• Ultraviolet light reveals how ancient Greek statues really looked
    125 replies, posted
[url=http://io9.com/5616498/ultraviolet-light-reveals-how-ancient-greek-statues-really-looked]Source[/url] [release][IMG]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/08/500x_brinkmannstatuebig.jpg[/IMG] Original Greek statues were brightly painted, but after thousands of years, those paints have worn away. Find out how shining a light on the statues can be all that's required to see them as they were thousands of years ago. Although it seems impossible to think that anything could be left to discover after thousands of years of wind, sun, sand, and art students, finding the long lost patterns on a piece of ancient Greek sculpture can be as easy as shining a lamp on it. A technique called ‘raking light' has been used to analyze art for a long time. A lamp is positioned carefully enough that the path of the light is almost parallel to the surface of the object. When used on paintings, this makes brushstrokes, grit, and dust obvious. On statues, the effect is more subtle. Brush-strokes are impossible to see, but because different paints wear off at different rates, the stone is raised in some places – protected from erosion by its cap of paint – and lowered in others. Elaborate patterns become visible. Ultraviolet is also used to discern patterns. UV light makes many organic compounds fluoresce. Art dealers use UV lights to check if art has been touched up, since older paints have a lot of organic compounds and modern paints have relatively little. On ancient Greek statues, tiny fragments of pigment still left on the surface glow bright, illuminating more detailed patterns. [IMG]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/08/500x_brinkmannstatues2big.jpg[/IMG] Once the pattern is mapped, there is still the problem of figuring out which paint colors to use. A series of dark blues will create a very different effect than gold and pink. Even if enough pigment is left over so that the naked eye can make out a color, a few thousand years can really change a statue's complexion. There's no reason to think that color seen today would be anything like the hues the statues were originally painted. There is a way around this dilemma. The colors may fade over time, but the original materials – plant and animal-derived pigments, crushed stones or shells – still look the same today as they did thousands of years ago. This can also be discovered using light. [IMG]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/08/340x_nic-1.jpg[/IMG] Infrared and X-ray spectroscopy can help researchers understand what the paints are made of, and how they looked all that time ago. Spectroscopy relies on the fact that atoms are picky when it comes to what kind of incoming energy they absorb. Certain materials will only accept certain wavelengths of light. Everything else they reflect. Spectroscopes send out a variety of wavelengths, like scouts into a foreign land. Inevitably, a few of these scouts do not come back. By noting which wavelengths are absorbed, scientists can determine what materials the substance is made of. Infrared helps determine organic compounds. X-rays, because of their higher energy level, don't stop for anything less than the heavier elements, like rocks and minerals. Together, researchers can determine approximately what color a millennia-old statue was painted. The color? Always something tacky. [IMG]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/08/500x_godsincolor.jpg[/IMG][/release] Science, you're [B]SO[/B] awesome :science:
They're beautiful..
That's truly awesome. We should do that to some of the oldest things we can find. It'd be cool to see true art as far back as it could go (with this specific technology).
[QUOTE][img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2010/08/500x_brinkmannstatues2big.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Um...this is Roman, not Greek But, this is fucking cool none the less!
[QUOTE=Jookia;24225025]They're beautiful..[/QUOTE] Definitely, they look really good. To be honest, my History professor never mentioned these statues were so brightly painted
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;24225071]Definitely, they look really good. To be honest, my History professor never mentioned these statues were so brightly painted[/QUOTE] I don't mean this offensively - it probably wasn't important compared to the rest of the class course. Unless the class is specifically about ancient art, that is.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;24225057]Um...this is Roman, not Greek[/QUOTE] Coming from a guy nicknamed "Emperor Scorpious II", I'm sure you have your facts right :v:
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;24225100]Coming from a guy nicknamed "Emperor Scorpious II", I'm sure you have your facts right :v:[/QUOTE] It's Augustus, the first Roman Emperor himself :hist101:
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;24225071]Definitely, they look really good. To be honest, my History professor never mentioned these statues were so brightly painted[/QUOTE] I think I read they were painted somewhere... yeah, it was in The Cartoon History of the Universe. Incredible book.
That statue of Caesar looks better unpainted I think. It looks really kitchy when painted.
It amazes me over and over how a man actually managed to shape rock so smoothly with a hammer.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;24225089]I don't mean this offensively - it probably wasn't important compared to the rest of the class course. Unless the class is specifically about ancient art, that is.[/QUOTE] Yeah I know, but, she could have mentioned for a few minutes in class that "(...) oh and, just so you know kids, statues were not supposed to look like huge, beautifully crafted pieces of white chalk, they were really nice colored back in the Roman and Greek days... of course that paint tends to go away after a few hundred years"
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;24225166]Yeah I know, but, she could have mentioned for a few minutes in class that "(...) oh and, just so you know kids, statues were not supposed to look like huge crafted pieces of white chalk, they were really nice colored back in the Roman and Greek days... of course that paint tends to go away after a few hundred years"[/QUOTE] Yeah, I suppose that's true. History courses should give you an impression of how life was back then, not just facts about what happened.
Wow, they look... Oddly underwhelming.
Holy shit. :science:
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;24225187]Yeah, I suppose that's true. History courses should give you an impression of how life was back then, not just facts about what happened.[/QUOTE] Absolutely! For instance, I've never heard of the famous [url=http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/baths.html]roman bath houses[/url] until I watched a few documentaries about them on the History Channel
Amazing
[QUOTE=Cheezy;24225149]That statue of Caesar looks better unpainted I think. It looks really kitchy when painted.[/QUOTE] Well, it's not repainted, just put under UV light. Maybe the paint they used for skin tone can't show up on it? Or that what ever they used for the skin tone has long faded more so than the other colors. If they painted the skin at all. Just a few theories!
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;24225255]Absolutely! For instance, I've never heard of the famous [URL="http://www.vroma.org/%7Ebmcmanus/baths.html"]roman bath houses[/URL] until I watched a few documentaries about them on the History Channel[/QUOTE] Hell, they had [I]heated floors.[/I]
I like them better the way they are.
[QUOTE=Pretiacruento;24225255]Absolutely! For instance, I've never heard of the famous [url=http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/baths.html]roman bath houses[/url] until I watched a few documentaries about them on the History Channel[/QUOTE] Sadly, history classes usually just talk about maybe 5% of all the history of any given period. Though it's not their fault, it would take decades to give in every little detail, so it's not surprising. Though not hearing about the bath houses is a bit startling. They're one of the main features of a Roman city, the birth of plumbing technology and a source of great architecture. [editline]08:59PM[/editline] [QUOTE=Heroms;24225307]I like them better the way they are.[/QUOTE] :saddowns:
I just heard that gay men had sex in bath houses
I saw an article about this on Cracked a while back.
[IMG]http://www.alamo.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/Discus1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MXxpOSK91HY/SgLwqWYEnwI/AAAAAAAAEsM/nsdQhg27Qe0/s1600/romancopymarble2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://www.alamo.edu/sac/vat/arthistory/arts1303/dgall.jpg[/IMG] I can now clearly imagine how these looked like back in the day, when they were painted...
[QUOTE=Upgrade123;24225339]I saw an article about this on Cracked a while back.[/QUOTE] As did I. Struck me that they were so colourful.
they sure are flamboyant
[QUOTE=privatesmily;24225464]they sure are flamboyant[/QUOTE] Well, remember that back then probably all greeks and romans were bisexuals-homosexuals... Hell, even Samurais used to engage in homosexual activities; It was said young Samurais were supposed to have sex with older, more experienced Samurais so that "they could gain their knowledge" and stuff... EDIT: Found it, it was called [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Shud.C5.8D]Shudō[/url] [quote=Wikipedia][B][I]Shudō[/I][/B] (衆道), the tradition of love bonds between a seasoned and a novice samurai was held to be "the flower of the samurai spirit" and formed the real basis of the samurai aesthetic for some of the high ranking Samurai class. Even amongst the high ranking samurai, it was in the minority. This practice is commonly believed to have originated from the beliefs in Bushido, beliefs which many speculate originally stemmed from those Buddhist Monks that initially influenced the earliest tenets of Bushido. It was analogous to the educational Greek pederasty and an honored and important practice in samurai society for part of the higher class samurai. It was one of the main ways in which the ethos and the skills of the samurai tradition were passed down from one generation to another.[/quote]
Is it just for clothing/armor or does it work with skin as well?
Wow this took me completely by surprise, it certainly changes my impression of Greek and Roman society.
Pretiacruento, are you by any chance studying history for a career?
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