It is very common that when you think of art and especially classical Greek sculpture, images of gods carved in hard marble come to mind.Smooth, natural, inert and colourless.However, new research has shown that the Greek sculptures were far from being pale images and, rather, were brimming with brilliant colours.We suggest: The mystery of the erotic murals that dressed the royal houses in PompeiiNow, thanks to the delicate technology that the restoration teams have, we can take a look at the past of these works.In a project for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the restorers have taken it upon themselves not only to study the polychromy of the statues, but also to recreate it in order to give us an idea of ​​how the pieces looked.In addition to the use of technological tools, the MET has connected the dots from other sources such as ancient representations of people painting sculptures."We understood that the reconstruction process is the only way to really investigate an object," says Vinzenz Brinkmann, an expert on ancient polychromy and a member of the restoration team.In a tour of the reconstruction work filmed by the Museum team, the experts explain that the contrast between the pigments and the bronze or marble is very evident.While the colors fade easily with the passage of time and its impending weather conditions, marble and bronze remain resistant and almost unchanged.It is a competition between materials."Color is brittle," says Brinkmann."Easily fades."One of the biggest surprises for art historians when faced with Greek colors was that much of the aesthetic concepts, as far as color is concerned, are based on the lack of knowledge of how Greek pieces really looked.Since the 16th century, sculptors such as Michelangelo based their works on this canon free of pigment.And it went further.Since the Renaissance, the idea of ​​sophistication, rationality and seriousness has been perfectly represented by these completely white statues, without any alteration.According to Brinkmann, the aesthetic ideal continued to be reproduced for political reasons."Museums and experts did not inform the public about the colors and decorations of the statues, since the colors and decorations were to some extent limited to non-European, non-serious folk cultures," he says.Vinzenz Brinkmann together with Ulrike Koch-Brinkmann have been in charge of the project that brings colors back to sculptures.One of its motives is research itself, but another extremely important one is the dissemination of this knowledge that had been hidden for many years.The curator assures that "reconstruction is the most powerful educational tool to transport even newly obtained information to the public."It is very important because keeping the audience in the belief of white purity, which is completely wrong, is almost dangerous,» warns the researcher.The mystery of the Cyclades, the sacred archipelago where Greek gods were 'born'Antikythera Mechanism: the ancient Greek computer that allowed knowing the movement of the planetsYour email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *TELEVISA SA DE CV EDITORIAL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.TBG - EDITORIAL TELEVISA - NEWS/INFORMATION - GENERAL NEWSThis website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website.These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent.You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies.But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website.These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent.You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies.But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website.These cookies do not store any personal information.Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies.It is mandatory to seek user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.