Chroma

New discoveries of surviving colour on sculpture spanning two millennia and across the globe, from ancient Greece to Tenochtitlán to Renaissance Europe

Many ancient and early modern works that are viewed in monochrome today were once painted in vibrant colours. Lost to time until recently, the pigments and other surface treatments that originally adorned these objects offer a deeper appreciation of the cultures from which they originate.

Chroma is a handsome volume featuring new research by more than thirty international experts in polychromy, including art historians, conservators, scientists, and photographers. Identified through advanced technologies, scientific analyses, and in-depth research, their discoveries of surviving traces of colour span the globe and vary in material, including an Archaic Greek marble sphinx, an ancient Near Eastern cloisonné furniture plaque, Mexica (Aztec) limestone sculptures, and medieval and Renaissance European marbles and bronzes.

This wide-ranging publication explores how these works further our understanding of ancient ideas around skin colour, race, and gender. It summarises recent advances in the field and considers polychromy's controversial rediscovery and modern reception—highlighting the role of reconstructions such as 3D-printed replicas and virtual animations in contemporary museum practice, as well as the resurgence of polychromy techniques in postmodern and contemporary European architecture.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University Press