A Gothic View of Livia's Garden Paradise

A Gothic View of Livia's Garden Paradise reimagines the celebrated garden mural from the Roman villa of Livia Drusilla at Prima Porta. The ancient garden is viewed through an architectural framework drawn from another era: a decorative horseshoe arch, Corinthian-style columns, and a rosette. The wall surrounding the arch incorporates elements taken from the garden itself—the golden latticework, fish-scale border, and blue band.

Beyond the arch, Reinike references the famous Roman garden fresco discovered in the semi-subterranean dining room of the Villa of Livia. Through a window of vibrant blues and soft orchard tones, a decorative fence and trees heavy with fruit create an enclosed garden landscape.

The contrast between the Roman garden and the medieval-influenced architecture surrounding it is deliberate. The rounded forms of the arch and the rhythmic ornament frame the ancient landscape as something removed from its original setting and seen through another culture's architectural vocabulary.

The garden becomes more than a reference to a particular Roman place. By bringing together architectural traditions from different cultures and periods, Reinike suggests the enduring search for paradise—a vision of an ideal garden that appears in different forms across civilizations. The result is neither purely Roman nor Gothic.