Faded Details

We’ve all seen things fade over time. From an old car who’s hue has lost that freshly painted look, to a piece of printed material that is so sun bleached, that it is now illegible. While in ancient Rome, I was able to examine a great number of moldings and architectural forms up close. Some of these details that were once very high up in the air, are now on the ground and easy to access. And by examining them up close, you can see the details the ancient builders found important, a crisp picture. On careful examination, I realize that many of the “traditional” moldings we use are like the faded photo equivalent of the original artisans intent. These old details were often cut much deeper than we would cut them today, resulting in much sharper contrast between light and shadow, this “boldness” of form was no doubt a riskier and more labor intensive proposition than the much shallower reliefs we see today, but to my eye appears more rich. I see also that we must lose some of the details completely when we miniaturize a thing as we do now. A decent example of what I’m talking about is here with the “egg and dart” molding. If you look carefully, you will notice the eggs are carved very deeply, and right around the back, this makes them more fragile, but also makes them pop out in a way that lends them lightness despite their massive size. As time slips by, the fine details of intricate design have often faded, sometimes leaving only their outline for the viewer to discern, giving the idea of intent, but not necessarily the whole picture that could have been seen long ago.

Have you noticed this effect? When looking at an old woodturning maybe? Or perhaps the intricate metal shaping on an old car? Lets talk about what differences you see when comparing the old to the new.