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The white lie we've been told about Roman statues (Original Post)
Quixote1818
Jul 2020
OP
"Gods In Color," Exhibition from Germany, Ancient Sculpture Was Polychrome
appalachiablue
Jul 2020
#1
appalachiablue
(41,199 posts)1. "Gods In Color," Exhibition from Germany, Ancient Sculpture Was Polychrome
DW (03/02/20) "Gods in Color': Shining new light on ancient statues." The knowledge that ancient Greek and Roman statues were colorfully painted has largely been suppressed in recent centuries. An exhibition explores this shaded past and shows figures in their vibrant original hues. We often think of ancient statues as the white stone figures that have long dominated museum collections. But in recent years, the public has been reawakened to the fact that many of these antiquities were once brightly colored.
In the exhibition "Gods in Color - Golden Edition," which features over 100 painted sculptures in Frankfurt's Liebieghaus museum, visitors can witness the polychromatic transformation of ancient statues and experience their original, eye-opening bright hues.
- The myth of colorlessness: "This strange concept of colorless sculptures dates back to the Renaissance," said archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann, curator of the show. Since beginning his research in Athens 40 years ago, Brinkmann has been studying the colors of ancient sculptures and brings his specialist expertise to the exhibition. "At that time in Rome, there was a lot of construction happening and one sculpture after another was found. They no longer had any color." So at first, no one knew any better, he explained to DW.
At the same time, the simplicity of colorlessness fit with the popular ideology of the period. "The colorless sculptures were used as a visual representations of the Enlightenment," Brinkmann added. The lack of color made the figures lose their sensuality, said the archaeologist. "They were put, so to speak, on a pedestal." Even the finding of the Laocoön and His Sons statue in Rome in 1503, which showed traces of color, could not shift assumptions about ancient statues being white. "It was deliberately looked over," Brinkmann said.
But as the exhibition shows, colors were used diffusely in the ancient world, with the Greeks and Romans painting their sculptures, not only for decoration, but to elaborate the story of each work. Polychromy gave increased depth of cultural and artistic expression.
- New findings and a fascist backlash: The myth of colorlessness was further refuted during excavations in Pompeii in the 18th century. The finds made at that time showed undeniable remains of paint on numerous objects. Pompeii was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 79 A.D. and the lava that poured over the city protected the finds and preserved their colors. In the 19th century, large excavations on the Acropolis in Greece caused further upset. "That's where the sculptures were found that the Persians had destroyed when they stormed the Acropolis in 480 B.C.," Brinkmann noted..When archaeologists dug them up after two and a half thousand years in 1986-87, some of the colors were still fresh and dazzlingly beautiful." So by the end of the 19th century it was clear: Antiquity was not white. It was colorful.
> But with the rise of fascism in the 20th century, the tide turned again. The colorful figures of antiquity did not fit in with the aesthetics of dictators Mussolini, Franco, Hitler or Stalin. They were simply too sensual, says Brinkmann...
https://www.dw.com/en/gods-in-color-shining-new-light-on-ancient-statues/a-52240659
marble falls
(57,479 posts)7. I prefer unpainted.
bobbieinok
(12,858 posts)2. When I learned the states were actually in color, it blew me away!
appalachiablue
(41,199 posts)3. In post #1, the art exhibition from Frankfurt has travelled
to NY, Naples and other places, rocking the world since 2003. Great show, wish I could have seen it.
Auggie
(31,230 posts)4. Fascinating
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)5. Huh. Who knew! That's a shocker
Igel
(35,387 posts)9. Lots of people.
The thing is, nobody lied.
You look at them and assume that they've always been that way.
After that, it's just assumptions all the way down--but saying that we're mislead by others is better than saying we mislead ourselves.
BigOleDummy
(2,272 posts)6. Interesting indeed
I knew that those were painted already but this essay/video was wonderfully done and quite informative. Thanks for posting.
aggiesal
(8,955 posts)8. That was really interesting and cool at the same time. Thanks for posting n/t