Color and Light: A Hellenistic Terracotta Figurine of a Maenad from Myrina
During the Hellenistic period and under the growing influence of the art of painting, the polychromy of Greek terracotta figurines focused not only on an elaborate rendering of color, but also on the interplay of light and shadow. Some of the best-preserved examples clearly show the subtlety of such...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Heritage |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/3/160 |
| _version_ | 1797611434015719424 |
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| author | Brigitte Bourgeois Giovanni Verri Violaine Jeammet |
| author_facet | Brigitte Bourgeois Giovanni Verri Violaine Jeammet |
| author_sort | Brigitte Bourgeois |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | During the Hellenistic period and under the growing influence of the art of painting, the polychromy of Greek terracotta figurines focused not only on an elaborate rendering of color, but also on the interplay of light and shadow. Some of the best-preserved examples clearly show the subtlety of such pictorial effects. Among them is a statuette of a standing Maenad, held in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (inv. 5000). Dating back to 150–100 BCE, it is a high-quality testament to the sculptural, as well as pictorial, coroplastic production in the workshops of Myrina (Eolide, Turkey). Combining multi-scale examination, multi-spectral imaging and non-invasive spectroscopic investigations (XRF, FTIR, FORS), a scientific study of the artefact was carried out within the framework of the Pilina project, a collaborative research program between the Louvre, the C2RMF, the National Archaeological Museum and the French School in Athens. This article presents the main results of the study by discussing the color scheme, identification of some pigments and colorants (clays of the kaolinite group, ochres, cinnabar, Egyptian blue, an anthraquinone of plant origin, likely madder, gold leaf), and painting techniques aiming at achieving chiaroscuro effects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:27:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-347b32ee4f6d47f29d1196e70d4e8d14 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-9408 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:27:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heritage |
| spelling | doaj.art-347b32ee4f6d47f29d1196e70d4e8d142023-11-17T11:23:18ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082023-03-01633005302410.3390/heritage6030160Color and Light: A Hellenistic Terracotta Figurine of a Maenad from MyrinaBrigitte Bourgeois0Giovanni Verri1Violaine Jeammet2Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France (C2RMF), 14 quai François Mitterrand, 75001 Paris, FranceArt Institute of Chicago, 111 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60603, USADépartement des Antiquités Grecques, Étrusques et Romaines, Musée du Louvre, CEDEX 01, 75058 Paris, FranceDuring the Hellenistic period and under the growing influence of the art of painting, the polychromy of Greek terracotta figurines focused not only on an elaborate rendering of color, but also on the interplay of light and shadow. Some of the best-preserved examples clearly show the subtlety of such pictorial effects. Among them is a statuette of a standing Maenad, held in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (inv. 5000). Dating back to 150–100 BCE, it is a high-quality testament to the sculptural, as well as pictorial, coroplastic production in the workshops of Myrina (Eolide, Turkey). Combining multi-scale examination, multi-spectral imaging and non-invasive spectroscopic investigations (XRF, FTIR, FORS), a scientific study of the artefact was carried out within the framework of the Pilina project, a collaborative research program between the Louvre, the C2RMF, the National Archaeological Museum and the French School in Athens. This article presents the main results of the study by discussing the color scheme, identification of some pigments and colorants (clays of the kaolinite group, ochres, cinnabar, Egyptian blue, an anthraquinone of plant origin, likely madder, gold leaf), and painting techniques aiming at achieving chiaroscuro effects.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/3/160Greecepolychromycoroplastic studiesimagingXRFFTIR |
| spellingShingle | Brigitte Bourgeois Giovanni Verri Violaine Jeammet Color and Light: A Hellenistic Terracotta Figurine of a Maenad from Myrina Heritage Greece polychromy coroplastic studies imaging XRF FTIR |
| title | Color and Light: A Hellenistic Terracotta Figurine of a Maenad from Myrina |
| title_full | Color and Light: A Hellenistic Terracotta Figurine of a Maenad from Myrina |
| title_fullStr | Color and Light: A Hellenistic Terracotta Figurine of a Maenad from Myrina |
| title_full_unstemmed | Color and Light: A Hellenistic Terracotta Figurine of a Maenad from Myrina |
| title_short | Color and Light: A Hellenistic Terracotta Figurine of a Maenad from Myrina |
| title_sort | color and light a hellenistic terracotta figurine of a maenad from myrina |
| topic | Greece polychromy coroplastic studies imaging XRF FTIR |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/6/3/160 |
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