What is polychrome?
Polychrome literally means “many-coloured” (Greek poly = many, chroma = colour). In building and restoration it describes facades, interiors, sculpture and ornament made up of several colours. The opposite is monochrome: one colour.
The application of colour to a building is called polychromy. That can be done with paint layers, but equally with coloured materials: different types of brick, natural stone, fired or glazed tiles, mosaic and stained glass.
Polychromy through building history
- Classical antiquity. The white marble temples and statues we know were originally brightly painted. That paint has almost entirely vanished; the “white” image of antiquity is a misunderstanding that was only overturned in the 19th century by pigment analysis.
- The Middle Ages. Romanesque and Gothic church interiors were richly painted — vault ribs, capitals, figures and altarpieces. The bare masonry often seen today is usually the result of later limewashing and of 19th- and 20th-century “purifications”.
- The 19th century. The revival styles deliberately brought polychromy back. Think of the banded courses of brick and stone in the Gothic Revival, and the coloured brickwork patterns of the later 19th century.
- Art nouveau and the early 20th century. Glazed tile panels, coloured glass and coloured pointing as part of the architectural concept.
Why it matters in restoration
On a listed building the historic colour scheme is part of its heritage value. Before anything is painted or repointed, therefore, comes paint analysis: by carefully peeling back layer by layer at chosen locations (a paint ladder) or by microscopic cross-section examination, the sequence of finishes is recorded.
Practical rules that follow from this:
1. Do not overpaint before investigating. Every new layer makes later analysis harder and can damage the old layer mechanically when it is removed.
2. Vapour-open finishes. Historic polychromy on lime plaster calls for limewash or silicate paint, not a vapour-tight synthetic paint.
3. Document it. Record the layers found with samples and photographs; that documentation is indispensable at the next intervention.
Related terms
- Paint analysis
- Fresco
- Ornament
- Gothic Revival
- Architectural style
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