I believe that Winckelmann has had a great impact on the way that we view Greek art, more specifically the way we view there widely celebrated statues. He put much emphasis on his opinion that the use of the white marble is what makes the statues appear as “pure” and “simple”. To Winckelmann the simplicity of the white marble is what makes the statues beautiful and admirable. The use of color is only something that needs minor consideration according to Winckelmann, meaning he believes that it would only take away from the statues beauty.
Winckelmann has made our views of not only Greek art, but art in general change drastically than what they potentially would have been. Nowadays we never see Greek statues that are painted. All that is left is generally just the white marble. Winckelmann has led us to believe that because of their lack of color they are beautiful and appear to be more naturalistic. However, little did Winckelmann know the Greek statues were in fact at one time painted. The artists of these statues used color in order to create a more naturalistic figure. I agree with the artists that with color the statues are in fact more naturalistic. We see colors in our everyday life. The clothes we wear, our hair, our eyes, even our skin is different than the white marble.
If Winckelmann hadn’t attributed the Greek statue’s beauty and impressiveness due to its lack of color many artists now would probably be creating statues that incorporated color. Yet, his opinion may be unimportant to today’s artists and they may choose to create their statues without color because they feel that the color takes away from the statues characteristics. After looking at the reconstructions of the white marble statues I now view them differently. Instead of just taking them for as they are I now try to imagine what colors they were painted with as they once were. After viewing the archer from the west pediment of the temple of Aphaia reconstructed I realized how much the look of the statue changes when color is included. When color is added, in my opinion, the statue is completely brought to life and almost makes it more relatable and possibly even more realistic. Another painted reconstruction is the “Peplos” statue. When seeing the painted version I feel that the emphasis on realism is taken away because the use of colors is what I find myself focusing on rather than the actual form. Yet, seeing that the artists did intend for the statues to be painted make me prefer them that way. The “good taste” that Winckelmann was referring to is in fact due to the aging of the statues and their loss of paint. I wonder if Winckelmann saw the statues the way they were originally if he would change his opinion that Greek art embodied “good taste.”
I can see what you are saying about how the lack of color causes you to focus on the form of the figure. And I can see what you are saying about how the focus on form detracts from the naturalistic qualities of the statue.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I feel like the Greeks had a keen interest in naturalism due to their usage of paint. It seems like you feel the same way. At the same time, though, I also recognize that the Greeks did want to have the form of their statues appear naturalistic, especially during the Classical period. The use of the contrapposto stance indicates that the Greeks were also interested in depicting the human body in a naturalistic way (since the contrapposto stance is often taken by humans when they are standing still). So it seems like the Greeks wanted to combine both the form of the figure with paint in order for statues to have an extremely naturalistic, life-like effect.
-Prof. Bowen
I agree with you that the addition of color establishes a more natural and realistic appeal, which must have been what the Greeks were going for. It is true that color is everywhere in our world, so in turn it makes sense that the plain white marble would be unreal. However, personally I believe it is that chimerical appearance of the pure marble that gives the statues a mysteriousness and anticipatory feeling which I admire (probably Winckelmann too). I would like to have seen his reaction in realizing that the statues were indeed originally painted as well.
ReplyDeleteI understand how the colors added to the Greek statues could have made these statues seem more naturalistic, however I think that the colors seen in the recreations of these statues are far too overwhelming. I personally favor the white marble statues.
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