The Acropolis Museum is conducting research on its unique collection of archaic statues, which retain their colours to a small or large degree, and wishes to open a very extensive discussion with the public and various experts on colour, its technical issues, its detection using new technologies, its experimental use on marble surfaces, its digital reconstruction, its meaning, as well as the archaic period’s aesthetic perception of colour. So far, scientific research into the colour found on ancient sculpture has made great progress and reached surprising conclusions that to a large degree refute the stereotypical assumptions regarding ancient sculpture. It turns out that colour, far from being just a simple decorative element, added to the sculpture’s aesthetic quality.
For ancient Greeks and their society, colour constituted a way to characterize various attributes. The blond hair of the gods projected their power; the brown skin of warriors and athletes was a sign of virtue and valour, while the white skin of the korai expressed the grace and radiance of youth.
The Μuseum’s initiative on Archaic Colours is based on very careful observation, on spectroscopic analysis, on special photography sessions, on efforts to reproduce the colours of antiquity and then to apply them on Parian marble, and naturally, on searching through written sources for valuable information on the pigments.
The statues’ crisp, saturated colours, on bright garments and tender bodies, combined with the rich jewellery, frequently made of metal, and elaborately curled hair created a singular aesthetic pleasure, making the archaic statues “wonderful to behold” for the people of the period.
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