A Nilotic landscape painting from the J. Paul Getty Museum: A visual connection to the cult of Isis

The purpose of this paper was to explore the possible reasons for a Roman to have chosen a Nilotic scene for the subject of a wall painting and to analyze the significance of Nilotic scenes through their context within the home. The analysis focused on a fragment of a wall painting now located in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Nilotic scenes such as the painting from the Getty generally depict a flooded river with other iconography associated with Egypt, including pygmies and crocodiles. It appears that there were two distinct methods for painting Nilotic scenes: one was humorous while the other, as in this Getty painting, focused on the inundation of the Nile.;The use of wall paintings within a private home was important as a means of communication, as well as a means of displaying the status of the owner to all who entered; the choice and placement of each subject was very important. Therefore, it can be argued that the small Nilotic wall painting from the Getty that is the focus of this paper manifests complex social and religious meanings of which both the owner and the visitors were acutely aware.;Among the reasons for the popularity of Nilotic landscapes may have been that the exotic and unexplainable aspects of Egypt intrigued Romans. For instance, the inundation of the Nile occurred so consistently, and during the same time of year that Rome experienced a draught, that it led numerous Roman writers to theorize about its cause. There was also a strong religious connection that the Romans had with Egypt through the cult of Isis, which they may have expressed in the form of wall paintings with Nilotic themes. There are examples of similar Nilotic landscapes from the temple of Isis at Pompeii which help to support the conclusion that some domestic Nilotic landscapes were intended to function as representations of the cult of Isis, or at least the ideals of the cult.