“The tunic of Augustus is crimson, the mantle purple, the fringe of the armour yellow; on the nude portions of the body no traces of colour are noticeable, except the indication of the pupils with a yellowish tint; and the hair no longer shows colour. But the relief decorations of the cuirass are painted with especial care, although the flat surfaces are left without colour. The god of heaven, rising from the blue waves or clouds, holds a purplish garment in both hands; the chariot of the sun-god is crimson; before him soars a female with outspread blue wings; the goddess of the earth wears a wreath of wheat in her blonde hair. Apollo in a crimson mantle rides upon a griffon with blue wings; the light haired Diana, in a crimson garment, is borne by a reddish brown stag. In the middle stands a Roman Commander in blue and red armour, crimson tunic, and purple mantle, with a blue helmet. A bearded warrior in crimson tunic and blue trousers holds up a Roman standard with insignia painted blue. The barbarian on the right, with auburn hair, in a purple mantle, holds a war-trumpet; the figure on the left is likewise light haired and clothed in a blue mantle.”
ORESTES AND ELECTRA
(SCHOOL OF PASITELES)
National Museum, Naples
AUGUSTUS
Vatican, Rome
We shall not refer to the problem of how generally Greek and Roman sculptures were coloured again. M. Maxime Collignon, in his La Polychromie dans la Sculpture Grecque, has collected the evidence bearing upon the point. The “[Augustus]” shows how elaborate the process must have been in many cases. It will, however, be worth while to refer to two typical pieces of evidence supporting the view that the great bulk of Greek and Roman sculpture was coloured.
In a wall-painting, once in Pompeii, now in the National Museum at Naples, a picture represents a woman actually painting a statue. It is a “Herma,” one of the popular figures of Dionysus set on a quadrilateral base. The god’s hair is dark brown, the beard is grey and the mantle yellow. A study of the wall paintings and mosaics unearthed at Pompeii and Herculaneum gives the following result. Out of eighty-one pictures of statues, fifty-nine are coloured completely. The male figures are painted a ruddy brown, the female pink and white. Of the others, fourteen are of a greeny brown tinge suggesting bronze.
Returning once again to our main argument: we have referred to Julius Cæsar, as the father alike of Roman imperialism and Roman sculpture. Roman national art was created when Cæsar and Augustus established a political system which gave Italy peace after close upon a hundred years of strife. It is not difficult to realize the relief with which Italy must have greeted the new era. In the last few lines of the First “Georgic,” Virgil has drawn a picture of the Roman world as it had been until the imperial visions of Julius Cæsar had become living realities for every Roman citizen under Augustus Cæsar. War was raging everywhere. Corruption was rife. Agriculture was languishing. “The crooked scythes are forged into rigid swords,” says Virgil.