a colorized sphinx with red, blue, and gold coloring

Chroma: Sculpture in Color from Antiquity to Today

Hemingway, Séan, Sarah Lepinsky, Vinzenz Brinkmann, with contributions from various authors

2025

260 pages

294 illustrations

8.5 x 10 in

This title is in print.

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Table of contents

About the authors

Many ancient and early modern works that are viewed in monochrome today were once painted in vibrant colors. Lost to time until recently, the pigments and other surface treatments that originally adorned these objects offer a deeper appreciation of the cultures from which they originate. This handsome volume features new research by more than thirty international experts in polychromy, including art historians, conservators, scientists, and photographers. Identified through advanced technologies, scientific analyses, and in-depth research, their discoveries of surviving traces of color span the globe and vary in material, including an Archaic Greek marble sphinx, an ancient Phoenician cloisonné furniture plaque, Mexica (Aztec) lime-stone sculptures, and medieval and Renaissance European marbles and bronzes. This wide-ranging publication explores how these works further our understanding of ancient ideas around skin color, race, and gender; summarizes recent advances in the field; and considers polychromy’s controversial rediscovery and modern reception— highlighting the role of reconstructions such as 3D-printed replicas and virtual animations in contemporary museum practice as well as the resurgence of polychromy techniques in postmodern and contemporary European architecture.

Met Art in Publication

Marble capital and finial in the form of a sphinx, Marble, Parian, Greek, Attic — Marble capital and finial in the form of a sphinx
Greek, Attic
ca. 530 BCE

Marble statue of a kouros (youth), Marble, Naxian, Greek, Attic — Marble statue of a kouros (youth)
Greek, Attic
ca. 590–580 BCE

Fragment of a terracotta calyx-krater (mixing bowl), Black Fury Painter, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Apulian — Fragment of a terracotta calyx-krater (mixing bowl)
Black Fury Painter
ca. 400–380 BCE

Marble and limestone statue of an attendant, Marble and limestone, Greek, South Italian, Tarentine — Marble and limestone statue of an attendant
Greek, South Italian, Tarentine
late 4th or 3rd century BCE

Marble head of a deity wearing a Dionysiac fillet, Marble, Roman — Marble head of a deity wearing a Dionysiac fillet
Roman
ca. 14–68 CE

Terracotta column-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water), Group of Boston 00.348, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Apulian — Terracotta column-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)
Group of Boston 00.348
ca. 360–350 BCE

Carnelian ring stone, Carnelian, Roman — Carnelian ring stone
Roman
ca. 1st–3rd century CE

Paris, Antico (Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi) Italian, Bronze, partially fire-gilt, silver inlay, Italian, Mantua — Paris
Antico (Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolsi)
ca. 1518–1524

La Jeunesse, Herbert Adams American, Applewood, marble, paste jewels, and twisted wire, American — La Jeunesse
Herbert Adams
ca. 1894; carved ca. 1899–1900

Terracotta statuette of a seated woman, Terracotta, Greek, probably Boeotian — Terracotta statuette of a seated woman
Greek, probably Boeotian
late 6th–early 5th century BCE

Marble funerary lekythos, Marble, Pentelic ?, Greek, Attic — Marble funerary lekythos
Greek, Attic
ca. 375–350 BCE

Marble head of a horse, Marble, Greek, Attic — Marble head of a horse
Greek, Attic
2nd half of 6th century BCE

Statuette of a standing goddess, terracotta, Greek, Boeotian — Statuette of a standing goddess
Greek, Boeotian
ca. 525–500 BC

Relief fragment with feather pattern, Limestone, paint — Relief fragment with feather pattern
ca. 2040–1300 B.C.

Terracotta loutrophoros (ceremonial vase for water), Terracotta, Greek, Attic — Terracotta loutrophoros (ceremonial vase for water)
Greek, Attic
late 6th century BCE

Terracotta neck-amphora (jar), Exekias, Terracotta, Greek, Attic — Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)
Exekias
ca. 530 BCE

Terracotta kylix (drinking cup), Onesimos, Terracotta, Greek, Attic — Terracotta kylix (drinking cup)
Onesimos
ca. 490 BCE

Terracotta oinochoe (jug) in the form of a Black African's head, Terracotta, Greek, Attic — Terracotta oinochoe (jug) in the form of a Black African's head
Greek, Attic
ca. 480 BCE

Terracotta aryballos (oil flask) in the form of two Black African heads, Terracotta, Greek, Attic — Terracotta aryballos (oil flask) in the form of two Black African heads
Greek, Attic
late 5th century BCE

Terracotta rhyton (vase for libations or drinking), Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Apulian — Terracotta rhyton (vase for libations or drinking)
Greek, South Italian, Apulian
ca. 350–300 BCE

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Hemingway, Seán, Sarah Lepinski, and Vinzenz Brinkmann, eds. Chroma: Sculpture in Color from Antiquity to Today. Metropolitan Museum of Art Symposia. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2025.

Chroma: Sculpture in Color from Antiquity to Today

Met Art in Publication

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