# @gettymuseum on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CfZVmoOLFZW
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/34228211-gettymuseum-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/3036b26cae.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-06-29T16:28:29.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Getty (@gettymuseum) — https://gondola.cc/gettymuseum

## Caption

Did you know the ancient world was full of vibrant colors?

Due to the passage of time, burial effects, and historical interventions, the original coloring of artworks can change or disappear. For this month's #ConnectingCollections, we are exploring the theme of pigments in ancient artworks.

So how do we spot evidence of ancient colors?

Getty conservators, scientists, and scholars apply non-invasive scientific techniques to explore ancient polychromy. One of Getty's multidisciplinary teams is currently working to examine the surfaces of Roman marble statues at the Getty Villa for traces of pigments.

Techniques like digital microscopy, along with technical imaging, including visible-induced infrared luminescence (VIL) and analyses such as x-ray fluorescence (XRF) and fiber optics reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) can help characterize original pigments still present on ancient artifacts.

From the Renaissance onwards, ancient marble sculptures were often excessively cleaned to create artificially white surfaces, once considered fashionable. For many works of art, total reconstruction of the original colorful surfaces is unlikely, given the limited, tiny traces of pigment that remain. But new research allows specialists to discover more about how ancient artists used colors, like natural earth pigments and the synthetically produced Egyptian blue, to bring statues to life.

Swipe to see details from the Venus de Clercq, which has traces of pink and gold on the ribbon in her hair and Egyptian blue on her chest.
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🏷️ #GettyMuseum #GettyVilla #GettyVillaMuseum #Art #ArtHistory #Color #AncientWorld #Antiquities #PowerOfPigment #ArtConservation #ArtScience

📷:: Detail of the statuette of Venus (Venus de Clercq), AD 175–200, Roman. Getty Museum

Detail area, at left, in visible light and, at right, with visible-induced infrared luminescence. Note the bright luminescent particles on her chest suggesting traces of the pigment Egyptian blue.

Microscopic detail of headband on Venus’ hair at 100X magnification with traces of a pink pigment and gold leaf.

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## Tags

gettyvillamuseum, color, powerofpigment, gettymuseum, art, arthistory, gettyvilla, ancientworld, artconservation, artscience, antiquities, connectingcollections

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