The myth of whiteness in classical sculpture - Greek and Roman statues were often painted, but assumptions about race and aesthetics have suppressed this truth
"Gaudy" would be the word I use to describe the painted statues. But it's funny how our perception of beauty changes over time and varies by culture. I see the pure white statues as "classy" now...
"Gaudy" would be the word I use to describe the painted statues. But it's funny how our perception of beauty changes over time and varies by culture. I see the pure white statues as "classy" now but that probably would have been considered the height of tastelessness to leave a statue in a home unpainted back in Ancient Greece/Rome. :P
I wonder if the prevalence of dye has something to do with it, too. Vibrant dyes and paints are widespread, incredibly common and cheap to produce now but back then were incredibly expensive, time consuming to produce and often impossible to acquire for all but the richest people, e.g. Tyrian Purple.
The examples they showed look a lot better in color than pure white statues do, much more vibrant and alive.
They seem almost cartoonish to me next to the plain white. Definitely a very different aesthetic.
"Gaudy" would be the word I use to describe the painted statues. But it's funny how our perception of beauty changes over time and varies by culture. I see the pure white statues as "classy" now but that probably would have been considered the height of tastelessness to leave a statue in a home unpainted back in Ancient Greece/Rome. :P
I wonder if the prevalence of dye has something to do with it, too. Vibrant dyes and paints are widespread, incredibly common and cheap to produce now but back then were incredibly expensive, time consuming to produce and often impossible to acquire for all but the richest people, e.g. Tyrian Purple.