

From the ground to the display case

The Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, with its stately presence reminiscent of ancient urban planning, is very well suited as a backdrop for the Medusa House. The entrance in the left wing of the middle floor leads into the two rooms of the exhibition. The first illustrates the history of the fragments from their discovery site to the museum. The room behind it presents the restored antique works of art in different ways. The tension is successfully built up here by withholding the real treasures from museum visitors for the time being. Texts, photos, film, light and the historical originals form a varied whole. Remarkably, fragment pictures are also embedded in mortar and plaster and placed in solid aluminum frames on the walls. Without the protective but also separating glass, visitors can get incredibly close to antiquity and look the image of Medusa straight in the eye.

A short film shows the extensive examination of the ancient fragments, the scientific, conservation and archaeological processing of which began in 2013 at the Austrian Federal Monuments Office. The journey of the wall paintings, whose great historical significance as a surviving collection became apparent step by step, is shown almost like a cartoon: At the beginning, the arrival of the finds in 42 Euroboxes, and finally the sorting and assembling of the fragments by puzzling them together using vivid working photographs. The film ends with a virtual visit to the reconstructed house, into which the ceiling and wall paintings have been incorporated. It demonstrates the high degree of technical skill and professionalism involved in the conservation work. A 30,000-piece jigsaw puzzle would turn pale with envy.

A unique piece in the province of Noricum

The most remarkable features of this house can be found in the 3rd overpainting phase. The polychrome architectural system and the figurative decoration that adorned the rooms at that time are unique for the province of Noricum. The richness of color is almost as captivating as it was back then. Work techniques are presented in a simple and vivid way that can be easily understood. For example, the pierced holes of the compasses are clearly visible on the wall painting fragments and a drawing of the layered structure shows the creative development of the architectural elements. In the middle of the room, directly above the visitors’ heads, is a copy of the ceiling decoration complete with Medusa heads. Standing up, visitors can look down at the historical frescoes and up at the floating, colorful ceiling and thus understand the connection between the individual parts as a whole.

The exhibition can be admired at the KHM Vienna until April 8 and will then return to its home in Enns. There, at the Lauriacum Museum, the works of art can be viewed virtually in situ. There are many time travels on offer in Vienna, but hardly any are as authentic – it’s worth it.

You can also read more about the House of Medusa in the FOKUS-DENKMAL project volume.

Further information on the archaeological context and the restoration and conservation measures can be found in a video.