Tracing the colours of Hermogenes’ temple of Artemis: architectural surface analysis in the Antikensammlung Berlin
The temple of Artemis at Magnesia on the Maeander (Western Turkey) is a milestone of Hellenistic architecture. Its architect, Hermogenes of Priene, was famously praised as an innovator already in Antiquity. While we know a good deal on the temple’s architecture, its accentuation with colour remains...
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| Formaat: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
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Technè
2020
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| Online toegang: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:techne_1791 https://doi.org/10.4000/techne.1791 urn:doi:10.4000/techne.1791 en https://journals.openedition.org/techne/1791 2020-09-10T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/l8ho https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Tracing the colours of Hermogenes’ temple of Artemis: architectural surface analysis in the Antikensammlung Berlin Technè C2RMF info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2750-6185 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1254-7867 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/techne Zink, Stephan Taschner, Moritz Reiche, Ina Alfeld, Matthias Aibéo, Cristina Egel, Ellen Müller, Katharina Ristau, Anne Neuhaus, Birgit Massmann, Wolfgang polychromie architecture hellénistique temple ionique ordre de colonnes chapiteau couleur peinture sur marbre Hermogène temple d’Artémis Leucophryène Magnésie du Méandre imitation de matières pseudodiptère polychromy Hellenistic architecture Ionic temple columnar order column capital colour painting on marble Hermogenes temple of Artemis Leukophryene Magnesia on the Maeander material imitation pseudodipteros The temple of Artemis at Magnesia on the Maeander (Western Turkey) is a milestone of Hellenistic architecture. Its architect, Hermogenes of Priene, was famously praised as an innovator already in Antiquity. While we know a good deal on the temple’s architecture, its accentuation with colour remains unknown. A collaborative research project in the Antikensammlung Berlin has now investigated three large marble fragments of the temple’s exterior façade for the remains of colour coatings. Using multiple methods of microscopic and physico-chemical analysis, it was possible, for the first time, to provide an insight into the temple’s exterior colour accentuations. It seems that the façade featured a colour scheme, in which white and yellow-brown hues played a key role, the latter probably for the painterly imitation of freshly cast or gilded bronze applications. Painted shading and colour highlights, applied with a careful consideration for spatial context and light conditions, completed the design. This is the first such evidence on a monumental temple façade. Remarkably, the applied design departs from the traditional colour triad of white, blue and red that was applied on many previous and contemporary temple facades throughout the Classical World. It imitates, however, a tradition of metal decoration that was a hallmark of sacred architecture. Le temple d’Artémis à Magnésie du Méandre, dans l’actuelle Turquie occidentale, est un jalon de l’architecture hellénistique. Nous savons que son créateur, Hermogène de Priène, était déjà salué dans l’Antiquité pour ses innovations. Malgré notre bonne connaissance de l’architecture même du temple, nous n’avions aucune information sur les applications de couleur. Un travail de recherche conduit en équipe dans la Collection des antiquités de Berlin a mis en évidence des traces de revêtement coloré sur trois grands fragments de marbre de la façade extérieure. Le recours à plusieurs méthodes d’analyse microscopique et physico-chimique a livré pour la première fois un aperçu de l’accentuation par la couleur de l’extérieur du temple. Le schéma de mise en couleur de la façade présentait apparemment une prédominance de tons blanc et jaune-brun, ces derniers servant sans doute à imiter par la peinture des éléments appliqués en bronze fraîchement coulé ou doré. Des effets picturaux d’ombre et de rehauts de lumière, traduisant un grand souci de l’espace et des conditions d’éclairage, agrémentaient l’ensemble. C’est le premier décor de ce type jamais découvert sur une façade de temple monumentale. Il s’écarte notablement de l’habituel schéma ternaire blanc, bleu et rouge rencontré sur de nombreuses façades de temples plus anciens ou contemporains à travers le monde classique. Il s’inspire en revanche d’une tradition de décoration métallique propre à l’architecture sacrée. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
polychromie architecture hellénistique temple ionique ordre de colonnes chapiteau couleur peinture sur marbre Hermogène temple d’Artémis Leucophryène Magnésie du Méandre imitation de matières pseudodiptère polychromy Hellenistic architecture Ionic temple columnar order column capital colour painting on marble Hermogenes temple of Artemis Leukophryene Magnesia on the Maeander material imitation pseudodipteros |
| spellingShingle |
polychromie architecture hellénistique temple ionique ordre de colonnes chapiteau couleur peinture sur marbre Hermogène temple d’Artémis Leucophryène Magnésie du Méandre imitation de matières pseudodiptère polychromy Hellenistic architecture Ionic temple columnar order column capital colour painting on marble Hermogenes temple of Artemis Leukophryene Magnesia on the Maeander material imitation pseudodipteros Zink, Stephan Taschner, Moritz Reiche, Ina Alfeld, Matthias Aibéo, Cristina Egel, Ellen Müller, Katharina Ristau, Anne Neuhaus, Birgit Massmann, Wolfgang Tracing the colours of Hermogenes’ temple of Artemis: architectural surface analysis in the Antikensammlung Berlin |
| description |
The temple of Artemis at Magnesia on the Maeander (Western Turkey) is a milestone of Hellenistic architecture. Its architect, Hermogenes of Priene, was famously praised as an innovator already in Antiquity. While we know a good deal on the temple’s architecture, its accentuation with colour remains unknown. A collaborative research project in the Antikensammlung Berlin has now investigated three large marble fragments of the temple’s exterior façade for the remains of colour coatings. Using multiple methods of microscopic and physico-chemical analysis, it was possible, for the first time, to provide an insight into the temple’s exterior colour accentuations. It seems that the façade featured a colour scheme, in which white and yellow-brown hues played a key role, the latter probably for the painterly imitation of freshly cast or gilded bronze applications. Painted shading and colour highlights, applied with a careful consideration for spatial context and light conditions, completed the design. This is the first such evidence on a monumental temple façade. Remarkably, the applied design departs from the traditional colour triad of white, blue and red that was applied on many previous and contemporary temple facades throughout the Classical World. It imitates, however, a tradition of metal decoration that was a hallmark of sacred architecture. |
| author |
Zink, Stephan Taschner, Moritz Reiche, Ina Alfeld, Matthias Aibéo, Cristina Egel, Ellen Müller, Katharina Ristau, Anne Neuhaus, Birgit Massmann, Wolfgang |
| author_facet |
Zink, Stephan Taschner, Moritz Reiche, Ina Alfeld, Matthias Aibéo, Cristina Egel, Ellen Müller, Katharina Ristau, Anne Neuhaus, Birgit Massmann, Wolfgang |
| author_sort |
Zink, Stephan |
| title |
Tracing the colours of Hermogenes’ temple of Artemis: architectural surface analysis in the Antikensammlung Berlin |
| title_short |
Tracing the colours of Hermogenes’ temple of Artemis: architectural surface analysis in the Antikensammlung Berlin |
| title_full |
Tracing the colours of Hermogenes’ temple of Artemis: architectural surface analysis in the Antikensammlung Berlin |
| title_fullStr |
Tracing the colours of Hermogenes’ temple of Artemis: architectural surface analysis in the Antikensammlung Berlin |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Tracing the colours of Hermogenes’ temple of Artemis: architectural surface analysis in the Antikensammlung Berlin |
| title_sort |
tracing the colours of hermogenes’ temple of artemis: architectural surface analysis in the antikensammlung berlin |
| publisher |
Technè |
| publishDate |
2020 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/techne |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/techne.1791 https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/techne/1791 |
| _version_ |
1877293908794277888 |