polychromatic

Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors.

When looking at artworks and architecture from antiquity and the European Middle Ages, people tend to believe that they were monochrome. In reality, the pre-Renaissance past was full of colour, and Greco-Roman sculptures and Gothic cathedrals, that are now white, beige, or grey, were initially painted in a variety of colours. As André Malraux stated: "Athens was never white but her statues, bereft of color, have conditioned the artistic sensibilities of Europe ..the whole past has reached us colorless." Polychrome was and is a practice not limited only to the Western world. Non-Western artworks, like Chinese temples, Oceanian Uli figures, or Maya ceramic vases, were also decorated with colours.

Ancient Near East

Similarly to the ancient art of other regions, Ancient Near Eastern art was polychrome, bright colours being often present. Many sculptures no longer have their original colouring today, but there are still examples that keep it. One of the best is the Ishtar Gate, the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon (in the area of present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq). It was constructed in by the order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city. It was part of a grand walled processional way leading into the city. Its colours are as rich as they were back in the day because the walls were made of glazed brick.

Many Ancient Near Eastern sculptures were painted too. Although they are grey today, all the Assyrian reliefs that decorated royal palaces were painted in highly saturated colours.

Glazed Tile.jpg, Assyrian tile with a guilloche border from the North-West Palace at Nimrud (now in modern Iraq), 883–859 BC, glazed earthenware, British Museum, London

File:Ishtar gate in Pergamon museum in Berlin..jpg, Reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate, , glazed bricks, Pergamon Museum

The Monuments of Nineveh (BM 1849,0519.1-102).jpg, Reconstruction of a hall from an Assyrian palace, by Sir Austen Henry Layard, 1849

Illustration from L’ornement Polychrome by Albert Racinet from rawpixel’s own original 1888 publication 00091.jpg, Assyrian patterns and motifs from L'Ornement Polychrome, by , 1888

Assyrian panel with color projected on it, showing how it looked back in the day, in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin.jpg, Assyrian panel with color projected on it, showing how it looked initially, in the Pergamon Museum. The color disappeared in many millennia and was damaged by the excessive cleaning of artifacts that took place in the 19th century

Ancient Egypt

Thanks to the dry climate of Egypt, the original colours of many ancient sculptures in round, reliefs, paintings, and various objects were well preserved. Some of the best preserved examples of ancient Egyptian architecture were the tombs, covered inside with sculpted reliefs painted in bright colours or just frescos. Egyptian artists primarily worked in black, red, yellow, brown, blue, and green pigments. These colours were derived from ground minerals, synthetic materials ( Egyptian blue, Egyptian green, and frits used to make glass and ceramic glazes), and carbon-based blacks (soot and charcoal). Most of the minerals were available from local supplies, like iron-oxide pigments (red ochre, yellow ochre, and umber); white derived from the calcium carbonate found in Egypt's extensive limestone hills; and blue and green from azurite and malachite.

Besides their decorative effect, colours were also used for their symbolic associations. Colours on sculptures, coffins, and architecture had both aesthetic and symbolic qualities. Ancient Egyptians saw black as the colour of the fertile alluvial soil, and so associated it with fertility and regeneration. Black was also associated with the afterlife, and was the colour of funerary deities like Anubis. White was the colour of purity, while green and blue were associated with vegetation and rejuvenation. Because of this, Osiris was often shown with green skin, and the faces of coffins from the 26th Dynasty were often green. Red, orange, and yellow were associated with the sun. Red was also the colour of the deserts, and hence associated with Set and the forces of destruction.

Later, during the 19th century, expeditions took place that had the purpose of cataloging the art and culture of ancient Egypt. '' Description de l'Égypte'' is a series of early 19th century publications full of illustrations of monuments and artifacts of Ancient Egypt. Most are black-and-white, but some are colourful, so they can show the polychromy from the past. In some cases, only a few traces of paint remained on the walls, pillars and sculptures, but the illustrators attempted successfully at showing the buildings' original state in their pictures.

Fragmento de relieve (31659315857).jpg, Fragment of a temple relief, 2150–1991 BC, painted limestone, British Museum, London

Model Paddling Boat MET DP354724.jpg, Model paddling boat, , wood, paint, plaster, linen twine and linen fabric, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Colossal statue of Tutankhamun Paris 2019 A.jpg, Colossal statue of Tutankhamun, , painted quartzite, Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza, Egypt

Nofretete Neues Museum.jpg, '' Bust of Nefertiti'', , polychrome limestone and plaster, Neues Museum, Berlin, Germany

File:Relief de Séthi I et Hathor - Musée du Louvre Antiquités Egyptiennes N 124.jpg, Relief of Sethi I and Hathor, 13th century BC, limestone, Louvre

Composite Papyrus Capital MET 10.177.2 EGDP018080.jpg, Composite papyrus capital, , polychrome sandstone, Metropolitan Museum of Art

File:Frammento del sarcofago di Djedthotiuefankh 12S0898.tif, Fragment of the sarcophagus of Djedthothiuefankh, 332–305 BC, wood and colourful glass, Museo Egizio, Turin, Italy

Statuette of Anubis MET 38.5 EGDP022863.jpg, Statuette of Anubis, 332–30 BC, plastered and painted wood, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Medinet Habu 2016-03-23g.jpg, Winged sun on a cavetto at the Medinet Habu temple complex, Egypt, unknown architect, unknown date

Thèbes. Memnonium (Ramesseum). Vue perspective l'intérieur coloriée du temple de l'ouest (NYPL b14212718-1267967).jpg, Intact interior of the Ramesseum, Egypt, illustration from '' Description de l'Égypte'', unknown illustrator, 1809

File:Examples of Historical Ornament, Egyptian by Boston Public Library.jpg, Egyptian patterns, motifs and capitals, unknown illustrator, published by L. Prang & Co., 1874

File:Illustration from L’ornement Polychrome by Albert Racinet from rawpixel’s own original 1888 publication 00086.jpg, Egyptian motifs from L'Ornement Polychrome, by Albert Racinet, 1888

File:Various Examples of Ancient Egyptian Polychrome Capitals.jpg, Various examples of Ancient Egyptian polychrome capitals, unknown illustrator, 19th century

Illustrations of various examples of ancient Egyptian cornices.jpg, Various examples of Ancient Egyptian corniches, unknown illustrator, 19th century

Classical world

Some very early polychrome pottery has been excavated on Minoan Crete such as at the Bronze Age site of Phaistos. In ancient Greece sculptures were painted in strong colors. The paint was frequently limited to parts depicting clothing, hair, and so on, with the skin left in the natural color of the stone. But it could cover sculptures in their totality. The painting of Greek sculpture should not merely be seen as an enhancement of their sculpted form but has the characteristics of a distinct style of art. For example, the pedimental sculptures from the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina have recently been demonstrated to have been painted with bold and elaborate patterns, depicting, amongst other details, patterned clothing. The polychrome of stone statues was paralleled by the use of materials to distinguish skin, clothing, and other details in chryselephantine sculptures, and by the use of metals to depict lips, nipples, etc., on high-quality bronzes like the Riace bronzes. The availability of modern digital methods and techniques have allowed the reconstruction and visualization of ancient 3D polychromy in a scientifically sound method and many projects have explored these possibilities in the last years.

An early example of polychrome decoration was found in the Parthenon atop the Acropolis of Athens. By the time European antiquarianism took off in the 18th century, however, the paint that had been on classical buildings had completely weathered off. Thus, the antiquarians' and architects' first impressions of these ruins were that classical beauty was expressed only through shape and composition, lacking in robust colors, and it was that impression which informed neoclassical architecture. However, some classicists such as Jacques Ignace Hittorff noticed traces of paint on classical architecture and this slowly came to be accepted. Such acceptance was later accelerated by observation of minute color traces by microscopic and other means, enabling less tentative reconstructions than Hittorff and his contemporaries had been able to produce. An example of classical Greek architectural polychrome may be seen in the full size replica of the Parthenon exhibited in Nashville, Tennessee, US.

File:ACMA 680 Kore 3.JPG, Traces of paint depicting embroidered patterns on the peplos of an Archaic '' Kore'', marble, Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece
File:ACMA 679 Kore 1.JPG, Polychrome on the '' Peplos Kore'', , Parian marble, Acropolis Museum
File:Istanbul - Museo archeologico - Mostra sul colore nell'antichità 02 - Foto G. Dall'Orto 28-5-2006.jpg, ''Peplos Kore'' color reconstruction
File:NAMABG-Aphaia Trojan Archer 3.JPG, Reconstructed color scheme on a Trojan archer from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina
File:Tempio di Hera a Paestum (parte terminale del tetto).jpg, Carved and painted fragment from the roofline of the Temple of Hera at Paestum, , Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Italy
File:Limestone sarcophagus- the Amathus sarcophagus MET DT257.jpg, Amathus Sarcophagus, , limestone, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
File:Hades and Persephone, Vergina.jpg, Hades and Persephone, , pigments on marble, Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai, Vergina, Greece
File:Agios Athanasios, Ancient Macedonian Tomb - I (37120832445).jpg, Facade of an ancient tomb at Agios Athanasios, , Macedonia, Greece
File:Altes Museum-Tanagra-lady with fan.jpg, Terracota figurine of a woman with painted blue and gilt garment, from Tanagra, 325–300 BC, Antikensammlung Berlin, Germany
File:Anthemion Makedonian Tomb 1.jpg, Tomb of the Palmettes ( Mieza, Greece), first half of the third century BC
File:Frankfurt, Liebieghaus, Figur einer jungen Frau.jpg, Terracota figurine of a young woman, with kaolin and traces of polychromy, 3rd–2nd century BC, Liebieghaus, Germany
File:Neptune Amphitrite mosaic Herculaneum.jpg, Roman mosaic of Neptune and Amphitrite, , mosaic, Casa di Nettuno e Anfitrite, Herculaneum Archaeological Park, Ercolano, Italy
File:Ag-obj-5959-001-pub-large.jpg, Roman shield, mid 3rd century, painted wood and hide, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, USA
File:Reconstruction of the Temple of Empedocles, Selinunte, Sicily, by Jacques Ignace Hittorff, 1830 (published in 1851).webp, Reconstruction of the Temple of Empedocles at Selinunte, Sicily, by Jacques Ignace Hittorff, 1830 (published in 1851)
File:Teste Kore, Siracusa.png, Traces of red paint on ''Korai'' busts from the Hellenistic period, Museo Archeologico Paolo Orsi, Syracuse, Sicily
File:Livia Boscoreale villa Misteri Pompeii.jpg, alt=Traces of Polychrome on a Statue of Livia, Traces of paint on a Statue of Livia, 1st century BCE to 1st century CE, found at Pompeii
File:Jacques Ignace Hittorff - Temple T at Selinunte (Sicily), reconstructed elevation of the main facade - Google Art Project.jpg, Reconstructed elevation of the main facade of the Temple T at Selinunte, Sicily, by Jacques Ignace Hittorff, before 1859

East Asia

Chinese art is known for the use of vibrant colours. Neolithic Chinese ceramic vessels, like those produced by the Yangshao culture, show the use of black and red pigments. Later, tomb and religious sculptures appear as a consequence of the spread of Buddhism. The deities most common in Chinese Buddhist sculpture are forms of the Buddha and the bodhisattva Guanyin. Traces of gold and bright colours in which sculptures were painted still give an idea of their effect. During the Han and Tang dynasties, polychrome ceramic figurines of servants, entertainers, tenants, and soldiers were placed in the tombs of people from upper-class. These figurines were mass-produced in moulds. Although Chinese porcelain is best known as being blue-and-white, many colorful ceramic vases and figures were produced during the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the same two dynasties, cloisonné vessels that use copper wires (''cloisons'') and bright enamel were also manufactured.

Similarly to what was happening in China, the introduction of Buddhism in Japan in 538 (or perhaps 552 AD) lead to the production of polychrome Japanese Buddhist sculptures. Japanese religious imagery had until then consisted of disposable clay figures used to convey prayers to the spirit world.

T'ang Architecture in the Mo-kao Fresco 2.jpg, Tang dynasty mural of architecture from Mogao Grottoes
Liao Dynasty Avalokitesvara Statue Clear.jpeg, Guanyin of the southern seas (Chinese), 11th–12th centuries, painted and gilded wood, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, USA
Tang Pottery Figure (40520339713).jpg, Scholar oficial (Chinese), 618–907 AD, painted and glazed ceramic, Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an, China
File:独乐寺观音阁正面1.JPG, The Guanyian Pavilion of the Dule Monastery, Jixian, China, unknown architect, 984
Zhengding Longxing Si 2013.08.31 16-56-13.jpg, Ming dynasty ''caihua'' decorations on Hall of Amitābha at Longxing Temple
Stoneware figure of a Daoist deity.From China, Ming Dynasty, 16th century CE. The British Museum.jpg, Figure of a Daoist deity (Chinese), , porcelain, British Museum, London
File:11 Temple of Heaven.jpg, alt=Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the main building of the Temple of Heaven (Beijing), 1703-1790, Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the main building of the Temple of Heaven, Beijing, unknown architect, 1703–1790
You wine container, Taotie design, China, Qing dynasty, 1800s AD, cloisonne - Tokyo National Museum - Tokyo, Japan - DSC08273.jpg, ''You'' (Chinese), 19th century, cloisonné, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan
五彩遍装斗拱.JPG, alt="Wucai Caihua"(Five Coloured Painting)-decorations as detailed on the Yingzao Fashi., Song dynasty ''"Wucai Caihua"'' (Five Coloured Painting)-''dougong'' decorations guide as detailed on the Yingzao Fashi
File:Illustration from L’ornement Polychrome by Albert Racinet from rawpixel’s own original 1888 publication 00010.jpg, Chinese motifs from L'Ornement Polychrome, by Albert Racinet, 1888
File:Illustration from L’ornement Polychrome by Albert Racinet from rawpixel’s own original 1888 publication 00101.jpg, Chinese and Japanese cloisonné motifs from L'Ornement Polychrome
File:Illustration from L’ornement Polychrome by Albert Racinet from rawpixel’s own original 1888 publication 00105.jpg, Japanese cloisonné motifs from L'Ornement Polychrome

Medieval

Throughout medieval Europe religious sculptures in wood and other media were often brightly painted or colored, as were the interiors of church buildings. These were often destroyed or whitewashed during iconoclast phases of the Protestant Reformation or in other unrest such as the French Revolution, though some have survived in museums such as the V&A, Musée de Cluny, and Louvre. The exteriors of churches were painted as well, but little has survived. Exposure to the elements and changing tastes and religious approval over time acted against their preservation. The "Majesty Portal" of the Collegiate church of Toro is the most extensive remaining example, due to the construction of a chapel which enclosed and protected it from the elements just a century after it was completed.

Abbaye Ste Foy à Conques (06) - Tympan du Porche.jpg, RomanesqueLast Judgement tympanum, Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy, Conques, France, early 12th century

F08.N.-D. d'Orcival.0489.JPG, RomanesqueMadonna and Child Entroned, 12th century, walnut, silver, silvered copper and polychrome, , Orcival, France

Sainte Chapelle Interior Stained Glass.jpg, GothicSainte-Chapelle, Paris, by Pierre de Montreuil, 1243–1248

Naumburg Dom Stifterfiguren Uta und Ekkehard 2012-04-29-17-31-47.jpg, GothicEkkehard and Uta, attributed to the Master of Namburg, 1245–1260, limestone and polychromy, Naumburg Cathedral, Naumburg, Germany

File:El Pórtico del Paraíso. Catedral de Orense.jpg, GothicPortal of the Ourense Cathedral, Ourense, Spain, unknown architect, first half of the 13th century

File:Portico colegiata de Toro.jpg, GothicPortal of the Collegiate Church of Toro, Spain, unknown architect, 13th century

Ursula-Altar in Marienstatt.jpg, GothicReliquary altarpiece with Saint Ursula, , gilded and painted wood, Abteikirche Marienstatt, Streithausen, Germany

Bust of the Virgin MET DP124049 (cropped2).jpg, GothicBust of the Virgin, , terracotta with paint, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
The painter Irene de Crestin applying polychromy to a sculpture of the Virgin Mary, France, 1401-2, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, Département des Manuscrits, Français 598, FR 12420.jpg, GothicIrene, daughter of Cratin, painting a sculpture of the Virgin Mary, France, 1401–1402. Detail from Giovanni Bocaccio's ''De Claris mulieribus'' (Concerning famous women), 1403 edition, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris

Beaune (21) Hôtel-Dieu - Cour - 01.jpg, Gothic Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune, Beaune, France, by Jacques Wiscrère, 1451

Enthroned Virgin MET DP366930.jpg, GothicEnthroned Virgin, , limewood with gesso, paint and gilding, Metropolitan Museum of Art

File:Portada de la Capilla de Santa Catalina, Catedral de Burgos.jpg, Portal of the Burgos Cathedral, Burgos, Spain, unknown architect, unknown date

Moscow July 2011-3d.jpg, Russian portal of the Dormition Cathedral, Moscow, by Aristotele Fioravanti, 1475–1479

17th and 18th centuries

While stone and metal sculpture normally remained uncolored, like the classical survivals, polychromed wood sculptures were produced by Spanish artists: Juan Martínez Montañés, Gregorio Fernández (17th century); German: Ignaz Günther, Philipp Jakob Straub (18th century); or Brazilian: Aleijadinho (19th century).

Monochromatic color solutions of architectural orders were also designed in the late,
dynamic Baroque, drawing on the ideas of Borromini and Guarini. Single-colored stone
cladding was used: light sandstone, as in the case of the façade of the Bamberg Jesuit
church (Gunzelmann 2016) designed by Georg and Leonhard Dientzenhofer (1686–1693),
the façade of the monastery church in Michelsberg by Leonard Dientzenhofer (1696), and
the abbey church in Neresheim by J.B. Neumann (1747–1792).

In the space of present-day Germany, during the 18th century, the Asam brothers ( Egid Quirin Asam and Cosmas Damian Asam) designed churches with undulating walls, curved broken pediments and polychromy. In the German-speaking space, multiple Rococo churches and libraries with pastel polychrome stuccos and columns were built. There, faux marble columns are made from wood pillars that are covered in a layer of polychrome stucco, a mixture of plaster, lime, and pigment. When these ingredients are mixed, a homogenous-coloured paste is created. To achieve the marble look, thinner batches of darker and lighter paste are made, so that veins begin to appear. It is all roughly mixed by hand. When the material hardens it is polished by rubbing with fine sandpaper, and thus this layer of polychrome stucco becomes glossy and imitates really realistically marble. A good example of this is the Library of the Wiblingen Abbey in Ulm, Germany. Faux marble made of stucco will continue to be used during the 19th and early 20th centuries too. It is used only for interiors, because stucco dissolves outside through of contact with water.

In Wallachia, during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Brâncovenesc style was popular in architecture and decorative arts. It is named after Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu, during whose reign it was developed. Some of the churches in this style have polychrome facades, decorated with murals, like the church of the Stavropoleos Monastery in Bucharest, Romania.

The 2nd half of the 18th century was the rise of Neoclassicism, a movement which tries its best at reviving the styles of Ancient Greece, Rome, the Etruscan civilization, and sometimes even Egypt. During Louis XVI's reign (1760–1789), interiors in the Louis XVI style start to be decorated with arabesques, inspired by those discovered in ancient houses in Pompeii and Herculaneum. They are painted in pastel colours, painted white with the ornate parts gilt, or polychrome. The State Dining Room of the Inveraray Castle in Scotland, decorated by two French painters, is a good example of a polychrome Louis XVI style interior.

File:Chateau de Versailles - escalier des ambassadeurs.jpg, BaroqueEscalier des Ambassadeurs of the Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, by François d'Orbay and Charles Le Brun, 1674–1679, demolished in 1752 under Louis XV

File:Chateau Versailles Galerie des Glaces.jpg, BaroqueHall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1678–1684

File:Vista de la Fachada del Templo de San Francisco Acatepec 9.jpg, Baroque Church of San Francisco Acatepec, San Andrés Cholula, Mexico, unknown artchitect, 17th–18th centuries

The Entombment of Christ MET DP-12850-001 (cropped).jpg, BaroqueThe Entombment of Christ, by Luisa Roldán, 1700–1701, polychrome terracotta, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

File:Interior of the Klosterbibliothek Metten, Metten, Germany (01).jpg, RococoInterior of the , Metten, Germany, unknown architect, 1722–1726

4, Strada Stavropoleos, Bucharest (Romania) 1.jpg, Brâncovenesc Stavropoleos Monastery Church, Bucharest, Romania, unknown architect, 1724

Steinhausen, Wallfahrtskirche Unserer Lieben Frau, Capital 002.JPG, Rococo Capitals in the , Steinhausen, Germany, by Dominikus Zimmermann, 1728–1733

Buste allegorique des 4 saisons - L'été - Summer - Rouen - vers 1730 - Louvre - OA 2609.jpg, BaroqueSummer as Ceres, part of a series of anthropomorphic busts of the four seasons, a polychrome example of Rouen faience, , faience, Louvre

Innsbruck Helblinghaus.jpg, Rococo Helbling House, Innsbruck, Austria, originally Gothic town house from the 15th century, renovated at the beginning of the 18th, and finished in 1732 by Anton Gigl

Asamkirche, Múnich, Alemania02.JPG, RococoSt. Johann Nepomuk, Munich, Germany, by Egid Quirin Asam and Cosmas Damian Asam, 1733–1746

Poêle de la salle de bains de la Du Barry - DSC 0432.JPG, RococoApartment of Madame du Barry, Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, 18th century

Illustration from L’ornement Polychrome by Albert Racinet from rawpixel’s own original 1888 publication 00269.jpg, RococoIllustration of 18th century cartouches, from L'ornement Polychrome, by Albert Racinet, 1888

File:2022-09-07 09-11 Berlin 217 Potsdam, Schloss Sanssouci - 52390814246.jpg, Rococofourth guest room, so-called Voltaire Room, Sanssouci, Potsdam, Germany, designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, with decoration by Johann Michael the Elder and Johann Christian Hoppenhaupt the Younger, 1752–1753

Wieskirche, Gemeinde Steingaden Ortsteil Wies.JPG, Rococo Pilgrimage Church of Wies, Steingaden, Germany, by Dominikus and Johann Baptist Zimmermann, 1754

Ignaz Günther Schutzengel Bürgersaal.jpg, RococoTobias and the Angel, by Ignaz Günther, 1763, limewood, Bürgersaalkirche, Munich, Germany

Stockholm Sweden Royal-Domain-of Drottningholm Drottningholms-Kina-Slott-01.jpg, Chinoiserie Chinese Pavilion (Ekerö Municipality, Sweden), 1763–1769, by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz

Pair of armchairs (part of a set) MET ES6929.jpg, Neoclassicalarmchair, , carved and polychromed walnut, received upholstered in beige silk brocade, currently upholstered with modern cotton and linen velvet, Metropolitan Museum of Art

INVERARAY CASTLE CEILING DETAIL.JPG, Louis XVI styleCeiling decorated with festoons in the State Dining Room, Inveraray Castle, Scotland, the UK, by Girard and Guinand, 1784

Porcelain

With the arrival of European porcelain in the 18th century, brightly colored pottery figurines with a wide range of colors became very popular. Porcelain was developed in China in the 9th century. Its recipe was kept secret from other nations, and only successfully copied in the 15th century by the Japanese and Vietnamese. During the 18th century, German kilns finally figured out how to make porcelain, beginning with the alchemist Johann Friedrich Böttger and the physicist Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, who made the first European variety in 1709. The Meissen Porcelain Factory was founded in the following year, and it became the leading European porcelain manufacturer. Later, other kilns stole the recipe or came up with their own porcelain technology. Another really famous factory was the Sèvres, which produced stunning porcelain for the French elite during the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Elephant-head vase (vase à tête d'éléphant) MET DP-13079-009.jpg, Rococoelephant-head vase (vase à tête d'éléphant), by the Sèvres porcelain factory, , soft-paste porcelain, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wall sconce (bras de cheminée) (one of a pair) MET DP155339.jpg, Rococowall sconce (bras de cheminée), by the Sèvres porcelain factory, , soft-paste porcelain and gilt bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Perfume vase (one of a pair) MET DP-12374-049.jpg, Rococoperfume vase, by the Chelsea porcelain factory, , soft-paste porcelain and burnished gold ground, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Monkey Band, c. 1765, Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, Germany, porcelain, enamel, gilding - Art Institute of Chicago - DSC09806.JPG, Rococo singerie figurine, part of a monkey band, by the Meissen porcelain factory, , porcelain, enamel and gilding, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA

The Music Lesson MET DP-14272-001 (cropped).jpg, RococoThe Music Lesson, by the Chelsea porcelain factory, , soft-paste porcelain, Metropolitan Museum of Art

File:Vase (vase grec Duplessis rectifié), design attributed to Jean Claude Duplessis, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.jpg, Louis XVI styleVase (vase grec Duplessis rectifié), design attributed to Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis, painted decoration by , gilding by Jean Pierre Boulanger, by the Sèvres porcelain factory, 1780, painted and gilded hard-paste porcelain, gilt bronze, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Netherlands

19th century

Compared to the 18th century, polychromy was somewhat more widespread in the 19th. However, the facades of most buildings remained white, most sculptures were unpainted, and most furniture was in the shades of its materials. Colours were added usually though glazed ceramics on buildings, different types of stone on sculptures, and through painting or intarsia most often on furniture. Like in the 18th century, porcelain remained quite colourful, many figures being life-like. In contrast with their exteriors, interiors of many houses of the rich were often decorated with boiserie, stucco, and/or painted. Like in the 2nd half of the 18th century, multiple bronze clocks and decorative objects have two tints through gilding and patina. Porcelain elements were also added for more colour.

Clock, French, circa 1835-1850, gilt and patinated bronze, inherited from Maurice Quentin Bauchart, 1911, inv. 17772, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris.jpg, Gothic Revival clock, , gilt and patinated bronze, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris

Cheadle- St. Giles Church- Pugins complete c13th restoration 4 (geograph 4939277).jpg, Gothic RevivalInterior of the St Giles' Catholic Church, Cheadle, Staffordshire, the UK, by Augustus Pugin, 1840–1846

Fireplace, the Chaucer Room, Cardiff Castle.jpg, Gothic RevivalChimney-piece in the Chaucer Room of the Cardiff Castle, Cardiff, the UK, by William Burges,

Castell Coch, April 2022 05.jpg, Gothic RevivalDrawing room of the Castell Coch, Tongwynlais, Wales, by William Burges, 1891

Polychrome stucco fragment from Strada Plantelor no. 4, in the UNARTE Building at no. 28 Calea Griviței, Bucharest (01).jpg, Beaux ArtsCeiling stucco fragment from Strada Plantelor no. 4, Bucharest, Romania, unknown architect, 1891

File:Barrias La Nature se dévoilant.jpg, Art Nouveau Nature Unveiling Herself Before Science, by Louis-Ernest Barrias, 1899, marble, alabaster, calcite, malachite, lapis lazuli, Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Neoclassicism

Despite evidence of polychrome being discovered on Ancient Greek architecture and sculptures, most Neoclassical buildings have white or beige facades, and black metalwork. Around 1840, the French architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff, published studies of Sicilian architecture, documenting extensive evidence of color. The "polychrome controversy" raged for over a decade and proved to be a challenge for Neoclassical architects throughout Europe.

Due to the discovery of frescos in the Roman cities Pompeii and Herculaneum during the 18th century, multiple 18th and 19th century Neoclassical houses have their interiors decorated with colourful Pompeian style frescos. They often feature bright red, known as "Pompeian red". The fashion for Pompeian styles of painting resulted in rooms finished in vivid blocks of colour. Examples include the Pompeian Room from the Hinxton Hall in Cambridgeshire, the Pompejanum in Aschaffenburg, Empress Joséphine's Bedroom from the Château de Malmaison, and Napoleon's bath of the Château de Rambouillet. By the beginning of the 19th century, painters were also able to create effects of marbling and graining to imitate wood.

File:Parc et Château de Rambouillet (50029592691).jpg, Empire styleNapoleon's bath of the Château de Rambouillet, Rambouillet, France, painted by Godard and Jean Vasserot, 1806
File:Pair of Spindle Vases - OA 11090 - Louvre (01).jpg, Empire styleVase, by the Sèvres porcelain factory, 1814, hard-paste porcelain with platinum background and gilt bronze mounts, Louvre
File:Polychromatic façade of the Cirque Nationale, Paris, by Jakob Ignaz Hittorff, 1840.webp, NeoclassicalPolychromatic façade of the Cirque Nationale, Paris, by Jakob Ignaz Hittorff, 1840
File:Fontaine1.jpg, NeoclassicalPutto of the Grande Fontaine (Avenue Léopold-Robert), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, by , 1888
File:45 Strada Nicolae Filipescu, Bucharest (04).jpg, Neoclassical Pompeian style wall in Strada Nicolae Filipescu no. 45, Bucharest, Romania, unknown architect or painter,
File:Academy of Athens Coffered Ceiling.jpg, Coffered ceiling with polychromy in front of the main entrance of the Academy of Athens, completed in 1885.

19th century maximalism

"More is more" was the aesthetic principle followed in the Victorian era. Maximalism is present in many types of Victorian era designs, like ceramics, furniture, cutlery, tableware, fashion, architecture, book illustration, clocks, etc. Despite the appetite for ornamentation, many of them remain decorated with only a few colours, especially furniture. Ceramics were the field where polychrome was widespread. Besides objects, polychrome ceramic was also present in architecture and some furniture pieces and architecture through tiles.

The objects and buildings of the 19th century shown in the galleries of this page are without any doubt impressive. Today were are delighted by their ornaments, colours, and styles. However, up to the 1960s, with the rise of Postmodernism, when people started to question Modernism and began to appreciate things from the pre-Modern past, the verdict of Victorian designs wasn't good. During the early 20th century and even when they were made, some described the Victorian age as being one that has been providing us with some of the ugliest objects that have ever been made. Descriptions like 'aesthetic monstrosities' or 'ornamental abominations' were around at the time, and it only got worse. At the end of the 19th century, Marc-Louis Solon (1835–1913), a well established ceramic designer, who worked for Minton and Company, was not unusual in commenting that the period 'bears the stamp of an unmitigated bad taste'. As time passed, negative opinions only got worse. Pioneer Modern architects Adolf Loos and Le Corbusier felt that works like this were not simply bad, they were such an affront they should have been made illegal.

File:Incense burner (brûle-parfum), by Jacob Petit, circa 1834-1848, hard-paste porcelain, painted and gilded, given by Madame Albert King, 1948, inv. 35970, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris.jpg, Rococo Revival incense burner (brûle-parfum), by , , hard-paste porcelain, painted and gilded, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris

Pair of bottles, by Jacob Petit, circa 1840, hard-paste porcelain, painted and gilded, given by Madame Albert King, 1966, inv. 40949-40950, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris.jpg, Rococo Revival pair of bottles, by Jacob Petit, , hard-paste porcelain, painted and gilded, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris

Pair of cone-shaped vases and a clock, by Nicolas Bugeard?, mid-19th century, hard-paste porcelain, painted and gilded, given by Charles Bastien, 1922, inv. 22766 A-B (vases) and 22765 (clock), Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris.jpg, Rococo Revival pair of cone-shaped vases and a clock, by Nicolas Bugeard?, mid-19th century, hard-paste porcelain, painted and gilded, Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris

Ceiling of the Salle des Sept-Cheminées in the Louvre Palace (28223543502).jpg, Neoclassical sculpted decoration on the ceiling of the Salon des Sept cheminées, Louvre Palace, Paris, by Francisque Duret, 1851

Salon Carré Ceiling.jpg, Neoclassical sculpted decoration on the ceiling of the Salon Carré, Louvre Palace, by Pierre-Charles Simart, 1851

Casino de Montecarlo, Mónaco, 2016-06-23, DD 06.jpg, Beaux Arts mosaics on the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Monaco, designed by Charles Garnier, 1879

Kendallville-indiana-architectural-detail.jpg, Polychrome architectural detail of an unidentified building in Kendallville, Indiana, USA, unknown architect, 1892

Restaurant La Cigale - déco intérieure Art Nouveau (détail 4).jpg, Interior of La Cigale, Nantes, France, designed by Émile Libaudière, and decorated with sculptures by Émile Gaucher and paintings by Georges Levreau, 1895

Polychrome brickwork

Polychrome brickwork is a style of architectural brickwork which emerged in the 1860s and used bricks of different colours (brown, cream, yellow, red, blue, and black) in patterned combinations to highlight architectural features. These patterns were made around window arches or were just applied on walls. It was often used to replicate the effect of quoining. Early examples featured banding, with later examples exhibiting complex diagonal, criss-cross, and step patterns, in some cases even writing using bricks. Elements of glazed ceramic with details were also used for more complex ornaments.

All Saints Margaret Street Interior 2, London, UK - Diliff.jpg, Interior of All Saints, Margaret Street, London, 1850–1859, by William Butterfield

Shenstone-House,-Edgbaston,-Birmingham---John-Henry-Chamberlain.jpg, Ampton Road no. 12, Edgbaston, Birmingham, the UK, by John Henry Chamberlain, 1855

Dijon Villa PERNOT 05.jpg, Detail of the Pernot Biscuit Factory (Rue Courtepée no. 10–18), Dijon, France, 1879

92 rue du Ranelagh, Paris 16e 3.jpg, Facade of the (now) Suriname Embassy ( Rue du Ranelagh no. 94), Paris, unknown architect, 1885

Maison 58 avenue Minimes Vincennes 2.jpg, Avenue des Minimes no. 58, Vincennes, France, by Victor Francione, 1905

Romanian Revival style

In the Kingdom of Romania, the Romanian Revival style appeared at the end of the 19th century. It is the Romanian equivalent of the National Romantic style that was popular at the same time in Northern Europe. The movement is heavily inspired by Brâncovenesc architecture, a style that was popular in Wallachia in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Interiors of houses in this style built before WW1 are often decorated with a variety of bright colours. In the case of a few buildings, the polychrome extends on the exterior too, through the use of colorful glazed ceramic tiles. The style became more popular in the 20th century. A Romanian Revival house that stands out through its variety of colours is the Gheorghe Petrașcu House ( Piața Romană no. 5) in Bucharest, by Spiru Cegăneanu, 1912

11 Strada Logofătul Udriște, Bucharest (05).jpg, Gheorghe Ionescu-Gion House (Strada Logofătul Udriște no. 11), Bucharest, Romania, by Ion N. Socolescu, 1889

3-5 Strada Icoanei, Bucharest (48).jpg, Central Girls' School, Bucharest, by Ion Mincu, 1890

File:5 Piața Romană, Bucharest (04).jpg, Ceiling of the Gheorghe Petrașcu House (Piața Romană no. 5), Bucharest, by Spiru Cegăneanu, 1912

File:5 Piața Romană, Bucharest (19).jpg, Ceiling of the Gheorghe Petrașcu House, Bucharest, by Spiru Cegăneanu, 1912

20th century

In the twentieth century there were notable periods of polychromy in architecture, from the expressions of Art Nouveau throughout Europe, to the international flourishing of Art Deco or Art Moderne, to the development of postmodernism in the latter decades of the century. During these periods, brickwork, stone, tile, stucco, and metal facades were designed with a focus on the use of new colors and patterns, while architects often looked for inspiration to historical examples ranging from Islamic tilework to English Victorian brick.

Before World War I

At the beginning of the 20th century, before the world wars, Revivalism (including Neoclassicism and the Gothic Revival) and eclecticism of historic styles were very popular in design and architecture. Many of the things said about the 19th century are still in this period. Many of the buildings from this period have their interiors decorated with colours, through tiles, mosaics, stuccos, or murals. When it comes to exteriors, most polychrome facades are decorated with ceramic tiles.

Art Nouveau was also in fashion during the 1900s all over the Western world. However, it fragmented by 1911 and from then it steadily faded, until it disappeared with WW1. Some regular Art Nouveau buildings have their facades decorated with colourful glazed ceramic ornaments. The colours used are often more earthy and faded compared to the intense ones used by Neoclassicism. Compared to other movements in design and architecture, Art Nouveau was one with different versions in multiple countries. The Belgian and French form is characterized by organic shapes, ornaments taken from the plant world, sinuous lines, asymmetry (especially when it comes to objects design), the whiplash motif, the ''femme fatale'', and other elements of nature. In Austria, Germany and the UK, it took a more stylized geometric form, as a form of protest towards revivalism and eclecticism. The geometric ornaments found in Gustav Klimt's paintings and in the furniture of Koloman Moser are representative of the Vienna Secession (Austrian Art Nouveau). In some countries, artists found inspiration in national tradition and folklore. In the UK for example, multiple silversmiths used interlaces taken from Celtic art. Similarly, Hungarian, Russian, and Ukrainian architects used polychromatic folkloric motifs on their buildings, usually through colourful ceramic ornaments.

Bakery, Rue du Pasteur-Wagner, Paris, 2016.jpg, Rococo RevivalBoulangerie ( Boulevard Beaumarchais no. 28), Paris, 1900, by Benoit et fils
Alphonse mucha, boutique fouquet, 1899, 02.JPG, French Bijouterie Fouquet
Musée Carnavalet">Art Nouveau
Bijouterie Fouquet
Musée Carnavalet, Paris, by Alphonse Mucha,
Clement massier.jpg, French Art NouveauVase, by Clément Massier, , lusterware, Jason Jacques Gallery, New York
14 Avenue Gallieni, Courbevoie (01).jpg, French Art NouveauAvenue Gallieni no. 14, Courbevoie, France, by Eugène Coulon, 1903–1904
Douai Rue Pollinchove -Façade tournesol -1902André Pépe Architecte.jpg, French Art NouveauRue Jean-Bellegambe no. 21, Douai, France, by Pepe Albert, 1904
Entrée dun immeuble art nouveau (Paris) (4807519051).jpg, French Art NouveauEntrance decorated with glazed tiles of the Les Chardons Building (Rue Eugène-Manuel no. 2), Paris, 1903, by Charles Klein
Будинок земства P1230868 пл. Конституції, 2.jpg, Ukrainian Art NouveauPoltava Reginal Administrative Building, Poltava, Ukraine, by Vasyl Krychevsky, 1903–1907
Michael powolny e bertold löffler, putto con cornucopia, vienna 1912 ca.jpg, Austrian Art NouveauPutto with two cornucopias with floral cascades, by Michael Powolny, designed in , produced in 1912, ceramic, Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Moscow Khavskaya Old Believers Church asv2021-08 img2.jpg, Russian RevivalWindow of the Church of the Theotokos of Tikhvin, Moscow, by Nikolay Martyanov, 1911–1912
18 Calea Dorobanților, Bucharest (04).jpg, Moorish RevivalCeiling in the Filitti House ( no. 18), Bucharest, by Ernest Doneaus,
3 Piața Romană, Bucharest (16).jpg, Beaux ArtsStucco with putti on a ceiling in Piața Romană no. 3, Bucharest, by Siegfired Kofsinski and C. Crețoiu, 1912

Modernism

During the interwar period and the middle of the 20th century, Modernism was in fashion. To Modernists, form was more important than ornament, so solid blocks of strong colour were often used to emphasize shape and create contrast. Primary colours and black and white were preferred. This is really the case of the Dutch De Stijl movement, which began in 1917. The style involved reducing an object (whether a painting or a design) to its essentials, using only black, white and primary colours, and a simple geometry of straight lines and planes. Gerrit Rietveld's Red and Blue Chair (1917–1918) and Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht (1924) show this use of colour. Polychromy in Modernist design was not limited to De Stijl. The Unité d'habitation, a residential housing typology developed by Le Corbusier, has some flat colourful parts.

Some Art Deco objects, buildings and interiors stand out through their polychromy and use of intense colours. Fauvism, with its highly saturated colours, like the paintings of Henri Matisse, was an influence for some Art Deco designers. Another influence for polychromy were the Ballets Russes. Leon Bakst's stage designs filled Parisian artistic circles with enthusiasm for bright colours.

Despite their lack of ornamentation, multiple Mid-century modern designs, like Lucienne Day's textiles, Charles and Ray Eames's Hang-It-All coat hanger (1953), or Irving Harper's Marshmallow sofa (1956), are decorated with colours. Aside from individual objects, mid-century modern interiors were also quite colourful. This was also caused by the fact that after WW2, plastics became increasingly popular as a material for kitchenware and kitchen units, light fixtures, electrical appliances and toys, and by the fact that plastic could be produced in a wide range of colours, from jade green to red.

Gerrit thomas rietveld, red-blue chair, 1946-56 ca.jpg, De Stijl Red and Blue Chair, by Gerrit Rietveld, 1917, lacquered wood, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA

Theo van Doesburg brick mosaic.jpg, De StijlPanel of polychrome bricks on the exterior of the , a house in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, by Theo van Doesburg, 1917–1919

Paris 10e Cinéma Le Louxor 965.jpg, alt=Mix of Egyptian Revival and Art Deco: Le Louxor Cinema, Paris, 1919–1921, by Henri Zipcy, Mix of Egyptian Revival and Art Deco: Cinema, Paris, by Henri Zipcy, 1919–1921

File:KiMo Albuquerque.jpg, Mix of Pueblo Revival and Art Deco (Pueblo Deco): KiMo Theater, Albuquerque, US, by the Boller Brothers, 1927

26 Bulevardul Hristo Botev, Bucharest (05).jpg, Art DecoFloor in the entrance hall of Bulevardul Hristo Botev no. 26, Bucharest, unknown architect, 1930s

File:27 Strada Pitar Moș, Bucharest (04).jpg, Art DecoMarble facing in the entrance hall of Strada Pitar Moș no. 27–29, Bucharest, by Sandy Herivan, 1931–1933

Immeuble Art Déco, quai Louis Blériot (44446833331).jpg, Art DecoMosaics on the facade of Quai Louis-Blériot no. 40, Paris, by Marteroy & Bonnel, 1932

Unité d'habitation de Firminy.jpg, International StyleUnité d'habitation, Marseille, France, by Le Corbusier, 1952

Circular.jpg, Mid-century modern Marshmallow sofa, by Irving Harper for George Nelson Associates, 1956, metal frame with round discs of covered foam, unknown location

Fusterlandia 2019 november.jpg, Fusterlandia, Havana, Cuba

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases