Reconstruction of ancient Greek painting in the context of modern digital technologies

The reconstruction of a painting consists of such stages as:

1. Reconstruction of the composition;

2. Reconstruction of the drawing;

3. Reconstruction of the painting system.

Reconstruction of a the composition consists of such stages as:

1. Research of surviving artifacts and selection of the most repeated compositional techniques;

2. Clarification of such elements of the composition as:

a) format;

b) the height of the horizon line;

c) minor figures and details.

Reconstruction of a drawing consists of such stages as:

1) Compilation of extant artifacts that match the descriptions of ancient authors.

2) Reconstruction of the drawing based on the resulting image.

Painting reconstruction consists of such stages as:

1) Determination of the coloristic solution based on antique samples;

2) Creation of a project of layered classical painting with fixation of all intermediate layers.

Figure 1. The scheme of the stages of work in the reconstruction of the figure of Aphrodite Apelles (Developed by the authors)

An example is the unusual work of Apelles: "Aphrodite Anadiomene." Here we see a methodology that, from our point of view, allows us to reconstruct the image of the goddess. We are practically convinced of the main figure. The most numerous descriptions, copies, and interpretations refer to the image of Aphrodite Anadiomene. Two sculptural copies that match the epigrams and descriptions of Pliny the Elder: "Aphrodite Cyprene", who returned to Libya in 2008, and "Aphrodite Anadiomene", located in the National Museum of Rome. E. Rothenberg wrote about the statue of Aphrodite of Cyrene: The statue depicted Aphrodite emerging from the water and squeezing wet hair, as depicted in the famous painting of the great Greek artist Apelles. Unfortunately, the head and arms of the statue did not survive [216, 275]. The most informative copy is "Aphrodite Anadiomene" from the National Museum of Rome, because she not only held her hands, but also her curled hair. The head of Aphrodite has been preserved in the interpretation of "Aphrodite of Rhodes", as well as in the form of numerous figurines. When refining the portrait of "Aphrodite Anadomena" by Apelles, one should pay attention to Praxiteles' sculpture "Aphrodite of Cnidus", which undoubtedly depicts a portrait of Phryne, who inspired Apelles and Praxiteles, famous friends, to create masterpieces. painting and sculpture. It is known that Protogen wrote an essay in two volumes "On the art of painting and schemes" [3]. The academic school of drawing, composition, and color harmony, dating back to its ancient origins, was based on schematics designed by prominent artists and sculptors of ancient Greece. The "limited palette" of ancient Greek artists consisted of only four colors, which made it possible to create a harmonious, rich, and refined painting. We can systematize four colors (red, yellow, white, and black) in a square of colors (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. Scheme color square. (Developed by the authors)

Such a color harmony scheme could be in Protogen's treatise. The square of colors (Fig.2) of ancient Greek painting is a simple and understandable scheme for the harmonious combination of nuances of complementary colors. Unlike Goethe's color wheel, which includes two spectral color triads without black, the Color Square (Fig. 2) contains the basic information needed for classical painting, which cannot exist without black paint. The square of flowers (Fig. 2) is intended for artists, taking into account the specific requirements of classical painting, and consists of 25 squares. The corner squares are in the primary colors. The black color of the Square of Flowers (Fig. 2) is located in the lower right corner and performs the same function as the blue color of the Goethe Color Wheel or Otto Runge's Color Sphere, but with a quality result that is more harmonious for classical painting. Black paint mixed with white paint in varying proportions produces blue-gray shades.

The application of layers of white paint over gray imprimature gives a bluish tint. White is in the lower-leftlower left corner. Red is in the top left corner. The yellow color of the Square of Flowers (fig. 2). is in the upper right corner. Three transition tones connect each of the four colors with its neighbor. The transitional tones of complementary colors are conveniently located opposite each other along the vertical and horizontal axes. A remarkable characteristic of the Square of Colors (Fig. 2) is that additional pairs of face shades are already in a different tonal state, which is necessary for their harmonious combination. The transition from yellow to white and from red to black is carried out diagonally. On the diagonal axes, harmonious chords of contrasting color nuances are also found. We know four primary colors and intermediate tones. Thanks to the technology of Byzantine iconography, we have an idea of how the ancient Greeks used layers of paint and what types of mixtures. And eventually, we can intuitively understand how it works.

This is because there are certain artistic rules that justify the use of light and shadow depending on the lighting and pose of the model:

1. After the drawing was completed (fig.la), Apelles had to draw the silhouette of the figure in olive tone (fig.lb). The reason for this layer is to create a mid-tonemid tone that will simulate midtones between highlights and shadows. The hair is colored brown (Fig. 1b).

2. The next step is to cover the surface of the body with a flesh tone slightly lighter than the previous layer. In the case of lighter brown hair (Fig. 1c).

3. With the same flesh color, but slightly lighter, more illuminated areas stand out. This procedure is repeated three times with less and less occupied area. And at the end of everything, small strokes of almost white color are placed (Fig. 1c).

4. Then the reddish parts of the body, for example, on the cheeks, are painted with transparent red ocher. The work is then combined with a very transparent layer of yellow ocher, and the shadows with a dark brown transparent (Fig. 1c).

Unfortunately, historiographers of the past have left us no mention of the size and proportion of the work. We can only draw conclusions based on secondary information. We can assume that Apelles' painting was of considerable size. Most likely - the height of a person. This hypothesis is supported by many stories commented by the Roman historians themselves. We have the words of a historiographer how charming Aphrodite Apelles was. In the art world, there is an ancient aesthetic rule according to which a human figure cannot be life-size, it must be slightly larger or smaller. Thus, the Greeks had to follow this. We get a working height of 1.70 - 1.60 m. Following Pliny's words at that moment, the Goddess emerges from the sea. Logically, the format for a standing figure will be vertical.

Currently, two techniques of ancient Greek painting are known - tempera and encaustic. The most important works that the Greek craftsmen created were performed in a more advanced and significant technique - encaustic. This is a technique where the base of the colorful paste is beeswax. Even Pliny does not comment on the technique directly used in the painting. But he mentions that he saw the work in person. About 400 years have passed since its creation. The painting was exhibited in the open air according to the Hellenistic tradition. It is also noted that the bottom edge of the board has already been worn out. But not a picture. All indications are that Aphrodite was painted using this magnificent technique, which has great resistance to corrosion. This is due to the material used. The Greeks secretly used special mixtures of refined wax "Punic wax" with other ingredients. Some cleaning recipes can be found in the works of Pliny himself.

We can see different ways of using the same material. Some are rough and full of cautery marks, but some appear very even and smooth. It can be assumed that one of the most famous works of history was made in athe second way. Thus, there was no way for Apelles to create a stretch of color in one encaustic layer. This is due to the form of application. For this reason, the Greeks developed a very specific technique that solved this problem for both techniques. Thus, we have almost all the pieces of this puzzle.

Results and discussions