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CLOSEColor as material, concept, and aesthetic value in ancient Greek art
Hariclia Brecoulaki
In ancient Greek art, color holds a central position as a bearer of aesthetics, meaning, and philosophical thought. This approach highlights the role of color as an essential means of understanding the aesthetic experience and the mimetic function of ancient Greek art, overturning the modern myth of the white, “colorless” ancient world. Studies of polychromy across a wide range of materials—marble, plaster, clay, bone, wood, or metal—depict the functional property of color in ancient Greece, not merely as a decorative element but as an integral part of the form and expression of representational art. The use of color is framed within a broader context of artistic and ideological choices, connected with social and aesthetic values, as well as with metaphorical, symbolic, or religious meanings that vary according to historical and cultural contexts.
H. Brecoulaki, “Painting the Palace of Nestor. Aegean Legacies, Mycenaean Colors, and Iconographies” in J. L. Davis, E. Militsi-Kechagia, Sh. R. Stocker, and Cl. L. Lyons, Princes of Pylos: Bronze Age Treasures from Messenia, LA 2025, 151-154.
H. Brecoulaki, “Truth, Flattery or Good imitation? Aesthetic and Moral Value of Representation in Greek Painting”, in G. Adornato, E. Falaschi, A. Poggio (eds), Περί Γραφικής. Pittori, tecniche, trattati, constesti tra testimonianze e ricezione, Milano 2019, p. 45-66.
H. Brecoulaki, “Does Colour make a Difference? The Aesthetics and Contexts of the Wall-paintings in the “Palace of Nestor” at Pylos, in A. Vlachopoulos (ed.), Wall-painting and vase-painting of the 2nd millennium BC in dialogue, Athens 2018, p. 390-405.
H. Brecoulaki, “Greek Interior Decoration: Materials and Technology in the Art of Cosmesis and Display”, in G. L. Irby (ed.), A Companion to Science, Technology and Medicine in Ancient Greece and Rome, Malden, Oxford 2016, 672-692.
H. Brecoulaki, “Greek Painting and the Challenge of Mimesis”, in P. Destrée, P Murrey, A Companion to Ancient Aesthetics, Wiley-Blackwell, Malden, Oxford 2015, 218-236.
Main page image: Wooden panel with procession from Pitsa in the Corinthia, 6th c. BC., National Archaeologial Museum, no 16464. a) Chemical surface scanning of the scene using X-ray fluorescence technique (XRAYlab, ISPC/CNR, Catania, INP "DEMOKRITOS"), b) Infrared reflected image (© G. Verri/NAM).