Travel to Greece and Polychromy in the 19th Century: Mutations of Ideals of Beauty and Greek Antiquities
The article examines the collaborations between the <i>pensionnaires</i> of the Villa Medici in Rome and the members of the French School of Athens, shedding light on the complex relationships between architecture, art, and archeology. The second half of the 19th century was a period dur...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Heritage |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/2/57 |
| _version_ | 1797486849225129984 |
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| author | Marianna Charitonidou |
| author_facet | Marianna Charitonidou |
| author_sort | Marianna Charitonidou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article examines the collaborations between the <i>pensionnaires</i> of the Villa Medici in Rome and the members of the French School of Athens, shedding light on the complex relationships between architecture, art, and archeology. The second half of the 19th century was a period during which the exchanges and collaborations between archaeologists, artists, and architects acquired a reinvented role and a dominant place. Within such a context, Athens was the place <i>par excellence</i>, where the encounter between these three disciplines took place. The main objective of the article is to render explicit how the revelations of archeology, actively disseminated by the members of the French School of Athens—the “Athéniens”—had an important impact on the approach of certain <i>pensionnaires</i> of the Villa Medici in Rome. Particular emphasis is placed on certain <i>pensionnaires</i>, who decided to devote their <i>envois</i> to ancient monuments of Greece. In parallel, the article intends to shed light on the methods that helped the <i>pensionnaires</i>-architects of the Villa Medici in Rome appropriate archaeological discoveries concerning Greek antiquities. The article takes, as a starting point, the following hypothesis: to better understand the figure of the architect-archaeologist, of whom Jacques Ignace Hittorff is an emblematic example, it is pivotal to bear in mind that before the second half of the 19th century neither the figure of Hellenic archeology nor the figure of the architect had yet acquired their autonomy. Taking into account that Johann Joachim Winckelmann, in the middle of the 18th century, forged an ideal Greek model, which was criticized during the second half of the 19th century, the article also sheds light on the fact that the revelations of archaeologists have called into question the Winckelmannian image of Greece. Another aspect that is explored in the article is Jacques Ignace Hittorff’s studies concerning the polychromy of ancient Greek monuments, paying special attention to his <i>Restitution du temple d’Empédocle à Sélinonte ou l’Architecture polychrome chez les Grecs</i>. The article also explores how the shifts of the status of philhellenism are related to the mutations of the meaning of travel to Greece. In parallel, it investigates the impact of Greek independence on the ideals of beauty and nature in arts, as well as how Greek independence is related to the intensification of the interest in the excavations of Greek antiquities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:40:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8fd42937d3224c19a4eda33948ef4dee |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-9408 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T23:40:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heritage |
| spelling | doaj.art-8fd42937d3224c19a4eda33948ef4dee2023-11-23T16:54:28ZengMDPI AGHeritage2571-94082022-05-01521050106510.3390/heritage5020057Travel to Greece and Polychromy in the 19th Century: Mutations of Ideals of Beauty and Greek AntiquitiesMarianna Charitonidou0Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (GTA), Department of Architecture, ETH Zurich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 5, CH 8093 Zürich, SwitzerlandThe article examines the collaborations between the <i>pensionnaires</i> of the Villa Medici in Rome and the members of the French School of Athens, shedding light on the complex relationships between architecture, art, and archeology. The second half of the 19th century was a period during which the exchanges and collaborations between archaeologists, artists, and architects acquired a reinvented role and a dominant place. Within such a context, Athens was the place <i>par excellence</i>, where the encounter between these three disciplines took place. The main objective of the article is to render explicit how the revelations of archeology, actively disseminated by the members of the French School of Athens—the “Athéniens”—had an important impact on the approach of certain <i>pensionnaires</i> of the Villa Medici in Rome. Particular emphasis is placed on certain <i>pensionnaires</i>, who decided to devote their <i>envois</i> to ancient monuments of Greece. In parallel, the article intends to shed light on the methods that helped the <i>pensionnaires</i>-architects of the Villa Medici in Rome appropriate archaeological discoveries concerning Greek antiquities. The article takes, as a starting point, the following hypothesis: to better understand the figure of the architect-archaeologist, of whom Jacques Ignace Hittorff is an emblematic example, it is pivotal to bear in mind that before the second half of the 19th century neither the figure of Hellenic archeology nor the figure of the architect had yet acquired their autonomy. Taking into account that Johann Joachim Winckelmann, in the middle of the 18th century, forged an ideal Greek model, which was criticized during the second half of the 19th century, the article also sheds light on the fact that the revelations of archaeologists have called into question the Winckelmannian image of Greece. Another aspect that is explored in the article is Jacques Ignace Hittorff’s studies concerning the polychromy of ancient Greek monuments, paying special attention to his <i>Restitution du temple d’Empédocle à Sélinonte ou l’Architecture polychrome chez les Grecs</i>. The article also explores how the shifts of the status of philhellenism are related to the mutations of the meaning of travel to Greece. In parallel, it investigates the impact of Greek independence on the ideals of beauty and nature in arts, as well as how Greek independence is related to the intensification of the interest in the excavations of Greek antiquities.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/2/57pensionnairesVilla Medici in RomeFrench School of AthensÉcole française d’AthènesenvoiGrand Prix de Rome d’Architecture |
| spellingShingle | Marianna Charitonidou Travel to Greece and Polychromy in the 19th Century: Mutations of Ideals of Beauty and Greek Antiquities Heritage pensionnaires Villa Medici in Rome French School of Athens École française d’Athènes envoi Grand Prix de Rome d’Architecture |
| title | Travel to Greece and Polychromy in the 19th Century: Mutations of Ideals of Beauty and Greek Antiquities |
| title_full | Travel to Greece and Polychromy in the 19th Century: Mutations of Ideals of Beauty and Greek Antiquities |
| title_fullStr | Travel to Greece and Polychromy in the 19th Century: Mutations of Ideals of Beauty and Greek Antiquities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Travel to Greece and Polychromy in the 19th Century: Mutations of Ideals of Beauty and Greek Antiquities |
| title_short | Travel to Greece and Polychromy in the 19th Century: Mutations of Ideals of Beauty and Greek Antiquities |
| title_sort | travel to greece and polychromy in the 19th century mutations of ideals of beauty and greek antiquities |
| topic | pensionnaires Villa Medici in Rome French School of Athens École française d’Athènes envoi Grand Prix de Rome d’Architecture |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-9408/5/2/57 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mariannacharitonidou traveltogreeceandpolychromyinthe19thcenturymutationsofidealsofbeautyandgreekantiquities |