Getting an accurate idea of what Greek sculpture actually looked like in its time usually requires picturing the Parthenon painted in Crayola colors.
Luckily, the new exhibit at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University, "Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture of Classical Antiquity," erases the misconception that Greek art is just gray stone by reconstructing classic sculptures with the painted designs that originally adorned them.
The exhibit is fairly small, consisting of one main room and two smaller ones. Two videos within the smaller rooms detail the reconstruction process and display images of ancient works with traces of paint remaining on them. Written records revealed to historians that the classic white marble sculptures were painted, but the process of identifying the paint pigments and designs and reproducing them is a fascinating fusion of art and science.
Archaeologists locate raised areas in the surface of the sculptures by illuminating them from the side, a process called "raking light." UV light and infrared also help identify the pigments and patterns on the stone. Scientific analysis of the remaining traces of paint allows archaeologists to determine the minerals used to create the various pigments. A display in the exhibit gives a sample of each mineral and the color extracted from it. These are the same colors used on the reconstructed statues in the museum.
A few original Greek sculptures are on display in the gallery, some with traces of paint that you can look for, though it's extremely difficult to see on most. Easier to spot are the red dots decorating the small, abstract head made from marble in the Cycladic Islands, where the Greeks got most of their stone for sculpting.
Other Greek sculptures are displayed as contrasts to the painted counterparts. An ancient marble warrior's head is placed next to a strikingly bright reconstruction of the piece. The painted reconstruction seems gaudy in comparison to the simplicity of the warrior worn free of its painted exterior. The empty, introspective eyes are replaced by a vivid stare. Red lips and fanciful patterns on the warrior's helmet make him seem more playful than noble.
Reconstructions of famous pieces, such as the Peplos Kore (statues of Greek women) and the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great, also surprise viewers who have seen or studied the now-unpainted works and have come to imagine them that way. The reconstructions seem almost too playful and bright to represent such highly revered classic works. Some of the statues even reveal figures that appear to be nude actually wear form-fitting breastplates and tunics clearly visible before time wore away the paint and pieces of the stone itself.
For those not accustomed to the idea of ancient Greek artworks made into three dimensional coloring books, the exhibit can come as a surprise. "Gods in Color" challenges our traditional view of Greek art as representing the purity and simplicity of classicism - a view reinforced by the art of the Renaissance, which celebrated and admired the quiet eloquence of the white marble statues.
Students of art, history and the combination of the two should definitely take a look at the color copies of these classics, as should anyone willing to rethink his or her notions of Greek sculpture and ancient art. "Gods in Color" makes for a bizarre experience and gives an interesting look at how modern science mixes with classic art. The exhibit is up through January 20th and is located right across Harvard Yard, next to the Fogg Museum. Not only is the museum only a couple of stops away from Davis, but Tufts students also get in for free. This experience is certain to allow viewers to see not only these sculptures, but also the Greek art galleries in the MFA or the Met in a new light.
