Just a few hundred years before Common Era, Greek artists sculpted white marble to create life-like statues of people. Historians and scholars claim that these statues were painted instead of leaving them white, which, due to age, is how we see them today. When art historian Joachim Winckelmann presented the idea of “good taste” during the eighteenth century, he gave the impression that art in its simplest form is the most beautiful. He was convinced that the Greek people intentionally left their sculptures paint-less and praised the Greek artists for their pure and simple style. According to Winckelmann, less is more.
I feel that this idea brings us to think that the art we view from thousands of years ago is how the artists intended it to look then. We can study art in its state today, but we also need to look further back to figure out how it looked when it was made. Paint, for example, may flake off over time. It seems unrealistic that a piece of art can look the same for thousands of years without any sign of corrosion or damage. Understanding the history of the piece is going to help us learn about the Greek style and how we as human beings have developed new artistic techniques over time.
Greek art is notorious for appearing naturalistic. However, they used the paint to give their work a more natural look. The Greeks rendered the human body perfectly and I think the paint may have distracted from the beauty of the form in a way that wouldn’t be pleasing, especially with the use of busy patterns and primary colors. After seeing the reconstructions of the Peplos Kore and the Archer, I think that they would seem more realistic with paint, but I do not like the color choice so much. I love bright and vibrant colors, but they almost seem too doll-like. I never realized that these old sculptures were originally painted until now. I believed that the Greeks left these statues as white marble to emphasize the power of the gods, as if they were not human. I agree with Winckelmann in the sense that the pure unpainted marble makes the statues more beautiful. The fact that the remains of Grecian art are so old and precious gives them an angelic and immortal kind of vibe when I see them today. Most of the sculptures are nude and the viewer can see the figure in great detail. It is almost as if the sculptures have a natural glow without paint. I am extremely fascinated with the human body so seeing these great sculptures without color allows me to see how the light hits the curves of the human body. For example, the sculpture of the Dying Warrior demonstrates the muscles throughout a man’s body. The high contrast of the highlights and shadows in his abdomen and face are really eye catching and I love the vividness of it. I cannot get this effect as much if the figure is painted.
I'm tempted to think that the really brightly painted frieze sculptures were meant to be seen at a distance. They were up under the cornices or on the pediment of a building which meant they would either be in the shade or washed out somewhat in direct sunlight. The sculptures were meant as decoration too- almost like the bright colors and contrasts of Christmas decoration- which are probably seen as garish by those not used to them. As for statuary meant to be seen up close, if, as the legend says, Aphrodite visited her own statue in Knidos and found it to be the image of herself, it must have either been realistically painted, not painted at all, or painted in a cosmetically enhanced way acceptable to ladies of that time.
ReplyDeleteHi Brooke,
ReplyDeleteThe statues do look doll like with the bright colors of paint but if painted with the right colors they can look beautiful. Some cultures use bright colors in their artwork like Mexico and Sweden. Different people have different tastes in art with things that are flashy or not. It would work either way if the statues remain white or are painted with the right colors. Anyway it is the same with paintings because some are bright and some are not. It is all how one looks at it.
Sabrina Sundell