Reflections on Colour Coding in Roman Art

Increased interest in the topic of colour on stone has provided a new way of looking at Roman art, but at the moment more questions than answers have been raised. This is due to the scanty remains of colour on ancient sculpture, to the neoclassical taste very common amongst researchers and conservators in past generations, and to the small amount of available data obtained by different methods. The difficulties inherent in physically reconstructing ancient polychromy complicate further detailed interpretation of the evidence. It has been observed that, in Roman times, different choices in the use of colour were made that can only in part be explained by naturalistic reasons, chronology or patronage. On the basis of initial results, however, it is possible to explore a part of the basic functions of colour. Some of them appear more intuitive, in accordance with the need for clear information about the subject of the image or of the figurative narration in a specific context. Others are more subtle and appear to be related to the figurative genres and functions of the iconic language: in other words, they provide evidence for long lasting codes that show only slow evolutions.