ARTH488U

This colloquium explores the concept of color in the ancient Greco-Roman world from prehistory to the height of the Roman Empire. We will trace where, when, and how different hues were employed in movable works (of clay, stone, wood, etc.) and in the built environment, examine accounts of visual perception and pigments by ancient authors, evaluate modern modes of excavation, analysis, interpretation, and reconstruction, and grapple with complex issues surrounding the longstanding ideal of a "white-marble" Classical past.