Polychromy
by Ellen B. Cutler
In most cultures and eras, color in sculpture - polychromy - has been the rule rather than the exception. During the Renaissance, however, there evolved in European art circles a new value for the aesthetic qualities of stone and metal left in their “natural” state. This outlook was largely rooted in the misreading of classical artworks - Greek carvings that had long since been scoured of any traces of color, and marble Roman copies of Greek originals. For the next several centuries, figural sculptors promoted the artistic superiority of polished marble and gilded or patinated bronze.
|
