As a Western Society, we are products of the Renaissance's fascination and deification of Classical Antiquity.

Augustus of Prima marble

 Large sections of our cultural values and what 'good taste' and 'class' comprise of are directly influenced by the romantic view of Ancient Greece and Rome that the educated upper classes held. The way they imitated the ancient artists and scholars shapes what we today view as 'beautiful' art. With the exploration of Roman art, our Renaissance ancestors discovered and prized the beautiful white statues that they uncovered of goddesses and emperors. Noting the skill involved, they in turn developed their own ways of improving and refining sculpture, but stayed true to the fine materials and ascetic - choosing pristine white marble for their own creations. The effect is beautiful and versatile and these pieces - ancient and later - are prized in countless galleries and country houses across Europe and beyond. Because of our appreciation of this aesthetic, this is how we believe sculpture should be achieved in traditional form, and we celebrate the Ancient Greek and Roman's 'refined' taste.

However, it seems that the reality of Ancient taste contrast jarringly with what we nowadays view as 'classical' sculpture...in fact we've been conditioned to view the reality as really quite garish.

Introducing the painted statues of Ancient Greece and Rome:

Augustus of Prima painted replica

 Countless Ancient status have been unearthed over the years, but when one was found with what appeared to be ancient paint pigments still clinging to its surface archaeologists and scientists banded together to analyse what this meant for our view of ancient art. One of the pigments in question was 'Egyptian Blue' and, through using advanced ultraviolet techniques to deconstruct what colours remained on the statue, it was identified to be a mix of skin colour - having been added in small amounts to pinks, whites and yellows to create a 'realistic' tone.

Realistically painted version of Caligula (31-37AD)
Reconstruction by Matthew Brennan, Virtual World Heritage Laboratory.

The above sculpture of Caligula, for example, was already very rare, being one of only two complete statues of the infamous emperor. When the University of Virginia set about trying to discover more about how this statue was coloured, the historical significance was poignant. Through colour analysis they discovered that Caligula is likely to have had brown hair. The use of gilt patterns shows some of the opulence of the statues and goes some way to explaining, for example, how they must have affected the subjected populations in the cities that displayed them. These pagan or political images were not imposing but ultimately blank slabs of white, but were instead bold, loud and potentially even lifelike.

“It is interesting to think about what kind of charge [these statues] must have had for Jews of the time,” commented Peter Schertz, a curator at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: “Jewish prohibition against idolatrous images must have made the appearance of classical statues both very frightful and, for some, somewhat seductive.”

Through all the various studies of these ancient statues, Ultraviolet light has been especially useful in discerning patterns and in the occasions when colours were visible. However to track each colour sometimes the scientists had to analyse deeper down to the very chemical compounds that made each pigment.

 In  galleries and auction houses often valuable old paintings are analysed to determine authenticity, and one manner is to look for particular organic elements in the paint pigments. Hundreds or even thousands of years ago, particular plants and materials were used to create particular colours and their presence shows that the art in question is the genuine article. In the same way, those studying the statues could work backwards by identifying what organic elements were present in the pigments: get the right combination and you would be able to identify what colour was used in that area.

We might ask why bother with such expensive material as marble if one was only going to paint it and, really, it's difficult to be sure. Some academics have suggested that the paint may have been fine enough to have enhanced the natural luminescence of the marble. Others suggest that the quality of the material was focused more on allowing for greater quality of sculpture, and that painting the already expensive material was seen to enhance its beauty and value spiritually rather than detract form it, even if it did hide some of the marble's attractive plain elements.

Painted ancient statues are now. admittedly, quite old news: Vinzenz Brinkmann and Ulricke Koch-Brinkmann, for example, have spent over 20 years studying and painstakingly recreating classical statues to bring together this revelation...yet it is always quite a shock to the modern observer to see such a rejection of the colourless marble art that we know and love. It certainly goes to prove that the ancient world was never dull.

Istanbul Museum recreation of the Alexander Sarcophagus

Sources
- BBC4 Treasures of Ancient Rome
- True Colours
- The Ugly Truth
- Weird Science uncovers ancient art's true colours
- Was this Roman Sculpture of Gaius Caligula Painted?
- Greek Statues and their Technicolour Dreamcoats

I, like many ladies of the world, love Pride and Prejudice.

I generally dislike pure romances in books and films, but there's something completely charming about Jane Austen's love story about those two stubborn yet charismatic idiots. Without fail, the modern 2005 version always manages to make me feel all gooey inside.
If you've seen the film, then one of the prettiest pieces of cinamatography is the moment when Elizabeth Bennet goes exploring in the sculpture gallery of Mr.Darcy's home.

Keira Knightly in Pride and Predjudice (2005)

The remarkable room actually does exist almost completely unchanged (dodgy Darcy bust aside) and belongs to the beautiful Chatsworth House. As the manor house sits practically on my front door in Derbyshire, I decided to finally give it a visit.


Chatsworth House was originally built in 1553 by 'Bess' of Hardwick

A middle-aged Bess of Hardwick

A tenacious lady of the modest gentry and of unremarkable beauty, Bess lived through the Reformation, survived Mary Tudor's reign despite her family's allegiances to Elizabeth 1st, and thrived under the Virgin Queen. She had four husbands and built herself up to become one of the most important and well connected women in the country. 

While Chatsworth and its large estate was her legacy, over the years it has been through many changes, surviving to the modern day largely due to it's adaptability. When bombs over Sheffield threatened the house in the world wars Chatsworth responded by converting itself into a home for the schoolchildren of Penrhos college and by converting large sections of its grounds over to vegetable patches for the 'dig for victory' movement. In modern times Chatsworth openes to the public, hosts multiple events throughout the year, and remains an agricultural hub.  Time and time again debts and crippling death-duties have threatened to pull the house away from private ownership, but the families of Chatsworth have always managed to make the sacrifices required to hold on to it by the skin of their teeth.

The twin family property of Hardwick Hall had to be handed over to national ownership, but Chatsworth house is still in private hands for domestic use. As society marches onwards and the old world gentry lifestyle becomes perhaps less and less popular, the people of Chatsworth have worked hard to make sure that the manor house remains relevant.


 As soon as you step across the threshold there is no doubt of Chatsworth's value as a great hub for countless precious works of art.


The family has collected works of art throughout it's entire history, with the peak of collecting during the 'Bachelor Duke's tenancy in the mid 1800s. As you walk around the house you are greeted with stunning old-world architecture mixed with huge and beautiful geological specimens, centuries-old sketches by the Great Masters, ancient Egyptian statues and graceful sculpture, luxurious interior decoration and modern contemporary art pieces that have been included by the current Duchess and Duke.

One of the many painted ceilings at Chatsworth *

The public route of the house first takes you through the north sub corridor and leads on to the Painted Hall.

The North Sub Corridor originally acted as a  colonade which would shelter visitors as they walked across the courtyard, but a few too many chill and windy days inspired the 6th Duke (1790-1858) to enclose it as a room of it's own. He inlaid it with an intricately decorated marble pavement from Rome which now offsets beautifully with the other marbles in the house.

The Painted Hall is one of the most stunning rooms, with a great central staircase leading up to mezzanine balconies all around the edge of the room. The crowning glory of the space is the intricate and colourfully painted ceiling murals which are joined by many baroque painted imitations of woodwork and plasterwork that blend seamlessly alongside their real-life counter parts.

The Painted Hall *

Passing through the Chapel Corridor and the 'Oak Room', you then emerge in Chatsworth's own private Chapel.

 The Chapel is a protestant one and has remained largely unchanged since the first duke designed it in 1687-93. During this time the duke felt under threat by the Catholic King James I, so he designed the room so that the main carvings on the alterpiece depicted Faith and Justice: representing the balance between church and state.
While one of the smaller rooms, it is close to the family's heart and is still used on special occasions. For example, the current Duchess' granddaughter, Maud Cavendish, was christened in the room.

Chatsworth Chapel *

 Ascend the stairs and you soon come to a network of bedrooms, including the State Room.

 The first duke has high hopes that King William III and Mary II would visit him at Chatsworth a significant portion of his design choices (and no small expense!) was based around this expectation. Unfortunately the King and Queen never visited Chatsworth and never made use of the state rooms that he had put such careful thought in to.These rooms, nevertheless, are still designed to dazzle. One particularly impressive piece of art is the 'violin door' a trompe l'oeil - or optical illusion - by the Dutch artist Jan van ser Vaardt (c1653-1727). I challenge anyone to not think it's real when they first spot it!

The Violin Door

Later in the house's history the state rooms and the adjoining bedrooms would play host to guests, both illustrious and less remarkable. Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens are known to have stayed in Chatsworth, but also the state drawing room acted as the dormitory when the girls of Penrhos college relocated to Chatsworth during WW2. Currently (in 2014) this room has been converted back to how it would have looked at this time.  Plain Wooden panels are inset a few inches in in order to protect the lavish walls and lines of 1940s dormitory beds have been fished out storage to recreate the snug, functional sleeping quarters. While residency in the draughty manor house wasn't perfect for all involved, the girls enjoyed the novelty and even ice-skated on the 'Emperor Lake'.

Students skating on Emperor Lake, from the 'Chatsworth in Wartime' exhibition

As you walk on to the 'Old Masters Drawing Cabinet' and the various sketch galleries, it becomes apparent just how large Chatsworth's art collection really is.

The family of Chatsworth have been collecting for 16 generations and there is no shortage of taste when you view the sheer extent and quality of the collection on display. The old masters drawing cabinet is a comparitively tiny room, but it is full to the brim with wall to ceiling sketches from the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Remembrandt and Guercino.

In the adjoining South Sketch Gallery the room opens out again and is a homage to the 5th Ducess Georgiana. The most striking portrait is one of the lady herself, recently restored in all it's vibrant hues of blue, posing the duchess as the Goddess Diana.

Georgiana as Diana after restoration in 2009. Painted by Maria Cosway (1760-1838) *

While the sketch galleries are a treasure trove of art of the old masters and beyond, the North Sketch gallery is a confident display of the current Duke and Duchess' love for modern art and their desire to contribute to the ongoing collection. The North sketch gallery is a relatively narrow corridor which has now been handed over to display the installation of a DNA family portrait by Jacob van der Beugal. The countless panels are ceramic and depicts the family through an arrangement that imitates their real life DNA patterns.

Part of the DNA wall © Courtesy Chatsworth

 
Soon enough you reach the real show-piece for any bibliophiles who care to visit: the library.

According to the guidebook, there are over 30,000 books at Chatsworth, even after many of the collection (including some original Shakespeare folios) unfortunately had to be sold to raise money following the death duties incurred by the 10th and 11th dukes' passings. Illuminated manuscripts, original works by Thomas Hobbs and more art books of the old masters are among the well worn volumes. In the adjoining Ante-Library there is the striking veiled statue of the Vestal Virgin by Raffaele Monti, snug amongst the books.

Chatsworth library *

Moving on from the library you find yourself in the Great Dining Room

This is where the hardworking people who run and clean Chatsworth can really shine with the stunning table displays, which often change and act as their very own exhibitions. The first dinner to be held here was for the 13 year old princess Victoria as her first adult dinner, and it is still used as a hosting area on very special occasions to this day.

The dining hall

The final stop in the house (before the inevitable gift shop) is the stunning Sculpture Gallery

As I mentioned before, this room is perhaps the most famous due to its appearance in Pride and Prejudice, but it should be viewed as a stunning collection of art in its own right. The 6th Duke is largely behind these sculptures which were, for him, modern art that imitated the classical style. In 2009 the room was rearranged so that all his original sculptures sit together again as he has intended.
 While the only sculpture of great age is the bust of Alexander the Great (tastefully yellowed against the soft white of it's neighbours), the sculptures are still things of beauty and skill, draped on plinths inlaid with colourful minerals. My personal favourite piece is the sleeping lion that guards the exit. This was one of the pair of huge felines that Antonio Canova (11757-1822) carved as copies of the two lions made for the tomb of Pope Clement XIII at St Peter's in Rome.

The sleeping lion of Chatsworth *

 As you leave Chatsworth House there is much more to explore....

The large gardens are a beautiful place for a picnic and parkland, and elsewhere on the estate you can find the garden centre and farm shop, showing that the house will always be a buzzing business.

At the end of this month, on the 31st August,  the estate opens up once again  to Chatsworth's annual show, which I'm looking forward to exploring too.

Overall, Chatsworth is a fascinating and beautiful piece of living, evolving history and I encourage you to visit should you ever find yourselves in Derbyshire.




Sources
-Pictures marked with * are ones that I have taken myself during my visit in August 2014
-Your Guide to Chatsworth  - the guidebook for 2014
-Chatsworth Official Website
-Chatsworth Wikipedia (inevitably) 
-Bess of Hardwick by Mary S Lovell