Polychrome

As polychromy ( variegation ) the applied in painting, crafts, sculpture and architecture color design is called.

The polychromy is found in almost every era and culture areas, as in the Egyptian pyramids, the Minoan palaces, in Greek and Roman temples, Islamic domes, in medieval art and the decorative figures of Indian Hindu temples. The stone sculpture of the Renaissance, however, the single color ( monochrome ) prevailed, which remained dominant in the Baroque and Classicism. In the second half of the 19th century, polychrome broke back alley and spread, especially after the Second World War in film, advertising, pop art and sculpture.

In recent decades, the colors of antique Greek and Roman sculpture, but also the color version of the Romanesque and Gothic sculpture of the churches has been investigated. It also reconstructions for the color of the sculptures were made by the Temple of Aphaia the Greek island of Aegina and published color reproductions of the sculpture of the Cathedral of Amiens.

The opposite of polychromy is monochrome.