ALT FRESCO WITH GARLANDS AND COLUMNS, HOUSE OF LIVIA, C. 30 BCE. PALATINE HILL A section of ancient Roman fresco displaying the Second Style of wall painting. Though Livia only inhabited this house after Augustus's death in 14 CE, it was decorated circa 30 BCE, contemporary with the nearby House of Augustus. The flat wall is painted to create a three-dimensional illusion, with fluted columns framing a central panel. Suspended between them is a heavy garland of pine foliage, leaves, and round fruits. Crucially, these plants are shown fruiting and flowering simultaneously, defying the seasons. This impossible ripening is a visual manifesto of the Augustan Aurea Ætas or Golden Age of perpetual abundance. The artist painted subtle cast shadows behind the ribbon-tied garland to enhance the depth. Above is a horizontal yellow frieze featuring faintly-sketched, monochrome sacro-idyllic landscapes showing rural shrines.