International Round Table on Polychromy in Ancient Sculpture and Architecture

"Pitch Black – Colourful? Current research on polychromy in antiquity" - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Until 31st August, 2025.

The special presentation Vitrine EXTRA, which periodically showcases different ancient objects as temporary additions to the permanent exhibition at the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, explores the colorful traces of Greco-Roman antiquity in its sixth edition. Based on a relief depicting the god of light, Mithras, the presentation highlights the vibrant polychromy of Roman statues and monuments – impressively showcasing how colourful they originally were!

The exhibition is part of the PolychroMon project.

More information here.

"Isa Genzken Meets Liebieghaus" - Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung, Frankfurt am Main

6th March - 31st August, 2025.

The Liebieghaus is forging a unique link between the present and the past by juxtaposing powerful works by Isa Genzken (b. 1948) with its sculpture collection spanning 5,000 years. In the presentation, selected works by the renowned artist will be on display alongside ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman, as well as medieval and modern-era works from the museum’s outstanding collection.

For more information see the exhibit page:

Isa Genzken Meets Liebieghaus | Liebieghaus

"The Role of a Replica" - The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee

14th July, 2023 - 31st December, 2025.

With a focus on the Parthenon sculptures, The Role of a Replica is a hands-on, interactive exhibition exploring the ways in which historical and artistic replicas can illuminate our lost history. The exhibition illustrates how these replicas are currently used to communicate the latest archeological discoveries and interpretations. Interactive displays teach museumgoers how molds and casts of fragments of ancient statuary can be used to reconstruct their original appearance within their original architectural context. It also shows how modern scientific investigations can reveal lost colors on ancient statuary. Plaster casts, archival materials, and other resources and technologies can help researchers to reconstruct fragmented sculptures.

For more information see the exhibit page:

https://www.nashvilleparthenon.com/events/role-of-a-replica

Digital resources page:

https://www.nashvilleparthenon.com/replica

"De oudheid in kleur/L'Antiquite en C0uleurs" - Gallo-Roman Museum, Tongeren

21st October, 2023 - 1st September, 2024.

How were white marble sculptures painted in classical antiquity? German archaeologists Prof. Dr. Vinzenz Brinkmann and Dr. Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann have been researching this question for years. Together they have made dozens of full-size reconstructions, faithful to the techniques of the time. The colourful statues of emperors, gods, and mythological figures have travelled the world, captivating the of hundreds of thousands of viewers.

For more information see the exhibit page:

https://galloromeinsmuseum.be/en/

"Face to Face. The People Behind Mummy Portraits" - Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

6th October, 2023 – 20th May, 2024

Face to Face introduces visitors not only to the people portrayed in mummy portraits but also to the makers, descendants, followers, collectors, archaeologists and researchers connected to these portraits. The exhibition gives a voice to various individuals who reflect on the portraits from their respective fields of expertise. Who were the people portrayed? How were they depicted and why? By whom were they seen?

For more information see the exhibit page:

Face to Face. The People Behind Mummy Portraits – Allard Pierson

"Farben Sehen" - Antikensammlung FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg

13th -17th March, 2024

During the exhibition period, the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg Antiquities Collection will be in a transdisciplinary dialogue between two research projects led by Dr. K. U. Mann and Dr. A. Reinhardt, who expand the view of antiquity through the prism of colour.

The booklet for the exhibition is published by FAU University Press and can be downloaded free of charge.

For more information see the exhibit page:

https://www.farbensehen.com/

"Colour Revolution: Victorian Art, Fashion and Design"

21st September, 2023 – 18th February, 2024.

As Britain’s industrial revolution gained pace, new scientific breakthroughs allowed the Victorians to become increasingly revolutionary in their use of colour, with new hues greeted with both excitement and suspicion. This explosion of colour was embraced by artists, designers and many others in all walks of 19th-century life. The impact of archaeological discoveries made at the time and the influence of the polychromy of ancient sculpture is discussed.

For more information see the exhibit page:

https://www.ashmolean.org/exhibition/colour-revolution-victorian-art-fashion-design

“Machine Room of the Gods. How Our Future Was Invented” - Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung, Frankfurt

8th March, 2023 - 21st January, 2024.

The Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung is devoting an exhibition to the connection between art and technology. It is a global narrative, full of cryptic fables, myths and visions, fictive and real innovations and outstanding masterworks. The exhibition will shed light on the history of the sciences in antiquity and the Arabic and Asiatic cultures and their influence on the development of art.

For more information see the exhibit page:

https://liebieghaus.de/en/machine-room-of-the-gods

"Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color" - The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

5th July, 2022 - 26th March, 2023.

The exhibition Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color was co-curated by Seán Hemingway, John A. and Carole O. Moran Curator in Charge, and Associate Curator Sarah Lepinski in the Department of Greek and Roman Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Vinzenz Brinkmann, Head of the Department of Antiquity at the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung. It presented new discoveries of surviving ancient colour on artworks in The Met’s world-class collection and explored the artistic practices and materials used in ancient polychromy. By highlighting cutting-edge scientific methods used to identify ancient color, Chroma examined how colour helped convey meaning in antiquity, and how ancient polychromy has been viewed and understood in later periods.