The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (379 page)
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polychrome
.
.
Term meaning ‘painted in many colours’ applied in art historical writing particularly to sculpture treated in this fashion. Until the
Renaissance
the practice was extremely common, whether the colours were conventionalized, as in much ancient art, or more or less naturalistic, as became more common during the Middle Ages, but because of fading of the pigments the colouring is rarely obvious today. Spain has a particularly rich tradition of polychrome sculpture (see
ENCARNADO
).
Renaissance
the practice was extremely common, whether the colours were conventionalized, as in much ancient art, or more or less naturalistic, as became more common during the Middle Ages, but because of fading of the pigments the colouring is rarely obvious today. Spain has a particularly rich tradition of polychrome sculpture (see
ENCARNADO
).
Polyclitus
(or Polycletus) of Argos
(or Polycletus) of Argos
(active
c.
450–
c.
420 BC). One of the most celebrated of Greek sculptors. No original works by him survive, but several are known through Roman copies. He is now best known for his
Doryphorus
(Spear Carrier), the best copy of which is in the Archaeological Museum in Naples. In this figure he is said to have embodied the system of mathematical proportions on which he wrote a book, and the statue—long regarded as a standard for ideal male beauty—is sometimes referred to as ‘The Canon’. Copies also exist of a
Diadumenus
(a youth wreathing a band round his head) by Polyclitus and of an Amazon with which, according to
Pliny
, he defeated
Phidias
in a competition. In antiquity his greatest work was held to be the colossal
chryselephantine
statue of Hera in her temple—the Heraeum—near Argos. It is now known only through descriptions and representations on coins, but ancient writers compared it favourably with Phidias' statue of Zeus at Olympia. Strabo said the Zeus was more magnificent but the Hera more beautiful in workmanship.
c.
450–
c.
420 BC). One of the most celebrated of Greek sculptors. No original works by him survive, but several are known through Roman copies. He is now best known for his
Doryphorus
(Spear Carrier), the best copy of which is in the Archaeological Museum in Naples. In this figure he is said to have embodied the system of mathematical proportions on which he wrote a book, and the statue—long regarded as a standard for ideal male beauty—is sometimes referred to as ‘The Canon’. Copies also exist of a
Diadumenus
(a youth wreathing a band round his head) by Polyclitus and of an Amazon with which, according to
Pliny
, he defeated
Phidias
in a competition. In antiquity his greatest work was held to be the colossal
chryselephantine
statue of Hera in her temple—the Heraeum—near Argos. It is now known only through descriptions and representations on coins, but ancient writers compared it favourably with Phidias' statue of Zeus at Olympia. Strabo said the Zeus was more magnificent but the Hera more beautiful in workmanship.
polyptych
.
.
A picture or other work of art consisting of four or more leaves or panels. It was a popular form for altarpieces from the 14th cent. to the early 16th cent. Italian polyptychs of this time typically include a
predella
beneath the main panel or tier, the whole enclosed in an elaborate frame. In Northern Europe polyptychs often had panels hinged together and painted on both sides, so that they could be folded to create different pictorial compositions (sometimes ones that were appropriate for particular liturgical seasons or events). Jan van
Eyck's
Ghent Altarpiece and
Grünewald's
Isenheim Altarpiece are among the famous examples of this type. See also
DIPTYCH
,
TRIPTYCH
.
predella
beneath the main panel or tier, the whole enclosed in an elaborate frame. In Northern Europe polyptychs often had panels hinged together and painted on both sides, so that they could be folded to create different pictorial compositions (sometimes ones that were appropriate for particular liturgical seasons or events). Jan van
Eyck's
Ghent Altarpiece and
Grünewald's
Isenheim Altarpiece are among the famous examples of this type. See also
DIPTYCH
,
TRIPTYCH
.
Pomarancio, Il
.
.
Pompidou Centre
(in full, Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou). Cultural centre in Paris named after Georges Pompidou (1911–74), the President of France from 1967 to 1974. In 1969 he expressed a ‘passionate wish’ for ‘a place where the plastic arts, music, cinema, literature, audio-visual research, etc. would find a common ground’. The site chosen for the Centre was the Plateau Beaubourg (hence its colloquial name ‘Beaubourg Centre’), a once thriving area near the centre of Paris that had become derelict between the World Wars. An international competition for the building produced almost 700 submissions, including bizarre ideas such as a giant egg and an enormous hand extended towards the sky, each finger being intended to house a separate department. The winning design was submitted by the Italian-British team of Renzo Piano and Richard (later Sir Richard ) Rogers. Their huge building was constructed in 1971–7 and soon became one of the most famous sights of the city. A leading example of ‘high-tech’ architecture, it has been described as looking like a ‘crazy oil refinery’ and has attracted extremes of praise and censure. The large plaza in front of the building is conceived as part of the Centre and is the main forum for the city's street performers. Also outside the building is the ebullient Beaubourg Fountain (1980) by Jean
Tinguely
and Niki de
Saint Phalle
. The Centre is divided into various departments, including a library, an industrial design centre, and an institute for the development and promotion of avant-garde music. The largest of the departments and the main reason for the Centre's popularity is the national collection of modern art—the Musée National d'Art Moderne—which was formerly housed in the Palais de Tokyo. It was opened there in 1947, but its origins are much older, for it is the heir to the Musée du Luxembourg, opened in 1818 as a showcase for the work of living artists. Its collection of modern art is exceeded in scope and quality probably only by that of the
Museum of Modern Art
in New York.
Tinguely
and Niki de
Saint Phalle
. The Centre is divided into various departments, including a library, an industrial design centre, and an institute for the development and promotion of avant-garde music. The largest of the departments and the main reason for the Centre's popularity is the national collection of modern art—the Musée National d'Art Moderne—which was formerly housed in the Palais de Tokyo. It was opened there in 1947, but its origins are much older, for it is the heir to the Musée du Luxembourg, opened in 1818 as a showcase for the work of living artists. Its collection of modern art is exceeded in scope and quality probably only by that of the
Museum of Modern Art
in New York.
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