Details
Join us for a two-day symposium to learn about new discoveries and the significance of polychromy with a multidisciplinary and international group of scholars, including art historians, conservators, curators, imaging specialists, and scientists.
You’re welcome to join for both days, or only the sessions that interest you.
Can’t make it in person? The program will be livestreamed and available to view on this page; no registration required.
Livestream: https://youtube.com/live/E8CGDVwFRcY?feature=share
Welcoming Remarks
10:30–10:45 am
Max Hollein
Marina Kellen French Director, The Met
Keynote
10:45–11:15 am
Investigations into the Colors and Narratives of Greek and Roman Sculpture
Vinzenz Brinkmann, Head of the Department of Antiquities and Asia, Liebieghaus Sculpture Collection
Session One: Chroma, the Exhibition
11:15 am–1:30 pm
Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color and Ancient Polychromy at The Met
Seán Hemingway, John A. and Carole O. Moran Curator in Charge, Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Met
Sarah Lepinski, Associate Curator, Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Met
Discovering Decoration on Greek and Roman Marble Sculpture at The Met
Dorothy Abramitis, Conservator, Department of Objects Conservation, The Met
In Search of Ancient Pigments: The Contribution of Scientific Research to Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color
Federico Carò, Research Scientist, Department of Scientific Research, The Met
Elena Basso, Associate Research Scientist, Department of Scientific Research, The Met
Colors of the Sphinx: The Physical Reconstruction as an Indispensable Part of the Investigation Process
Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann, Classical Archaeologist, Liebieghaus Sculpture Collection, Städel Museum; Assistant Lecturer, Classical Archaeology, Georg August University of Göttingen
Co-author: Heinrich Piening, Research Scientist and Conservator, Bavarian Palace Administration, Laboratory for Archaeometry
3D Imaging the Sphinx: Challenges, Solutions, and Opportunities
Scott Geffert, General Manager, Imaging, The Met
Jesse Ng, Imaging Specialist, Imaging, The Met
Discussion
Moderated by Jan Stubbe Østergaard, Emeritus Research Curator, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
Break
1:30–2:30 pm
Session Two: New Research on the Discovery and Reconstruction of Ancient Greek and Roman Polychromy
2:30–4:30 pm
Marble, Gilding, and the Princeton Alexander from Hermopolis Magna
Mark Abbe, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Georgia
Co-author: Adriana Rizzo, Research Scientist, Department of Scientific Research, The Met
Visible and Invisible: Investigating Ancient Polychromy at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Past, Present, and Future
Kenneth Lapatin, Curator of Antiquities, The J. Paul Getty Museum
Marie Svoboda, Conservator of Antiquities, The J. Paul Getty Museum
The Portrait of Young Psyche from Mellos: The Investigation and Color Reconstruction of the Portrait Bust of a Young Girl at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Giovanni Verri, Conservation Scientist, Department of Conservation and Science, Art Institute of Chicago
Co-authors:
Hariclia Brecoulaki, Senior Researcher, Greek and Roman Antiquity, National Hellenic Research Foundation
Ioanna Mennenga, Curator, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Despina Ignatiadou, archaeologist; Head Curator of the Sculpture Collection, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Reconstructions and Digital Technology at the MFA, Boston: The Case of the Athena Parthenos
Laure Marest, Cornelius and Emily Vermeule Associate Curator of Greek and Roman Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Meredith Binnette, creative technologist
Discussion
Moderated by Joanne Dyer, Scientist: Colour Science, Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum
Day 2: Saturday, March 25, 10:30 am–6:00 pm
Free with Museum admission, though advance registration is required.
Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Chroma: Ancient Sculpture in Color.
The symposium is made possible by Mary Jaharis.
Masks are strongly recommended.
Assistive listening devices are available from the ushers.
Image: Vinzenz Brinkmann and Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann, Reconstruction of marble finial in the form of a sphinx (detail), 2022. 3D print in polymethyl metacrylate, natural pigments in egg tempera, gilded copper, gilded tin. Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung (Liebieghaus Polychromy Research Project), Frankfurt am Main; original: Greece, ca. 530 BCE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (11.185d, x)
