The Met’s Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color

The unblemished white marble so often associated with Greek art has become a cultural standard for beauty. However, a majority of sculptures in the ancient Mediterranean were created with paint, gilding, and inlaid materials that transformed marble, bronze, and terracotta figures into vibrant works of art. 

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Over time, the colors on these statues weathered away, leaving representations of humans, animals, and mythical subjects without their original definitions. We know this due to these statues being found with polychromatic, or multi-color, traces of paint adhering to the surface. These traces of original color can be identified through examination with a lens or microscope. Photographs in visible, infrared, or ultraviolet light can also reveal organic materials found with pigments. The pigments found are usually made from minerals or natural earth colors. The ability to identify these original colors has allowed for hypothetical reconstructions of the statues to be created.

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The Met’s Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color did just that, exploring the practices and materials used in these ancient polychromatic works by utilizing cutting-edge scientific methods to identify and recreate the ancient color while also examining the vital role color plays in conveying meaning.

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The exhibition displays seventeen ancient sculptures reconstructed in color by Dr. Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann and Dr. Vinzenz Brinkmann, Head of the Department of Antiquity at the Liebieghaus Sculpture Collection in Frankfurt. A main feature of this exhibition is a reconstruction of the Met’s Archaic-period Sphinx finial, completed by The Liebieghaus team in collaboration with The Met. The Sphinx is displayed alongside other reconstructions as well as original Greek and Roman work representing similar subjects. These other reconstructions include warriors, funerary statues, Roman emperors, and more, which are created by using 3D imaging and analytical techniques, as well as investigating, preserving, and presenting manifestations of the original color on ancient statuary. This exhibit changes the way we view and understand polychromy in Greek and Roman art.

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Click the link below to view the collection: https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/chroma/exhibition-objects#exhibition-navigation