The Myth of Whiteness in Classical Sculpture

Margaret Talbot | The New Yorker | 29th October 2018

The “ardour for whiteness”. Ancient sculptures were brightly painted, some even gaudy. Paint loss over the centuries gradually led to the assumption that they were created in white marble. This is likely now a world lost to us – even with technology restoration is not possible. Besides, to modern tastes, we may well think the results ghastly.