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Colouring the Past |
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This fragment is influenced by an honourific stela erected on the site of the Gymnasium of Diogenes in Athens, c.160AD. Though the original was in pentelic limestone, this piece was quickly roughed in limestone to investigate the application of encaustic, or wax based painting. This process was an early invention, popular in late classical Greek works, where we find sculptors much cherished by the later Romans such as Praxiteles working with painters, in this case Nikias, or embracing both skills such as the famed Euphranor. For lifesize sculpture, subtle painting could fool the casual eye, achieving a mimesis, or replica of nature so accurate and profound that it would cause the deeply upset 4th Century BC philosopher Plato to rail against this fashion in art.
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The painting in this case is purely conjectural, experimenting with popular pigments of the period. As this is a small piece (30 x 25cms) both the carving and colouration have been simplified. The painting or perhaps a better term would be tinting of lifesize works would perhaps be more subtle and convincing, especially in the hands of a master painter.
We do know from Roman literature that sailors and marines would wear cloaks & tunics in all the colours of the sea, something that is intimated on this piece with the greens and aquamarines of the Aegean. |
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Tinted limestone funerary statue of a woman, 4th C AD, Oxyrhynchus (British Museum) |