08-24-2010, 10:33 AM
Folks,
I'm a big fan of the Brinkmann coloured statues, and think they provide a wonderful insight into the world of the ancient greeks and romans which had quite literally be washed out by time and assumptions.
That said, I'd be very careful about making assumptions about materials based on the colour of paint used. Its my understanding that Brinkmann's methodology included reconstructing the colours from the analysis of the surviving pigments. So, if you look at the first reconstruction, the Aristion grave stele from the late archaic (one of my favourites
you see the same blue used for the greaves, his spear shaft, his hat, decoration of his spolas, and so forth.
Similarly, the same yellow appears in the greaves, the spolas, and the hat decoration.
If you look at the other pieces, colours recur in different material contexts (metal, fabric, decoration) which more leads to the more likely conclusion that the palette was limited, and representation is approximate at best.
Have fun!
Cole
I'm a big fan of the Brinkmann coloured statues, and think they provide a wonderful insight into the world of the ancient greeks and romans which had quite literally be washed out by time and assumptions.
That said, I'd be very careful about making assumptions about materials based on the colour of paint used. Its my understanding that Brinkmann's methodology included reconstructing the colours from the analysis of the surviving pigments. So, if you look at the first reconstruction, the Aristion grave stele from the late archaic (one of my favourites
you see the same blue used for the greaves, his spear shaft, his hat, decoration of his spolas, and so forth. Similarly, the same yellow appears in the greaves, the spolas, and the hat decoration.
If you look at the other pieces, colours recur in different material contexts (metal, fabric, decoration) which more leads to the more likely conclusion that the palette was limited, and representation is approximate at best.
Have fun!
Cole
Cole
