What ancient statues actually looked like. Some secrets that ancient statues keep

Since the Renaissance, the white surfaces of antique statues have been a standard of beauty and a source of inspiration for artists.

Scholars have previously noticed that traces of painting have been preserved on some statues in the folds of the tog and robes. Vincenz and Ulrika made the bold assumption that the statues were painted. To prove this, scientists examined them using X-rays, infrared and ultraviolet radiation. The assumption was confirmed: modern technologies microparticles helped to restore even the color of paints. And they turned out to be quite cheerful.

Actually, nature should be blamed for the fact that they came to us as white: for centuries, under the influence of rain and wind, the paint was erased. The Brinkmans decided to recreate the original appearance of the statues, for which they painted several of them the way they looked originally, in the days of Ancient Greece and Rome. The exhibition of reconstructed statues of the Brinkman spouses has been traveling to museums around the world since 2003.

Now the painted statues look clumsy and ridiculous. But in ancient times, when the color was a symbol of status and wealth, they emphasized the greatness of the rulers and the country with their bright colors. “A lot of the time people see it as kitsch,” Vincenz says. - And this is not surprising. But the point, rather, is that it is unusual for our modern eye. And then, a thousand years ago, when slaves and the poor wore clothes from unbleached linen, merchants who did not belong to the nobility had no right to wear purple and blue, no matter how rich they were. Just imagine with what reverence they looked at the statues - for example, a lion with an indigo mane from Greek city Loutraki".

"Alexander's sarcophagus" was found during excavations of the necropolis of the Phoenician city of Sidon. Alexander the Great is depicted on it during the battle with the Persians. The long-sleeved tunic speaks of his conquests and that he is now the ruler of the East. And the headdress made of the skin of a lion refers to Hercules and indicates the divine origin of Alexander.

Since the Renaissance, the white surfaces of antique statues have been a standard of beauty and a source of inspiration for artists. But the archaeologists Ulrike Koch-Brinkman and Vincenz Brinkman destroyed the aesthetes' dreams.

Scholars have previously noticed that traces of painting have been preserved on some statues in the folds of the tog and robes. Vincenz and Ulrika made the bold assumption that the statues were painted. To prove this, scientists examined them using X-rays, infrared and ultraviolet radiation. The assumption was confirmed: modern technologies for microparticles helped to restore even the color of paints. And they turned out to be quite cheerful.

Actually, nature should be blamed for the fact that they came to us as white: for centuries, under the influence of rain and wind, the paint was erased. The Brinkmans decided to recreate the original appearance of the statues, for which they painted several of them the way they looked originally, in the days of Ancient Greece and Rome. The exhibition of reconstructed statues of the Brinkman spouses has been traveling to museums around the world since 2003.

Now the painted statues look clumsy and ridiculous. But in ancient times, when the color was a symbol of status and wealth, they emphasized the greatness of the rulers and the country with their bright colors. “A lot of the time people see it as kitsch,” Vincenz says. - And this is not surprising. But the point, rather, is that it is unusual for our modern eye. And then, a thousand years ago, when slaves and the poor wore clothes from unbleached linen, merchants who did not belong to the nobility had no right to wear purple and blue, no matter how rich they were. Just imagine with what reverence they looked at the statues - for example, a lion with an indigo mane from the Greek city of Loutraki.

"Alexander's sarcophagus" was found during excavations of the necropolis of the Phoenician city of Sidon. Alexander the Great is depicted on it during the battle with the Persians. The long-sleeved tunic speaks of his conquests and that he is now the ruler of the East. And the headdress made of the skin of a lion refers to Hercules and indicates the divine origin of Alexander.

We are accustomed to seeing Greek statues as white, painted only in shades of marble. Greek temples appear in our imagination the same way. However, the data contemporary research they say that in fact the Greeks were not fans of monochrome either in sculpture or in architecture. They painted their statues in bright colors, painted patterns on clothes, and emphasized the features of stone faces with paints. Buildings were also decorated - with multi-colored patterns, geometric and floral. These patterns can still be seen - however, only in ultraviolet light.

German archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann points to antique statues and fragments of architectural decorations, the light of ultraviolet lamps, and the outlines of patterns that once covered sculptures and temples, appear before the eyes of the scientist. Then Brinkmann recreates the ornaments and drawings: with his help, we can see the statues approximately as the ancient Greeks saw them.

Brinkmann cannot be sure how to arrange the colors - only the outlines of the drawings have survived, and it is difficult for a scientist to judge what kind of paint the artist used. However, the archaeologist tries to use only those dyes that could be obtained in Greece. Green is obtained from crushed malachite, blue from the mineral azurite, yellow from natural arsenic compounds, red from cinnabar, black from burnt bone and wine.

Unfortunately, those who tried to imitate antiquity in the Renaissance and later did not have the technology that would allow them to see ancient paintings. Therefore, the architecture of classicism, which considered itself the heiress of antiquity, was deprived of cheerful patterns and drawings, while maintaining a pure "antique" whiteness.

The ancient Greeks were not big fans of the whiteness of marble, as it seems to us. They painted their statues, bas-reliefs and temples, covered them with patterns, drew eyes on people, gods and heroes. What it really looked like Ancient Greece, can only be seen in the ultraviolet.

We are accustomed to seeing Greek statues as white, painted only in shades of marble. The Greek temples with columns are the same in our imagination. However, many remember that in fact the Greeks were not big fans of monochrome either in sculpture or in architecture. They painted their statues in bright colors, painted patterns on clothes, and emphasized facial features with paints.

Buildings were also decorated: with multi-colored patterns, geometric and floral. It turns out that these patterns can still be seen and even reconstructed.

German archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann shines ultraviolet lamps on antique statues and fragments of architectural ornaments, revealing patterns that once covered sculptures and temples. Then he recreates ornaments and drawings: with his help we can see the statues in much the same way as the Greeks saw them.

Of course, Brinkmann cannot be sure how to arrange the colors - only the outlines of the drawings have survived, with no indication of which paint the artist used. However, the archaeologist tries to use only those dyes that could be obtained in Greece. Green is obtained from crushed malachite, blue from the mineral azurite, yellow from natural arsenic compounds, red from cinnabar, black from burnt bone and wine.


Unfortunately, those who tried to imitate antiquity during the Renaissance and later did not have the technology to see the patterns on them. Therefore, the architecture of classicism, which considered itself the heiress of antiquity, was deprived of cheerful patterns and drawings, while maintaining a pure "antique" whiteness.