That Classic White Sculpture Once Had a Paint Job
June Samaras
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/arts/design/14unge.html?_r=1&ref=design&oref=slogin
By MILES UNGER
Published: October 14, 2007
THE 18th-century scholar Johann Winckelmann coined the memorable
phrase "noble simplicity and quiet grandeur" to describe the qualities
he admired in ancient Greek and Roman statues, which in his time were
thought to have been created in gleaming white marble or unadorned
bronze. So ingrained was this notion of austere, monochromatic ancient
sculpture that it came as a shock when in the 19th century newly
unearthed masterpieces showed traces of their original pigment.
The spare, unadorned forms associated with the word classical — and
imitated by centuries of artists — were actually an accident of time
that obscured their original, often garish coloring and gilded
accessories.
One of the signal moments in this rediscovery was the excavation of
the Temple of Aphaia on the Greek island Aegina in 1811. Obvious on
the pediment sculptures, depicting mythical battle scenes, were traces
of red paint used to mimic oozing blood, as well as peg holes that
once held the warriors' bristling arsenal. There's nothing like a bit
of gore to dispel any notion of "quiet grandeur," or a quiver full of
gold-tipped arrows to mock the idea of "noble simplicity."
The archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann and a team of investigators have
subjected numerous ancient statues to a thorough examination, using
both chemical analysis and observation under raking and ultraviolet
light. This has allowed them to recreate what the works must have
looked like when they first emerged from the studio more than 2,000
years ago.
"Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture of Classical Antiquity," an
exhibition at Harvard's Arthur M. Sackler Museum, displays more than a
dozen reconstructions of Greek and Roman sculptures based on their
work. Even for those who knew that the ancients tinted their statues,
the effect is startling. Placed alongside original works from the
Sackler's collection, these reconstructions seem bright and brassy,
vulgar and almost childlike in their high-key color and frilly detail.
The figure of the Trojan archer (about 490-480 B.C.) depicted here
came from the Temple of Aphaia and probably represents Paris, son of
King Priam of Troy. His abduction of Helen precipitated the Trojan
War, and it was Paris who killed Achilles, the greatest of the Greek
warriors, by shooting an arrow into his unprotected heel. As an archer
who slays his enemies from a distance rather than in hand-to-hand
combat, Paris is viewed as something less than heroic.
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June Samaras
KALAMOS BOOKS
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Glen Camp
Glen D. Camp
Professor emeritus
"Den eimai Athenaios, den eimai Ellin, eimai politis tou kosmou"
--Sokrates
"For I am not an Athenian, I am not a Greek, I am a citizen of the world."
--Socrates
________________________________
From: HELLAS...@googlegroups.com on behalf of June Samaras
Sent: Sun 10/14/2007 4:23 PM
To: HELLAS...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [HELLAS-GREECE:2677] That Classic White Sculpture Once Had a Paint Job
That Classic White Sculpture Once Had a Paint Job
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/arts/design/14unge.html?_r=1&ref=design&oref=slogin
By MILES UNGER
Published: October 14, 2007
THE 18th-century scholar Johann Winckelmann coined the memorable
phrase "noble simplicity and quiet grandeur" to describe the qualities
he admired in ancient Greek and Roman statues, which in his time were
thought to have been created in gleaming white marble or unadorned
bronze. So ingrained was this notion of austere, monochromatic ancient
sculpture that it came as a shock when in the 19th century newly
unearthed masterpieces showed traces of their original pigment.
The spare, unadorned forms associated with the word classical - and
imitated by centuries of artists - were actually an accident of time
ajendrzejewski
A slight correction to your statement--Winckelmann was not an anthropologist. He was an Art Historian (who never made the trip to Greece, btw), basically pioneering in archeology, who appreciated Greek sculpture so much that his writings renewed an interest in it. I disagree agree with you that it was dumb to thing that they were not painted. On the contrary, I believe it is a powerful testament to the power of the sculptures themselves. Before the discovery of pigments on these works, the white marble was all that presented itself. It was not dumb; it was insightful to at least respect the sculptural strength of those carved forms. Many people still do not realize that, not only were they painted, but that a majority of Greek sculpture was bronze, which was later melted by the Roman Empire to create weapons. However, someone was insightful and appreciative of the art then as well, because they had each bronze figure copied in marble before they melted away the bronze.
I wonder how much art has been destroyed in Iraq. I remember that soon after "shock and awe" the Iraq Museum of Art was looted. We had no presence there to avoid that (and neither did Iraq"s public.
Now how high on the scale of dumbness can we get? Aren't we thankful that a Baroque art historian from Germany appreciated Greek Art to influence the 19th century neoclassical movement, which was inspired (I will not say imitated) by Greek sculpture!
Andy Jendrzejewski
John Isles
form of weapons. You know the saying: "The penny is mightier than the
sword." Or something like that. I have a modest collection of ancient
coins, and I like the thought that I may be preserving some former pieces of
statuary in this way. Similarly, it has been suggested that when the
remains of the Colossus of Rhodes were carried off, they were turned into
Arab-Byzantine coinage.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Isles
Hanover, Michigan
North American Secretary, The Webb Deep-Sky Society
www.webbdeepsky.com
'Caeli scrutamur plagas'
-----Original Message-----
From: HELLAS...@googlegroups.com [mailto:HELLAS...@googlegroups.com]
On Behalf Of ajendrzejewski
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 4:36 PM
To: HELLAS...@googlegroups.com
Cc: Glen Camp
Subject: [HELLAS-GREECE:2683] Re: That Classic White Sculpture Once Had a
Paint Job
<snip>
Many people still do not realize that, not only were they painted, but that
a majority of Greek sculpture was bronze, which was later melted by the
Roman Empire to create weapons.
<snip>
ajendrzejewski
You do have a good point. I do not know whether the Romans made more coins or more weapons with the bronze. Both would be made be a pragmatic and imperialistic power such as the Romans.
Andy