Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Carrasco, Magdalena

Area of Concentration

Art History

Abstract

The history of polychromy reveals that most sculptures from ancient Greece and Rome were originally extensively painted. Research has mainly focused on the function and selection of pigments as well as the location of the color on ancient marble statues. Many questions still remain concerning the aesthetics of the prepared surfaces of polychrome sculpture. Our understanding of the aesthetic and optical qualities of Greek and Roman marble sculpture is still in its infancy. However, with the development of modern technologies allowing for advanced technical examinations, it is now quite possible to discern such optical qualities. There also remains evidence of such aesthetics in ancient literary texts with descriptions of works of sculpture. Combining knowledge of literary sources and Greek philology with modern technical examinations reveals a deeper understanding of ancient sculptural aesthetics. Light, in particular, was central to the aesthetics of ancient art, and the visual effects of both color and polish, politura, emphasize this notion of luminosity. The qualities of these nuanced visual effects and their emphasis on light align quite well with the concept of poikilos. Poikilos is an ancient aesthetic that is defined by the changeableness of the states of being and describes shimmering or dappled things. Color and polish, with their effects of light and tactile allure, enlivened the surfaces of sculptures and were enhanced by the ‘poikilia’ of the color and by radiance, which increased the convincing illusionism of mimesis. Color and brightness were often considered interchangeable; thus, the perception of ancient marble sculptures was dependent on the optical properties of colored and polished surfaces, with this ability to create the effect of poikilia.

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