Color and Light
A Hellenistic Terracotta Figurine of a Maenad from Myrina
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13124604 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brigitte Bourgeois (Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France, corresponding author), Giovanni Verri (0000-0002-1297-2152, Art Institute of Chicago, corresponding author), Violaine Jeammet (Louvre) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 3005-3024 |
| Publication date | 2023-03-12 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Heritage (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2571-9408 • E-ISSN: 2571-9408 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/heritage6030160 |
| OpenAlex | W4324056386 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 19 |
During the Hellenistic period and under the growing influence of the art of painting, the polychromy of Greek terracotta figurines focused not only on an elaborate rendering of color, but also on the interplay of light and shadow. Some of the best-preserved examples clearly show the subtlety of such pictorial effects. Among them is a statuette of a standing Maenad, held in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (inv. 5000). Dating back to 150–100 BCE, it is a high-quality testament to the sculptural, as well as pictorial, coroplastic production in the workshops of Myrina (Eolide, Turkey). Combining multi-scale examination, multi-spectral imaging and non-invasive spectroscopic investigations (XRF, FTIR, FORS), a scientific study of the artefact was carried out within the framework of the Pilina project, a collaborative research program between the Louvre, the C2RMF, the National Archaeological Museum and the French School in Athens. This article presents the main results of the study by discussing the color scheme, identification of some pigments and colorants (clays of the kaolinite group, ochres, cinnabar, Egyptian blue, an anthraquinone of plant origin, likely madder, gold leaf), and painting techniques aiming at achieving chiaroscuro effects
Archaeology · Art · Geography · National museum · Painting · Terracotta · Visual arts · Building materials and conservation · Conservation Techniques and Studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis
Reflection infrared spectroscopy for the non-invasive in situ study of artists’ pigments
Characterisation of colourants on illuminated manuscripts by portable fibre optic UV-visible-NIR reflectance spectrophotometry
La polychromie des terres cuites grecques
X-ray and spectrographic analyses of terracotta figurines from myrina
Sur la technè de la peinture grecque ancienne d'après les monuments funéraires de Macédoine
Second Century B. C. Rose Madder from Corinth and Athens
Peindre et repeindre sur terre cuite en Grèce hellénistique
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |