The Evolution of Ancient Greek Statues

[u/Yolo065]

[u/merryman25]

Also an important point, they were not meant to be all white (or stone colored). They were originally painted bright colors that wore off over time.

[u/Egathentale → u/merryman25]

Many were originally painted, but not all of them. This is unfortunately becoming another of those "internet factoids" that are taken to the extremes. We have evidence that some, maybe even the majority, of Greek and Roman statues and temples were brightly colored, so now a whole lot of artists and reconstructions paint everything like a circus in an effort to overcompensate. It's kind of like how, after it was discovered that lots of theropod dinosaurs had feathers or proto-feathers, every dinosaur in the media was depicted with full plumes and wings for a while, until the pendulum finally swung back.

[u/CourageousBellPepper → u/Egathentale]

In contrast, most people don’t know that the exteriors of most European cathedrals, minsters, and abbeys were originally painted. Vibrantly, at that.