Antiquity in Color: teleportation to the polychrome wonders of the ancient world
The Antiquity in Color exhibition in the Gallo Roman Museum of Tongeren shows what ancient sculptures looked like before time stripped them of their essence.
The Gallo Roman Museum of Tongeren is showing how Roman and Greek sculptures really looked in antiquity. Where it is not the white marble that everyone knows that brings back melancholic memories of an era already forgotten by time. Now the viewer can feel as if he is travelling back in time and see with his own eyes all those beautiful sculptures painted as they were in their former glory days.
The museum begins with a tour of three beautiful statues which are not painted, but which show the caresses that the sculptors with their magic hands have given to the marble from which they are built. In this part there is a statue of Cleopatra holding a viper that is biting her left nipple giving her the death that the tragic empress so much desired. We can see in her eyes a great sorrow, but at the same time a moment of happiness where she will depart to the other world. This exhibition makes the viewers want to look further into the passing of the queen of Egypt and also reflect on the poetic manner of her death.
Picture by David Dias.S
The exhibition continues and you can see all the devices in which the sculptors worked their wonders in an era when the facilities of the modern world were not available. All the tools are a great demonstration of the patience and strength that the sculptors put into their bodies and minds to create their art. You can see how they used minerals to give vibrant colors to all those representations of monarchs and gods that were so important to the ancient world.
Pictures by David Dias.S
Picture by David Dias.S
The museum created a time machine. After seeing all these contraptions comes a room that represents a Greek palace with its sunrises and sunsets, a dreamlike atmosphere taken from the pages of Homer’s Odyssey. In the middle of the palace is a woman painted in the most beautiful colors the mind can imagine. With her lilac-green dress, short brown hair and deep brown eyes she gives visitors a glimpse into the abyss and makes you wonder if this woman ever existed and how many people she brightened up with her gaze.
Picture by David Dias.S
On the other side we have the head of the emperor Caligula, infamous for the many misdeeds he has committed in his four years of reign. From calling his horse a senator to holding orgies that made the entire Roman Empire tremble. His face looks charismatic, but as the guide warns us, sculptors were obliged to embellish the faces of emperors. In his eyes there is still that madness that made the Romans suffer during the four years of his empire.
Picture by David Dias.S
Augustus is shown magnificent in contrast to Caligula. Standing two meters tall in a red tunic and armor showing the colors white and blue. His red hair appears touched by fire and he raises his left arm pointing to nothingness which could be a land to conquer or a love, as Cupido of the servants of love, stands next to his left leg as if he were a child telling secrets to his father.
Picture by David Dias.S
Sphinxes guard a wall, and a lot of children are seen marvelling at such mythological creatures. They guard the most valuable secrets of ancient Egypt, and to gain access to them you have to answer three questions. With a wise woman’s face and the body of a majestic lion. It brings to mind the incredible mythology of the ancient world.
Pictures by David Dias.S
For boxing fans there is also a highlight. Two giants made of bronze representing the boxers of the ancient world lie tired. We see that the sculptures masterfully put the sweat on the face of each fighter as well as determination. The bronze shines as the exaltation of all the work the sculptor put into depicting these incredible fighters.
Picture by David Dias.S
Antiquity in color is an incredible journey into the past and it is recommended to go with the little ones, because they will help to open up the adults’ perspectives and with great fun they will get to know what the ancient world was like.
The exhibition will run from 21 October until 2 June 2024 with a cost between 5 and 8 euros.