Figural Arts. The remains of monumental painting from the Roman world can be traced back to the second century B.C.E., but it seems that accomplished painters, such as Fabius Pictor, were active as early as the fourth century B.C.E. Many surviving examples of painting come not only from Rome itself, but also from Herculaneum and Pompeii, where distinctive styles continued to develop until 79 C.E., the year of the eruption of Vesuvius. Over this period, too, a number of mosaics were produced which often echo the subject matter, colors, and designs of wall painting, and may in some instances be copies of lost original frescoes. This has been suggested of the "Alexander Mosaic" from Pompeii depicting Alexander the Great's victory over king Darius of Persia. This mosaic involved the use of tesserae—small cubes of cut stone, glass...