An Apology for the Colouring of the Greek Court in the Crystal Palace

The diagram at once explains what is known in this attempt of supplying the colours for a Greek ceiling; the colours however even of this are doubtful. Traces only of the stains are known, and some of the ornaments have been supposed to be coloured in such a way as to destroy the very effect, which a mere glance at the diagram will show was intended to be produced—viz., to imitate, or rather take the place of ornaments in relief. The star in the centre of the coffer has traces of red upon it, and has been published as a red star on a blue ground; but Mr. Penrose, in his work, makes it gold, which is a much more probable arrangement.

It will be seen that the parts I have supplied are frets on the plain soffits of the beams and the ornament on the side of the beams; the frets I have used in such a way as best to define the architectural lines of the ceiling.

Those who are inclined to believe that wherever the Greeks ornamented, there traces of ornament are found, and that consequently where no ornament is found none existed, of course stop at the stage represented by the outline diagram, and believe that the general harmony which such partial ornamenting would disturb was restored by covering all the plain parts with stains or tints which may or may not have been varied. Till more is known all this must ever remain matter of opinion and subject to dispute.

This opinion, however, is entirely based on the fact that the traces of ornament which do remain are all engraved in outline on the marble with a sharp instrument; and it is therefore concluded that this was the universal practice of the Greeks, and that, where no engraved line exists there was no ornament. I think this a very bold assumption.

It is evident that in such enduring ornaments as those of the Greeks, provision must have been made for repaintings; and, therefore, on their moulded surfaces they took care to leave an enduring mark of the pattern, more especially as these mouldings were in positions most difficult of access; whilst on the broader surfaces this labour in the beginning would not be necessary, as the ornaments may have been readily repainted without it.

In the three centre bays we have attempted a still higher key of colour. The ornaments of the coffers are suggested by No. 2, from the coffers of the Propylaea.

MOULDINGS ENCLOSING THE PANATHENAIC FRIEZE.

The enrichment A, and the fret B and C, are published by Mr. Penrose; A, coloured exactly as I have shown it, and B and C with the fret only in gold, of which he imagines the pattern now on their surfaces may have been the trace.

The principle of colouring on the moulding A helps to the colouring of the frets B and C, which, placed in the original 40 feet from the ground, would have been invisible in gold alone or any other tint.

I have placed in the gallery behind the Greek and Roman Courts, casts from the Elgin frieze of the British Museum,^[4] for the express purpose of showing how it might possibly have been coloured.

That it was coloured in some manner or other there can be no manner of doubt, and we think that any unprejudiced person who will examine the portion of the frieze in white at the end of gallery, with the known painted ornament above and below it, will at once admit this. There are other considerations which would lead one to imagine it destined to receive colour, even had no traces of colour been found on the architecture above and around it. As there are still many who believe, and will believe against all evidence, that this frieze never was painted, I must bring forward some arguments which appear to me so strong as to render the idea of its colourless state impossible.

This frieze in the Parthenon is 40 feet from the ground to the centre of it, and in the position A on the section (p. 17), whilst our experiment is only 16 feet, to the centre of the bas-relief: to be seen at an angle of 45°, the eye of the spectator must have been at least 60 feet from it: now only let the visitor stand at this distance from the portion of our cast that remains in white, and he will see how little of the detail is visible to the eye.

Let him place himself at the same distance from the portion of frieze which I have painted, and he will see how visibly colour develops form.

How many thousands pass daily the Athenæum Club in Pall Mall and are not conscious that there is above their heads a copy of this divine work of Phidias; if this were coloured (as it ought to be) who could pass by and escape it. The frieze in the Parthenon could not have been seen without colour as distinctly as the copy on the Athenæum Club, as it was under a portico, and in shadow.

People are apt to argue that Phidias never could have taken such pains to study the light and shade of this bas-relief if the fineness of his workmanship had had to be stopped up when bedaubed with paint.

Now people who argue thus have never understood what colour does when applied to form. The very fact that colour has to be applied, demands the highest finish in the form beneath. By more visibly bringing out the form it makes all defects more prominent. Let any one compare the muscles of the figures in white, with the muscles of those coloured, and he will not hesitate an instant to admit this truth. The labours of Phidias, had they never received colour, would have been thrown away; it was because he designed them to receive colour that such an elaboration of the surface was required.

My attempt is seen under every disadvantage; it is too near the eye and too near the light; and it is painted on a material which is most ungracious for the reception of colour. The minute undulations of marble always lose something in a plaster reproduction, but when the plaster has further to be painted with four coats of oil paint to stop the suction, it may readily be imagined how much the more delicate modulations of the surface will suffer.

I have preferred, however, to put forth this experiment with all its disadvantages, than attempt to soften the asperities by any artificial arrangement, convinced that if it can find some favour in its present position, it would gain immeasurably by being seen in a position analogous to that occupied by the original.

It will be seen further on that no traces of colour exist at the present time on these marbles. They were moulded in Athens prior to their removal to this country, and whatever colour they may have then retained disappeared during the cleansing of the marbles by soap-lees, after the process of moulding.

We are therefore driven to the remains of colour on other monuments, and to analogy for the proposed restoration of the several colours.

BACKGROUND.

The colour of the background of some of the pediments of the Greek temples is known to have been blue, and if we admit that the bodies of the figures were painted at all, it could have been no other colours. The flesh colour being necessarily some kind of red, would have been injured by a red ground, while yellow would have advanced to the eye, and can form a background only to white, the only colour more advancing than itself. I believe, and it is generally accepted as proven, that the ground was blue; and as there are many who stop here, admitting the blue ground, but denying the colouring of the figures, a portion of the frieze has been left in this stage, to enable them to form a judgment upon it.

THE HAIR.

When I first attempted the experiment, I had a strong instinct that the hair should be gold; but not having the authority for it, I was induced to try it both brown and grey; neither of these colours, however, was satisfactory, but having afterwards seen the collection of terra-cottas in the Louvre, I became convinced that I was right in supposing that they should be gold. In all these specimens the hair is of an intense red, which can only have been the ground of gilding, now obliterated. In the Elgin frieze, in the British Museum, may still be seen the holes which were drilled to fix on the metallic trappings, which were also, no doubt, gilt; and were these affixed in our experiment, the effect would be much more harmonious.

THE FLESH.

The most difficult point to determine, is the colour of the flesh. It is evident that the Greeks would avoid every attempt at representing nature. Whatever colours they used, we may be sure that they were treated conventionally only, so as to suggest the nature of the object represented, yet not to attempt a direct imitation; we must feel, however, that they went to the utmost limit of conventionality.

M. Hittorff has in his possession a fragment of a figure from Selinus, retaining a flesh colour very similar to that which we have employed.

Although colour has been found on the hair, eyes, lips, and drapery of Greek fragments of marble, no traces have as yet been found on the nude portions. And those who believe that the marble of the Greeks was only stained and not painted, build up a triumphant argument on this. The explanation, however, is very simple; it is evident that the smooth portions of a coloured object would lose their colour first under the influence of time, and, in fact, all traces of colour that ever are found, are found in the folds and crevices, from which it is fairly argued that the surface of which they formed a part was of that colour.

Even in the Alhambra, which was entirely covered with colour, and which is so many centuries nearer our time than the Greek temples, colour is but rarely found on the surface: it is only by what is found in the depths and hollows, that we know how the whole was coloured.

On the terra-cottas of the Louvre there are figures where the white ground with which the whole surface of the terra-cottas was covered, remains perfect over the whole of the figures, at the same time that a fragment of flesh tint still remains upon some portion of it. Were this absent, it might equally well be argued, that the Greeks were in the habit of painting the flesh white on their terra-cottas.

HORSES.

In seeking a colour for the horses, I felt the choice lay between red, white, black, or grey; further, that whatever colour was employed, it would be in such a way as best to define and distinguish the various portions of the groups. I do not think that a single colour, or shades of the same colour, would have fulfilled this condition. White horses would have been too prominent, black too sombre. The red I have employed appeared to be the best colour for the principal horses, as best balancing by their masses the blue background, whilst the relief between horse and horse could be harmoniously obtained by the employment of grey for the back horses. Authority for this mode of treatment exists on the Greek vases and in the Etruscan tombs, where, when one horse passes before another, there is a change of colour. As the horses in this frieze are in ranks of nine, it is most probable that there was still more variety of colour than I have attempted, to keep the various groups together.

THE DRAPERIES.

I was led to adopt this mode of treating the draperies from the inspection of the Louvre collection of terra-cottas, where the draperies are very well preserved. They are mostly pale blue and pale pink, the pale blue with a pink border and the pink drapery with a blue border. I have arranged the draperies in the way I felt most conducive to the general effect, so as to bring the whole into harmony. The colours of the other portions of the dresses are suggested by the materials which they may be presumed to represent.

In placing this experiment before the public, I am quite aware how vain would be the hope that I had produced a result worthy of the Greeks; where there is so little to guide, success is well nigh impossible. The most that I could hope to attain was to produce a result that might have existed, and that would not have been discordant with the other portions of a Greek monument. My failures even would answer a useful purpose, if they served to direct other minds to work out this most interesting problem, and to induce further researches on the monuments of Greece, which have hardly yet been examined in this direction, because they have not as yet been examined with faith, but rather with reluctance.

The experiment cannot be fairly tried till tried on marble, and in conditions of space, atmosphere, &c., similar to those under which the originals were placed.

I would ask those critics who stand on the ground of traditional opinion, not too rashly by hard words to attempt to stop the inquiry which this experiment may suggest. The facts are too strong to be put aside by any opinion. If all who are anxious for the truth will only seek it, there is little doubt that we may approach, if we do not reach it.

I have done all in my power to aid the cause. I have stood in the breach, and shall be content should others walk over me to a more complete victory. I am only anxious, in the meanwhile, that the Greeks should not be condemned on my account.

I have no authority whatever for the colouring of the monument of Lysicrates in the Great Transept. One fact deserves to be recorded, the beautiful bas-reliefs of the frieze were absolutely invisible from below, when in white, and this made me certain that it was a monument designed to receive colour, and I therefore determined to attempt its restoration.

I have seen no reason to alter my opinion (quoted p. 6) that the surface of the marble played a considerable part in the general effect, and that it was not concealed with paint, but tinged or stained in some manner to the proper tone. An extensive and careful examination of the Pentelic quarries by the orders of King Otho has shown that large blocks such as were used at Athens are very rare indeed. The distance also from the city is considerable: whereas there are quarries on Mount Hymettus at little more than one-third of the distance (and most convenient for carriage), which furnish immense masses of dove-coloured marble (much prized, it would seem, by the Romans, Hor. ii. 18), and inferior in no respect but that of colour to the Pentelic. It could therefore only have been the intrinsic beauty of the latter material that led to its employment by so practical a people as the Athenians. With respect to the use of the outline traced with a sharp point (p. 16), had this been a provision for repaintings, its absence from the Doric echinus is at least conclusive that there was no ornament painted on that member; for on no part of the architecture would the difficulty of reproducing the pattern have been greater. But since these outlines are found indifferently both on small and large mouldings, it seems to be a sound conclusion which limits the painted ornaments to the parts so outlined.

REPLY.

I do not think that, with our present ideas of economy, we are able to appreciate the motives of the Athenians in choosing their marble from the Pentelic quarries in preference to those of Mount Hymettus. We must remember that the Greeks built for their gods; and the Pentelic marble, by presenting greater difficulties in its acquisition may have been a more precious offering. I can more easily understand this than the use of granite by the Egyptians, which was sought for from quarries much more distant, and presented difficulties of workmanship many times greater.

Mr. Penrose has examined most minutely the capitals of the columns of the Parthenon, and is convinced that no outline of any kind exists upon them; but I am not so convinced that there never was one there, because, although outlines are found on fragments of some of the mouldings, they do not exist everywhere on the same moulding: it is only under favourable circumstances that the outline has been preserved. A Doric echinus may yet be found with outlines upon it.