Project « Polychrome : the colours of roman sculptures revealed »

This project, directed by Elisabetta Neri (Post-doctorate student at the Universities of Liege and Florence), is investigating the social significance of colour in Roman times. It focuses on the analysis of traces of polychrome on statues from the Roman era. Invisible to the naked eye, they are uncovered using imaging techniques under different light sources (infrared, UV, etc.). Physico-chemical analyses are conducted to identify the composition of the pigments.

Five of Mariemont’s Roman sculptures were examined using this method, notably a bust in the effigy of the god Serapis found in Rome. In addition to identifying the pigments and techniques, in-depth research is conducted into the history of these objects, from their discovery until their arrival at Mariemont. The 3D digitalization of the works is currently underway with the aim of creating a three-dimensional model of each sculpture incorporating all the polychrome data. This will be used for scientific and educational purposes.