Seeing Color in Classical Art
Theory, Practice, and Reception, from Antiquity to the Present

Analyzing the dyes, pigments, stones, earth, and metals, this book examines the traces of color a variety of media in ancient art works.

Jennifer M. S. Stager (Author)

9781316516454, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 December 2022

342 pages
28.6 x 22.4 x 2.1 cm, 1.18 kg

'… far-reaching and novel … By drawing our attention to the ways in which simple descriptions of color - of marble as white, for instance - shape our conceptual frameworks, Stager's book might be taken as the starting point for a broader reassessment of how we study Greek art.' Seth Estrin, West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History and Material Culture

The remains of ancient Mediterranean art and architecture that have survived over the centuries present the modern viewer with images of white, the color of the stone often used for sculpture. Antiquarian debates and recent scholarship, however, have challenged this aspect of ancient sculpture. There is now a consensus that sculpture produced in the ancient Mediterranean world, as well as art objects in other media, were, in fact, polychromatic. Color has consequently become one of the most important issues in the study of classical art. Jennifer Stager's landmark book makes a vital contribution to this discussion. Analyzing the dyes, pigments, stones, earth, and metals found in ancient art works, along with the language that writers in antiquity used to describe color, she examines the traces of color in a variety of media. Stager also discusses the significance of a reception history that has emphasized whiteness, revealing how ancient artistic practice and ancient philosophies of color significantly influenced one another.

1. Material color, language, and khrōma1. Material color, language, and khrōma
2. Additive colors, kosmēsis, and care
3. Khōra, relief, landscape
4. Inlaid eyes, effluences, and vision
5. Atoms, lithoi, and animacy.

Subject Areas: The arts: general issues [AB]