A colorful version of ancient history
The exhibition Antiquity in Colour disposes the brightfulness of ancient Greek and Roman statues. Dozens of them were restored by German archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann and his wife Ulrike to expose the colours lost through history. On display at the Gallo Roman Museum in Tongeren, Belgium.
The interactive exhibition gives the public an opportunity to learn about a fundamental value of Roman history: the importance of colour. As the first part of the exhibition explains, the cliché of white Greek and Roman statues dates from the Renaissance.
Due to the conception of aesthetics in the 15th and 16th centuries, many Greco-Roman statues have been preserved without the restoration of colour. An example of this loss of colour is the statue of Venus, the Goddess of love. In the exhibition it can be seen how the Roman marble statue (5 BC) no longer has visible colours, despite having been painted in the year of its creation.
During the exhibition, the marble whiteness of ancient statues is left behind by the discovery of colour in hundreds of scultpures of emperors, gods and mythological figures, such as Venus, Cleopatra or emperor Augustus. The first change is to be discovered in the interactive room. A place where the spectator can immerse himself in the simulation of a Greco-Roman house and see a woman of the period.
In concrete terms, it is an empty space with only a white statue, however, due to the technical and visual support, coloured images are projected onto the statue and the walls. This first colour test shows the public how the ancient marble will gradually turn into richly coloured figures.
When looking at statues converted into colour one needs to take into account the complexity of the technique. Perhaps, at first, it may seem that the colours or drawings do not belong to the history of the Roman Empire. However, through the auditory explanations, it becomes clear how meticulous Vinzenz Brinkmann and Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann had to work to construct and repaint statues like the head of Roman emperor Caligula.
Another new feature of the exhibition is the representation of famous bronze, instead of marble statues such as the Boxer and the Prince. These figures complete the exhibition, but with a great surprise due to their dimensions and realism. This total of 4 statues simulating bronze respect the exact dimensions of the originals, thus giving a sensation of infinite magnitude.
In this case, the artists use techniques that clearly enhance elements such as eyelashes, skin folds or blood. Each figure represents a different Roman and a different context, but all four actively respect the artistic techniques that make them more realistic.
Antiquity in Colour is an opportunity to learn about the importance of colour in history. Through the colours and details, the viewer approaches the living history that archaeology recovers, while at the same time discovering the delicate and leisurely work of the two German archeologists. An exhibition not made for impatient people without time, but for an audience selective about small details.
