Gods in color

We often think of ancient statues as the white stone figures that have long dominated museum collections, gods in color. 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 - Gods in color Edition," which features over painted sculptures in Frankfurt's Liebieghaus museum, visitors can witness the polychromatic transformation of ancient statues and experience their original, eye-opening bright hues.

Imagine a stroll through ancient Athens among colorful statues and brightly decorated temples—in contrast with the colorless stone ruins that survive today. This exhibition presents full-size copies of Greek and Roman sculpture whose painted decoration, faded over the millennia, has been painstakingly reconstructed. The color reconstructions—based on close examination and scientific analysis of the scarce traces of paint remaining on the surfaces of the originals—include a number of well-known masterpieces, such as the Peplos Kore from the Athenian Akropolis, pedimental sculpture from the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina, and the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus. The exhibition opens up a world of richly attired deities, proud warriors, and barbarians in dazzling costume and dispels a popular misconception of Western art: the white marble statue of Classical antiquity. A brochure accompanies this exhibition. Close Modal.

Gods in color

Although the classical ideal usually evokes unadorned bronze and white marble sculptures, the art of ancient cultures was often painted to dazzling and powerful effect. Thanks to modern science, we can discover what pigments were used and how these sculptures would have originally looked. Gods in Color presents reconstructions of well-known sculptural works from ancient Greece and Rome to uncover their original colors and uncover the spirit of classical civilizations as never before. These are complemented by original antiquities from the Mediterranean world and early nineteenth-century watercolors that provide a more comprehensive view of polychromy in ancient cultures. To find out more about the exhibition, explore this digital offering from our friends at the the Liebieghaus in Frankfurt. The art of ancient cultures was often painted to dazzling and powerful effect. Polychromy — the painting of objects in a variety of colors — was a regular feature of sculpture in Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Aegean, Greece, and Rome. When antiquities were rediscovered after prolonged exposure to the elements, their colored surfaces had often faded to invisibility. As a result, later sculptors such as Michelangelo who were inspired by Greek and Roman sculpture left their own marble and bronze surfaces unadorned, perpetuating this inaccurate classical ideal. Gods in Color emphasizes how ancient sculpture is incomplete without color. White or monochrome sculpture would have been as strange to the ancients as the color reconstructions might seem to us.

Related topics. Experimental color reconstruction of the two bronzes from the Quirinal hill in Rome, Liebieghaus Frankfurt. Close Modal.

Its subject is ancient polychromy , i. The exhibition is based on the conclusions drawn from research on ancient polychromy, conducted especially by the Classical archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann since the early s, based on earlier works by Volkmar von Graeve. It displayed copies of ancient sculpture in their reconstructed and painted appearance that had been produced during his studies, as well as new reconstructions created especially for the exhibition, in conjunction with the originals or comparable ancient sculptures. Soon, the exhibition began to travel to other cities in Germany and beyond. Since , the exhibition and underlying research has received support from a foundation created by the government of Bavaria , as well as private donations. After the original German catalogue produced for the Munich exhibition, new editions were issued for later showings, most recently for the one in Frankfurt. An English catalogue was published for the — showing in the Arthur M.

In ancient times , when approaching the Temple of Aphaia on the Greek island of Aegina, one would have seen a sculpture of a young archer, painted in bright colors to look as lifelike as possible. Contemporary writings on art, including a book by Roman author Pliny the Elder, mention the fact that sculptures in ancient Greece were painted and not left with the white marble exposed. Yet many people today are surprised to learn that classical statues were bursting with color. So how and why did this myth of colorless marble statues begin? Renaissance artists thought statues from antiquity were bare marble and fashioned their works accordingly, thus helping to create the myth. The colors on most ancient statues had faded by the time they were initially excavated , so it was assumed they had always been colorless. But even as new knowledge emerged, the truth was intentionally withheld from the public to fit with the ideals of society, Brinkmann explained.

Gods in color

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 painted sculptures in Frankfurt's Liebieghaus museum, visitors can witness the polychromatic transformation of ancient statues and experience their original, eye-opening bright hues. 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. They no longer had any color. At the same time, the simplicity of colorlessness fit with the popular ideology of the period. Read more : Germany returns antiquities to Mexico. The lack of color made the figures lose their sensuality, said the archaeologist. 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.

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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. Authority control databases. Harvard Art Museums. It was colorful. It displayed copies of ancient sculpture in their reconstructed and painted appearance that had been produced during his studies, as well as new reconstructions created especially for the exhibition, in conjunction with the originals or comparable ancient sculptures. In depth The art of ancient cultures was often painted to dazzling and powerful effect. Skip to content Skip to main menu Skip to more DW sites. The color reconstructions—based on close examination and scientific analysis of the scarce traces of paint remaining on the surfaces of the originals—include a number of well-known masterpieces, such as the Peplos Kore from the Athenian Akropolis, pedimental sculpture from the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina, and the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus. Latest audio Latest videos. Since , the exhibition and underlying research has received support from a foundation created by the government of Bavaria , as well as private donations. Additional support is provided by Bernard and Jane von Bothmer in honor of Dr. Gods in Color presents reconstructions of well-known sculptural works from ancient Greece and Rome to uncover their original colors and uncover the spirit of classical civilizations as never before. Its subject is ancient polychromy , i. The current show will also travel to Naples, New York and Sydney, among other locations. Soon, the exhibition began to travel to other cities in Germany and beyond.

Mark Abbe was ambushed by color in , while working on an archeological dig in the ancient Greek city of Aphrodisias, in present-day Turkey.

When antiquities were rediscovered after prolonged exposure to the elements, their colored surfaces had often faded to invisibility. Alternative reconstructions of the Peplos Kore displayed at the Athens show. Experimental color reconstruction of the east frieze of the Siphnian Treasury in Delphi, Liebieghaus Frankfurt. Your Collections Select a collection. The exhibition is based on the conclusions drawn from research on ancient polychromy, conducted especially by the Classical archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann since the early s, based on earlier works by Volkmar von Graeve. Experimental color reconstruction of the Greek grave statue of Phrasikleia, Liebieghaus Frankfurt. In the exhibition "Gods in Color - Golden Edition," which features over painted sculptures in Frankfurt's Liebieghaus museum, visitors can witness the polychromatic transformation of ancient statues and experience their original, eye-opening bright hues. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gods in Color. Collection Name. Modern scientific methods have revealed new evidence for painted and ornamented surfaces on classical sculpture and allowed us to determine what pigments were used. We often think of ancient statues as the white stone figures that have long dominated museum collections. The lack of color made the figures lose their sensuality, said the archaeologist.