Once in art school our teacher was sick, so a substitute came in, and she went on like a 20 minute RANT about how the sculptures were not white, but colored. She was rlly passionate about that.
@@lowenzahn3976 actually the you can see traces of the white lime stone on the top the pyramid in the middle khafra a portion of the lime stone was even entact until as near as the 1800's
If you ever find yourself in Oxford, there’s a room in the Ashmolean Museum that has painted replicas of classical statues. So interesting to see and well worth a visit!
Also available in the Orsay museum in Paris. They were made by Jean-Leon Gerome, a neoclassical artist who insisted on historical accuracy in sculpture but never managed to make painted statues a thing.
@idon'tevenknowanymore So like those ancient fossils and bones are...? Dragons? Is it so hard to believe that many years ago animals looked different than nowadays?
I just played Assassins Creed Odyssey where the game set in Peloponessian War, I wonder why the statues are colored. I hv no idea developer really made the effort to make the statue accurate based on history. Wow kudos to Ubisoft
Ubisoft did AMAZING with their recreation of Alexandria, so well that one of my classics professors in college used it as a resource and example of superb reconstruction and polychromy (recoloring).
I always asked that question; why are movies of ancient Rome, Egypt etc always shot with the depiction of the ruins today? I'd love to see a movie showing how lively the places actually were because they weren't living in museums.
HBO rome is good as others have said, but its kind of freaky that they exclusively cast white british people. The new assassins creed odyssey, is honestly amazing for its representation of the ancient world. Some college professors have even started using screen shots of the in game Parthenon in lectures because it is painted and all that stuff. And the ruins in the game were already ruins in 5th century bce which is wild to think about.
Ckme on we all know disney will own everything in the future. The United States of Disney. The Disney Federation, The Peoples Republic of Disney. North and South Disney
Look at the terracotta warriors in China, the fact two thirds of them are still buried because we still don't know how to properly preserve this paint and stop it from fading with exposure to UV.
iona we also don’t know if lead was used and other toxic chemicals, and they are trying to figure out if it’s safe for us to even open the actual tomb!!
@@FangirlRandomscrew... Not entirely. Sure there's a lack of technology. But, from what I've heard, there's also the Chinese government mandating that the tomb should never be opened.
@@Corsuwey Well... the dude filled his tomb with lakes and rivers of lead, so maybe it's better to keep it closed for now. At least we know where the tomb is, it looked like a mountain before the excavations began.
They teach the fact about colored statues in art schools. Problem is that even though the fact is spoken, it is hardly ever shown. They tell you statues used to be colored and then proceed to show you milions of white statues and thus the historic accuracy remains clouded. I like white marble staues, but art history cannot be about what you like, but about what is true.
Michal Ocilka nope. But I learned it from a paper I found while doing research. There’s a professor somewhere I forget the school who’s studied this. Vox I think got this from her studies or paper I believe. I’ll add a link to her work if I find it
Similarly, ancient buildings used to be riddled with jewels, colorful stones, and other adornments. Look at the ancient Temples of Southeast Asia like Bayon on Angkor Wat and you will find holes where jewels once resided before being robbed at later times.
@@RichardHernandez-pz7bt Sadly I have never gotten around to posting my photos online. I’m afraid of scammers but thanks for saying you would love to see some of my works. If I ever figure out how to post videos on TH-cam again I might start coloring the photos again and posting videos of my work.
This is not unique to Ancient European sculpters though. Indian statues of primarily Buddha and Mahavir were once believed to be colorless and people, to defend this hypothesis, said that adding colour might have been too 'worldly' for these statues but today, after painstaking works by archaeologists, scientists and Historians, we do know that they had an array of colour on them
TheNeoYouth not wholly true. Standing Buddha statues are definite signs of Indo-Greek/Bactrian influence, as Greek gods are usually portrayed as standing. However, there are hundreds of examples of older statues of the Buddha, usually showing the point where he achieves nirvana (sitting with one hand touching the ground and one facing palm outward).
@@maxx1014 that's true but Here is the thing, they only started the Gandhara tradition in North West. There was also the Mathura Tradition in North India. Even though it is still largely considered the starting of the tradition in the subcontinent, it was largely left untouched and Greek elements slowly started to fade. I am talking about statues well into 7th century CE when Greek elements were almost invisible. British Historians made the mistake of over emphasizing the Greek elements and hence their studies are not considered perfect today by experts in India and abroad
well this Vox study is gonna show you how you have been in fact lied all this time and they actually had arms :OO i know i was shocked, oh yeah also wh*te arms.
The museums usually fail to emphasize this enough, the truth is that at least they could put a picture of a reconstructed colored statue next to the statue's description, something they don't normally do.
One of my ancient history professors said that the Greeks were so outlandishly colourful in their statues and frescos that they were considered brash and gauche by the ancient Egyptians, who saw them in much the same light as today's aristocracy views the "nouveaux riches." Enjoyed the video, thanks.
@@teslaxx1 I have to agree in an artistic sense, since they broke the art canon, which the Egyptians never did - except for Akhenathon, and Plato is timeless wisdom. But that's quite a statement, which I would not dare say, bc as a people, the Chinese also produced intellectual, medicinal, and artistic wonders roughly around the same time. When Hesiod talked about the ages of man, I think the Greeks were in the Bronze Age and we are in the doldrums, where stupidity reigns.
Studying Latin taught me this. Additionally, sometime statues had eye holes where their irises should be. That was because originally they would have precious or semi precious stones in them like lapis lazuli for blue. Over the years thieves would steal such stones. And much pigment was artfully used to create life like visages as described in ancient texts. There were distinct differentiations of embellishment on these statues from Grecian to Roman times. And romans were inspired by Grecian culture and art but also diverged on some notes aesthetically. Another note, many purveyors of marble in older through ancient times prized marble without striations because it is more uncommon than those with.
When I visited Pakistan I saw ancient Buddha statues with holes in their forehead. I asked what happen. I was told that they used to have gems there, but now those gems are in England.
This is literally taught at school in Italy, how you united States citizens talk about this as if it was a secret? 👁👄👁 Edit: I was referring to the smatterer tone the video use, none tried to hide this information just read from a good book. I don't care if you know it ad you are from Genovia or Israel. My point wasn't to bring down someone but to underline the fact that things like this are in middle school books. No need for sensationalism.
Scriptadiaboly My point was that of course an Italian is going to know more about Italian history than an American. Each country teaches a little global history but then focuses more on its own history. Also there’s a lot to US history, even if we’re a young country.
templar k Yeah but that’s just a TV. If you go out into public most of the colours you’ll see are just grey and brown. It stinks and the world seems poorer for it.
"The BLAME lies with Michelango" is a poor choice of words. He didn't know. They didn't have the knowledge to know exactly what was going on. They tried to understand history like we do now. We just have more knowledge
Well, that's not true. They were reading greek and latin ancients documents constantly, that was part of education process. They actually were aware of it. Maybe not Michelangelo himself, but scholars for sure. Some of art pieces or buildings form antiquity back then had some original colors on them, maybe faded but still. So definitely they knew the fact that objects of art were colorful.
@@jarekkril8770 You're making a broad generalization here. Who is "They"? Which ancient documents did they read? Do you have evidence that these scholars definitely knew? Is there correspondence available of scholars discussing this topic from the era you're referring to? Just because, as mentioned in the video, one guy ignored the "definite" proof that statues used to be colored, does not mean the whole educated class was familiar with this information.
i’d say you can still blame him, if he were among the first to sculpt without intent of using color. that doesn’t mean he did it on purpose. it’s just that he started the trend. i don’t see why that’s such a bad thing
I think you are looking to much into it. No one is actually blaming he. We are not pointing fingers at his tomb and saying: "It's your fault Michael! That it is not common knowledge that Greek sculptures where colored!" I think it is more of a playful way to say it. He did popularized that idea. Still, we don't look to Michaelangelo for his historic knowledge as we don't read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to understand roman history.
@@juanmaruli4977 you dont need tho... almost every affluent city or western city have museums that have traded. been donated, or purchased ancient world sculptures and the likes
@@mikethewise2000 Even if he wore it "in b a battle", Augustus (Octavius) was a patrician general in ancient Rome. He led the battles from behind, remaining in camp or off the field to coordinate and strategize. He never had need for armor outside the ceremonial sense.
And even if he did enter battle, wearing heavily decorated armor has been the norm for high officers since the dawn of civilization. Just because something looks pretty doesn’t mean it was cerimonial: fancy armor was their BMW, their Rolex.
Same with all of the Pyramids in Egypt. All are documented to be once covered in white marble with giant copper caps or crystal tops. It's super neato. Would be cool to see a film that shows the real depictions of the times.
Thing is, most movies based on, "history", take place when the pyramids were already ancient. Take note that monuments such as the Great Pyramid of Giza were ancient when the Roman empire came to be... Yeah, they're really old.
IIRC, the big 3 were once capped in gold with exquisite marble or limestone facades underneath, adorned near the bottom also. They were still intact & revered during the Ptolemaic Dynasty, & subsequent Roman period until xtianity was imposed via decree. While their true defacement occurred between the time of the Mamelukes & Ottomans, fair to say: monotheistic extremism ultimately put an end to antiquity's artistic legacy. The pyramids, mighty as they still stand, are but one of antiquity's countless world treasures deliberately defaced, destroyed, and/or otherwise taken from view of the world. What remains intact/visible today is but a shadow of what once was.
The funny thing, though, is that they went both ways. They got the colors right for Odyssey, but the statues in Origins were almost all white. I wonder if they got called out on it for Origins and decided to go fully authentic for Odyssey.
The statues in Odyssey also look a lot more realistic, and not tacky like the tones and pigments used in videos like this... Seems like they're just trying to make it a meme when really the statues would have been absolutely gorgeous when painted. Not basic primary colors like they lazily show here...
@@scottlemoult3109 I think its because in Odyssey, not only were the colors more realistic in that they were darker and more common dyes, but that they were also worn down. People seem to forget that the Greeks were ancient to themselves, they were around for quite some time so their own creatures were destroyed and rebuilt countless times.
And some of the Pyramids of Giza had golden caps and a white limestone finish. It’s no wonder that over thousands of years these monuments would look so different from their original forms.
actually the pyramids finish was removed to use the materials elsewhere (i dont remember for what exactly but ik the materials were eventually removed) !
Camryn Mangual oh yeah I know , but still I was saying that it’s no surprise that ancient monuments from so long ago are so different from their original forms things happen and change as time marches on and civilizations rise and fall.
@@camij6124 a lot of people stole the gold caps, and the limestone was used by conquerors to built monuments and temples. EDIT: since some people are replying with other uses, I should clarify that they stripped the limestone to build a variety of structures.
Keep in mind, that when you paint on a white surface your colors seem brighter! When I paint on my tiny 25mm metal figures for my D & D game, I often paint the entire piece in gunmetal black and then drybrush colors over the black areas - this leaves a natural dark background in the folds of clothing and highlights raised areas of the figurines. If I want colors to be very bright, I paint white on top of the raised areas and then add color.
If that particular Roman would read Winckelmann's quote on the 'purity' of white statues, he would probably exclaim: " Errare humanum est....sed iste in extremis !!"
I know, right? I had a really good professor for all my classes, too -- and she never mentioned that those statues and other sculptures were painted. I will have to link this video to her when I can find her email again. She's a Docent at the Nashville Parthenon full-scale replica (which I've visited -- it's gorgeous)... might add an extra cool thing for her to discuss with visitors!
"How?" - because very few people are allowed to teach art history through "lectures" anymore. Lectures are supposed to be bad teaching practice and you're supposed to teach yourself with the teacher prompting and questioning you. It's the premier reason why so many modern British art students think "art" started in the 1990's with Japanese Manga artists or with stuff on Instagram.
fablewalls I had art history classes in high school, which pretty much are seminars. Have had other art history lectures at uni and indeed lectures tend to make you remember less.
@@hiephoi8632 - makes it difficult then doesn't it! Lectures and "art history class" is sleep inducing but if you don't do them you end up with art students who basically know nothing and don't care about what happened before they got their first Instagram account. Somewhere, there is a happy medium - but I often think the only people interested in art history are not artists.
Fun fact: Lacoon is not a Roman statue, it's the masterpiece of a Greek artist from the Dodecanese islands and was stolen by the Romans when they conquered Greece and never returned.
@W.A M.P As the Romans claimed to be descendents of Greeks it would have been pretty weird to destroy their culture. Actually the Romans took over a big part of the Greek culture, including cuisine, philosophy, education, political systems, medicine and religion.
Mayan and Aztec statues and pyramids were painted colours also. The mayan civilisation had collapsed and its temples and cities overgrown with forest 500 years before the Spanish arrived. (Further. The temples were covered in plaster, so smooth. They were painted red).
@@marvinsilverman4394 you may not care, ok, no problem. But plenty of people do, in fact, care... Ironically, it's likely there are far more who care more about the the truth of the Mayan civilization than whatever it is _you_ care most about.
@@George_D777 right on, I love the mayan and aztek cultures, the mexica people and their rich history is amazing, I wish we could see what they could've become if these lands hadnt been colonized and pillaged
Love the Mayans and Aztecs. My family and I are from Italy and we’ve been to Mexico 7 times. I have soo much ancient aztec and Mayan art in my room from when we went. I remember italy had won the World Cup and everyone in the streets would scream “FORZA ITALIA!!” Such awesome people
@@januspanperspective1253 hmm, frankly, you are correct but from what I know until today, their colors is mostly saturated than not. So it is limited but more limited in the darker color than the bright saturated one and obviously lacking in their ability to reach many of RGB color neither be able to make gradations. Furthermore, putting aditional charcoal (Black) doesn't give good dark color generally, so, since medieval people are people like us and considering their culture consider the brighter the color the more beautiful, pristine, and of course richer it is, I believe they won't darken their lapis lazuli (Blue and all color in general) and prefer the saturated color. Correct me if I'm wrong tho.
@Sambhav Mathur I think Asian goes through medieval era rougher. Not studying Asian history that much but from what I know Chinese has weird politic where you get together and break then back together then break. Japan be like, is there any land out of Japan? Oh well, that clan is an ashole let's think about it later. Or maybe Asia is more prosperous when global trading happen? Not sure but you may be right since Asia is the source of stuff like spice where Europe mostly just the consumer.
The same happens with aztec and mayan statues and buildings, a lot of them were painted and you can hardly see mentions of it. But to be fair all of the reconstructions in textbooks do carry the color of the aztec cities.
If you want the best idea of how classical Roman statues looked just go to a catholic church. The Roman way of making statues survived in Catholicism, and how catholic statues are fully painted is exactly how Roman statues would've been painted.
@@brazilianman92 You are wrong. The main Roman pantheon were just the Greeks gods with different names, Zeus->Jupiter, Athena->Minerva etc. Of course the statues of Roman leaders were original, but when it came to the majority of statue work you would have found in Rome, they were copies of Greek originals.
@@ozvulcan The imperial cult took precedent over the Greek inspired Roman gods. The leaders of Rome were always idolized. This even prior to their shift into the empire. Hence why we have statues of Marcus aurelius. When they shifted into an empire the imperial cult became huge. So emperors and the royal families were seen as Gods. Which made them the most popular choice to sculpt. Hence why so many emperors have statues. Also the cult of mithraism and various non greek cults took hold as well. The Greek gods themselves are just Phoenician and Egyptian gods by a different name. Such as Baal Hammon being Cronus/ Saturn/ Geb.
@bishes be mad The imperial cult is a real thing bro. This is something commonly done by the Egyptians, Chinese and Roman empire. It even carried on a bit past into the Byzantine empire. Where Constantine was almost given divine like status. Just look up imperial cult and you'll find scholarly studies done on it. The concept of a Godly royal line is something the Roman empire definitely did. It started with the advent of Augustus Caeser.
They're actually among the most astounding finds ever made. Each one is different, not just by face. And yes, while I'm not an expert, I do know they were painted with a variety of colors.
In hind sight, it makes sense, having colours. Colour signify that they can afford pigments. The richer you are, the more grandiose your colours should be! And look at the clothes of existing tribes across all nations, many of them boasts colours!
Oddly enough it also makes sense if you consider stuff like garden dwarves, or nativity set statues. They're all colored because they have no reason not to be. Same for statues on streets.
@@salmineo4132 the romans were what we would consider white. But back then no one really categorized people based on skin color so the Romans thought of themselves as roman and not *white*.
Yep. That's TOOOOOOTALLY it. Let's Ignore the fact that this video is about statues, not historical events and data's. And yes, if you're history class teacher *said* that they were white, then *Yes*, Assassin's creed more accurate about statues than you're class.
I think there's some truth to that. even though AC takes a lot of liberties (duh, it's fantasy) they bring in, I think, a lot of experts to build a realistic world
I hate it when people destroy history, especially to obfuscate. It makes me appreciate all the more those people who work to preserve it and especially restore it. ❤
I learned that Ancient Greek and Roman statues were painted all over in middle school, if not earlier. Same thing is true for the temples. That’s why columns seem to have all those tiny indentures, because they were covered with coloured shells or beads.
The lost art of sculpture painting has fascinated me since I discovered that it was a lost art while working as a security officer at the Getty museum.
Never contemplated the fact that they were painted. from ignorance and general lack of discussion on the subject. Would be great to go to Rome and see it in colour.must have been quite spectular.maybe gaudy but still spectacular.
you know, I think it would be a really cool thing to produce full size miniatures for top painters to compete on painting. It is possible that such hobbyists could be expected to do the very best recreations of historical statues, compared to any other artist.
WOW! I knew that the Ancient Greeks painted their statues, but I simply had no idea that the colours were this vivid, this intricate or achingly beautiful. Your video really brought back to me "the glory that was Greece," and the sense of the Greeks as a lively, witty, fascinating people. To my mind, the restored statues are colourful without being kitsch, and with no sense of the Disney treatment.
Agree. The colors make them seem life like. Also for some statues the Roman would use different colored marbles for parts of a statue instead of painting the entire statue.
The white statues are nice but it’s really cool to see the intended original color. It’s disappointing some people wanted to ignore it because they didn’t like it. It’s not about your preferences. It’s about what’s correct.
That was the problem. Renaissance sculptors were mostly commissioned by churches or wealthy religious patrons who owned personal chapels. The white tracery of bare marble seemed to convey the notion of unchanging, heavenly eternity better than painted stone in representative religious art, so it became the default norm. And since art is meant to be seen to be remembered, the public associates bare marble as the norm.
OMG, this makes a lot of sense actually. Imagine the main practical problem of having all white marble statues and buildings all around your city: sunlight! Ancient Romans would have been blinded by the reflection (and refraction) of the sunlight from the bright white marble statues and buildings if they were indeed bright white. This explains a lot.
I think you're absolutely right! I've been to Rome this september and the monument of Victor Emmanuel, which is made out of white marble, was beaming! I could hardly look at it, it was THAT bright.
Interestingly enough, that's pretty much the argument Winckelmann made in before and after the quote. White as the sum of all light is supposed to make the statues bigger, more majestic and better. I don't think he would have criticised a wee reflection But yeah, it would have made for an uncomfortable climate and missed the main purpose of the statues - looking as realistic as possible.
What's funny about your comment is that the ancient Egyptian pyramids were sheathed in white limestone. That meant they gleamed a pure, blinding white during daytime, and were quite difficult to look at directly. In fact they were too bright, as all of them were eventually stripped of their limestone facades, leaving only the dull granite cores.
different dyes were more expensive, so the colors you wore said more about you social stature, though nobody was running around in burlap sacks like they seem to always put poor people in in Hollywood movies.
This is correct. From frescoes we know that the clothes of the Romans and Etruscans were dyed in vibrant colors. Tyrian purple, for example, was a color reserved for royalty due to its rarity.
Are you Greek? It’s hard to find Greeks in America I feel like!! I am italian and love greece so much I feel so much connection, even my dna shown to have an affinity with Greek Islanders. My family from southern Italia (used to be magna Grecia ) una faccia una razza e viva il mediterraneo 🇬🇷🇮🇹🇬🇷🇮🇹🇬🇷❤️❤️❤️ ... most influential civilizations in history come from the Mediterranean . Ciao bellissima
@@claudiamarianidamato9499 "most influential civilizations"? Many - yes, most - no. I understand pride, but let's not get carried away with the culture centrism. The Aztec, Maya, Mongols, Huns, Vikings, Vietnamese, Khmer, Celts, Chinese, Babylonians, Congolese, Zulu, Mali, Maori, Polynesians, Japanese, Koreans, Ainu, Persians, Portuguese, Russians, British, Indians etc. beg to differ. ;)
Can you imagine dedicating hours if your life to painting something with vibrant colours just to have people in the future say “it looks better with no colour.”
Same thing is true about most of the Buddha statues (and the temples they’re housed in) in Japan. A few places, like the tombs of the first and third Tokugawa shoguns in Nikko, retain the bright colors.
Musik Damals “It had nothing to do with race” it had a lot to do with race if you’ve researched renaissance philosophers attitudes towards ethnic minority groups lol. Not saying that they can’t be appreciated aesthetically, they very much can, but a lot of our obsession with lighter pigmentation and demonization of darker pigmentation has to do with historical and cultural background. Especially with how much the enlightenment influenced the western world. It’s a matter of fact widely documented.
The Unimportant Organism thank you ! i think the video went realllllly easy on how white supremacy fuelled this whole misinformation thing about the statues. colonial art historians were suuuuper attached to their white marble, especially considering it’s divine superiority to other, tacky, ‘primitive’ cultural objects overseas
This means that all historic movies are wrong ,and that if someone travel in time now they'll be shocked with things that were understood and thought wrongly and this means that all my childhood fantasies were WRONG from A to Z !?
Not all, remember that during the Roman period they had color, but during the renaissance, they didn't. So it all depends on what era the movie is based on.
I mean...you could try reading literature about Ancient world instead of watching Hollywood movies set in a period. You wouldn't be lied to. This whole thing about statues isn't a big secret, it's been known for absolute ages. But details like these are usually only interesting to historians and enthusiasts of the subject. For example, the biggest offenders are "historical" movies set in Medieval period. Where, according to Hollywood everybody wore grey drab rags, and everybody were constantly covered in dirt. As opposed to reality, where Medieval clothing was an absolute explosion of colour. Often richly decorated in the most outrageous manner, for those who could afford it. Same goes for buildings. People loved colour. Much more so than today. And nobody walked around with dirt on their face. People weren't pigs. Being clean isn't a new invention.
Watch next: How obsessive artists colorize old photos th-cam.com/video/vubuBrcAwtY/w-d-xo.html
Ted Turner?
Thank you Vox. I was inspired, and after watching a few yt vids, I am now colorizing as a hobby. This was the video that started it all
where to find those small sculptures
vox lies, f ck you.
Vox this isn't a lie. It's a historical misinterpretation. You even said it yourselves but you treated this like a lie.
Once in art school our teacher was sick, so a substitute came in, and she went on like a 20 minute RANT about how the sculptures were not white, but colored. She was rlly passionate about that.
nice
i support her
I like her
I mean she's not wrong...
Black lives ma...
Oh wait not that type of color
Now it makes sense why ancient statues never had pupils. They were painted on.
Not every time
Some of them had pupils
Brett C they would cut the pupil out as a sort of hole, it looks kinda weird up close, but far away it looks normal(ish)
more likely precious stones which were stolen.
Or noses, or completely dismembered... the next time you see only the statues head in a museum you'll know the rest was painted on. You're welcome.
Colorization of statues should be an augmented reality app for every museum.
Ooh love that idea
I second that!
I started in AR (I am more use of VR dev) and I think this is a good time to start an AR project like that
You shouldve kept this to yourself..
Thats a very good idea.
"The whiter the body is, the more beautiful it is"
*wait a minute*
true
It is, it looks better
Aki ra marble white statues looks better than bronze or golden
Aki ra are you?
@Aki ra nope... White marble looks better
Wait u guys don't know that? In Italy we get taught that the old statues were coloured, they just lost the colours
So do we in Portugal
Americans... I learnt that too, in Brazil.
Russian, never heard of it until now
A lot of people don't know this surprisingly.
@@u3u36 o amdre young (youtuber brasileiro) fez um video disso, e nos comentarios ninguém sabia.
I guess it’s not only Roman statues, but also the Great Sphinx of Giza and the Terracotta Army were painted with colours too.
Exactly! Scientists have found out the Terracotta Army of China was painted in color when they were buried! Search it.
@@lowenzahn3976
actually the you can see traces of the white lime stone on the top the pyramid in the middle khafra a portion of the lime stone was even entact until as near as the 1800's
löwenzahn some of them had golden tips!
And the pyramids said to shine white before the lye coroded
@@lowenzahn3976 You can see this and the Sphinx in Assassins Creed Origins
If you ever find yourself in Oxford, there’s a room in the Ashmolean Museum that has painted replicas of classical statues. So interesting to see and well worth a visit!
Also available in the Orsay museum in Paris. They were made by Jean-Leon Gerome, a neoclassical artist who insisted on historical accuracy in sculpture but never managed to make painted statues a thing.
Glyptoteket in Copenhagen has some on display as well (including some of the ones shown in the video).
@@Beaverthing What!? I've wanted to go, but now I have to!
Wow! I’ll have to look next time I’m there - luckily only an hours drive for me!
@Gracchus Babeuf what's that??
Ancient World: Full of bright and dazzling colors
Now: B L A C K - W H I T E - G R A Y
It's a world where nuance is dead.
M O D E R N~~
time fades it away
Hopefully 2021 is not 200 bc. Taste and art evolve
art and tastes evolve, I mean these days you'd much rather have a clear white and black interior than an interior full of yellow and reds
Augustus rocked that pajama top.
I know right
😆😆😆
Omg YESSSS
Augustus is a cool guy
The same cannot be said for THE ZUCK
It’s like learning that the dinosaurs had feathers
@idon'tevenknowanymore Everyone single archaeologist is a liar!
Bradley McHugh *paleontologist
@idon'tevenknowanymore oof!
Imagine omniscient invisible ghosts
@idon'tevenknowanymore ok boomer
@idon'tevenknowanymore So like those ancient fossils and bones are...? Dragons? Is it so hard to believe that many years ago animals looked different than nowadays?
I just played Assassins Creed Odyssey where the game set in Peloponessian War, I wonder why the statues are colored. I hv no idea developer really made the effort to make the statue accurate based on history. Wow kudos to Ubisoft
At least they did one of the easiest thing possible
Really? No way? I gotta play that game to see it
Very nice, they got 1 thing right out of the other 200 things that is competely historically innacurate
Ubisoft did AMAZING with their recreation of Alexandria, so well that one of my classics professors in college used it as a resource and example of superb reconstruction and polychromy (recoloring).
And yet every time you criticize Valhalla for being inaccurate you get the "AC was always fiction not based in reality!" defenders
Next you're going to tell me that the ancient Greeks and Romans didn't speak English with received pronunciation accents.
NOOOOOO...what?
Roman history makes more sense when you think of them as Italian.
@Menelaus, The Red Haired King The concept of "black" and "white" had not been invented yet. That started in the 16th century.
@@kindnessfirst9670 Tamahu was the word. By definition states a difference
Wait... they didn't?!??!?
I always asked that question; why are movies of ancient Rome, Egypt etc always shot with the depiction of the ruins today? I'd love to see a movie showing how lively the places actually were because they weren't living in museums.
hopefully in the future movies set in ancient times depict the places with colors
"Rome" by HBO is one of the most faithful representations of republican Rome I've ever seen.
Watch "Rome", an HBO-BBC production. It's amazing in that regard.
Also the movie Alexander has the statues in color
HBO rome is good as others have said, but its kind of freaky that they exclusively cast white british people. The new assassins creed odyssey, is honestly amazing for its representation of the ancient world. Some college professors have even started using screen shots of the in game Parthenon in lectures because it is painted and all that stuff. And the ruins in the game were already ruins in 5th century bce which is wild to think about.
Imagine Disneyland faded completely colorless and pale in the future.
!!!!
And then imagine people of the future assuming that's how they were made, and the cycle starts all over again.
Ckme on we all know disney will own everything in the future. The United States of Disney. The Disney Federation, The Peoples Republic of Disney. North and South Disney
@@stevethepocket that's literally my art exhibition
and the mickey mouse statue will be the statue of david in the future.😲
Look at the terracotta warriors in China, the fact two thirds of them are still buried because we still don't know how to properly preserve this paint and stop it from fading with exposure to UV.
iona we also don’t know if lead was used and other toxic chemicals, and they are trying to figure out if it’s safe for us to even open the actual tomb!!
@@FangirlRandomscrew... Not entirely. Sure there's a lack of technology. But, from what I've heard, there's also the Chinese government mandating that the tomb should never be opened.
@@Corsuwey Well... the dude filled his tomb with lakes and rivers of lead, so maybe it's better to keep it closed for now. At least we know where the tomb is, it looked like a mountain before the excavations began.
This is true.
They are coloured (faded) when the soil is first remove and they turn earth brown over the next 48 hours...
ADRIAN SMITH wasn’t it filled with mercury and not lead?
Italian: didn't you taught about it in school?
Rest of the world: 👁👄👁
no, i know that and im from Brazil
i’m from the us and i already knew that
I didn't :/
@@anaeyoi4490 but did you learn it in school?
@@datdamndog389 yea i learned it in school
They teach the fact about colored statues in art schools. Problem is that even though the fact is spoken, it is hardly ever shown. They tell you statues used to be colored and then proceed to show you milions of white statues and thus the historic accuracy remains clouded. I like white marble staues, but art history cannot be about what you like, but about what is true.
It's not shown because there are no more traces of it, all the paint on the originals got away and the copies are in unpainted marble
Nonno Yes but what we’re saying is that it should be made more clear that they were originally painted
Michal Ocilka nope. But I learned it from a paper I found while doing research. There’s a professor somewhere I forget the school who’s studied this. Vox I think got this from her studies or paper I believe. I’ll add a link to her work if I find it
@@awos6559 right in the description of the video
"Art history cannot be about what you like, but about what is true."
Similarly, ancient buildings used to be riddled with jewels, colorful stones, and other adornments. Look at the ancient Temples of Southeast Asia like Bayon on Angkor Wat and you will find holes where jewels once resided before being robbed at later times.
JdK 52 is your profile picture Marcus Agrippa ?
@@thomascatty379 Indeed it is.
JdK 52 you have good taste
@@thomascatty379 Thanks.
The spanish talked about how colorfull the cities of the natives where. Would lo e to hace seen one.
"really? in the past people didn't use color for marble statue?"
"Shhh, don't make me do extra work"
Probably some renaissance artist
We learn they cut corners for the sake of budgeting
Lol I feel that tho
Yeah And they scrubbed the melanin off some of those statues too!!
@@pm6796 are you suggesting that ancient rome was black?
@@pm6796 🤣🤣🤣🤣 here we go they where all black.
Can you proof it ?
i want a little augustus statue with a painting set so i can paint it, museums should sell them
Me too. I actually used to color photos of ancient sculpture on Photoshop. I really need to get back to that.
@@mirandagoldstine8548 link us to some of your work :) would love to see it
@@RichardHernandez-pz7bt Sadly I have never gotten around to posting my photos online. I’m afraid of scammers but thanks for saying you would love to see some of my works. If I ever figure out how to post videos on TH-cam again I might start coloring the photos again and posting videos of my work.
3D printer
rose their you go, time to start that business going. Great idea.
This is not unique to Ancient European sculpters though. Indian statues of primarily Buddha and Mahavir were once believed to be colorless and people, to defend this hypothesis, said that adding colour might have been too 'worldly' for these statues but today, after painstaking works by archaeologists, scientists and Historians, we do know that they had an array of colour on them
It's not surprising because statues of Buddha were probably first created by Graeco-Indian settlers influenced by their own Greek idols
The aztec and mayan architecture and art was also very colorful, and with chemical discoveries, we are also discovering what colors there was
TheNeoYouth not wholly true. Standing Buddha statues are definite signs of Indo-Greek/Bactrian influence, as Greek gods are usually portrayed as standing. However, there are hundreds of examples of older statues of the Buddha, usually showing the point where he achieves nirvana (sitting with one hand touching the ground and one facing palm outward).
@@maxx1014 that's true but Here is the thing, they only started the Gandhara tradition in North West. There was also the Mathura Tradition in North India. Even though it is still largely considered the starting of the tradition in the subcontinent, it was largely left untouched and Greek elements slowly started to fade. I am talking about statues well into 7th century CE when Greek elements were almost invisible. British Historians made the mistake of over emphasizing the Greek elements and hence their studies are not considered perfect today by experts in India and abroad
@@Pantsinabucket Not expected someone called Nutlord to know about this stuff
The famous terracotta army in China is the same. Once colorful, the paint all broke off and left the statues solid brown.
Paint came off because explosion to oxygen
@@hmmmhmmm6917 explosion?
PAKTRA PRODUCTIONS *exposure
can someone recolor the terracottas? thanks
But did Romans have arms?
no they were actually snake people
well this Vox study is gonna show you how you have been in fact lied all this time and they actually had arms :OO i know i was shocked, oh yeah also wh*te arms.
Nah arms weren't invented yet
nah, they used their legs to hold things
"Arms grow back"
*no they dont*
The museums usually fail to emphasize this enough, the truth is that at least they could put a picture of a reconstructed colored statue next to the statue's description, something they don't normally do.
One of my ancient history professors said that the Greeks were so outlandishly colourful in their statues and frescos that they were considered brash and gauche by the ancient Egyptians, who saw them in much the same light as today's aristocracy views the "nouveaux riches." Enjoyed the video, thanks.
Was that before or after they were conquered by them?
To be considered gauche by the ancient Egyptians is quite the feat
The Greeks are the most brilliant people in history, they conquered Rome culturally.
@@teslaxx1 I have to agree in an artistic sense, since they broke the art canon, which the Egyptians never did - except for Akhenathon, and Plato is timeless wisdom. But that's quite a statement, which I would not dare say, bc as a people, the Chinese also produced intellectual, medicinal, and artistic wonders roughly around the same time. When Hesiod talked about the ages of man, I think the Greeks were in the Bronze Age and we are in the doldrums, where stupidity reigns.
watching the video I can't help but think they had a point
Studying Latin taught me this. Additionally, sometime statues had eye holes where their irises should be. That was because originally they would have precious or semi precious stones in them like lapis lazuli for blue. Over the years thieves would steal such stones. And much pigment was artfully used to create life like visages as described in ancient texts. There were distinct differentiations of embellishment on these statues from Grecian to Roman times. And romans were inspired by Grecian culture and art but also diverged on some notes aesthetically. Another note, many purveyors of marble in older through ancient times prized marble without striations because it is more uncommon than those with.
There are still some statues with irises.
When I visited Pakistan I saw ancient Buddha statues with holes in their forehead. I asked what happen. I was told that they used to have gems there, but now those gems are in England.
@@arisardar6018 Britain has a lot of stolen ancient artifacts in their museums. There are documentaries about this.
Shiloh Henry grex latinus!
Yes! I've noticed the holes and always wondered why they made the bowl like
I’ve got to admit, the white marble looks pretty sick
Ur cancelled bro
sir MCnugget i know you’re being satire but its shocking how there’s actually people who think like this
U saying Canova statue are not awesome?
@@alessandro.calzavara ok so when someone says he likes something that automatically means that he cant like something else. Makes sense
@@sirmcnugget7748 I didnt mean that, I probably misunderstood the meaning of the word "sick" since English is not my first language
This is literally taught at school in Italy, how you united States citizens talk about this as if it was a secret? 👁👄👁
Edit: I was referring to the smatterer tone the video use, none tried to hide this information just read from a good book. I don't care if you know it ad you are from Genovia or Israel. My point wasn't to bring down someone but to underline the fact that things like this are in middle school books. No need for sensationalism.
Murican culture as is :(
Lol you are right xD like oddio un segreto segretissimo gomblotto
Maybe bc American history is more focused on American history and not Italian?
@@fabioventura2984 Ancient Greek and Roman history are universally interesting. Also, how many years of history has usa 😂
Scriptadiaboly My point was that of course an Italian is going to know more about Italian history than an American. Each country teaches a little global history but then focuses more on its own history. Also there’s a lot to US history, even if we’re a young country.
“Blame it on Michelangelo”
Hey leave that ninja turtle alone.
So who eat our pizza?
@@fajaradi1223 some bady touche mAh pizzah!
This made me laugh way too much
FRISHR ok
This is a rat race, but I ain't no rat
Imagine living in that beautifully colored world
A world full of death, diseases, cruel dictators, slavery, and worse. But at least it might have been colored.
templar k Yeah but that’s just a TV. If you go out into public most of the colours you’ll see are just grey and brown. It stinks and the world seems poorer for it.
TriCore 9
Same as today then.
@@Lazurath101 And much more dangerous then also.
@Paul Allen’s card what?
4:10 "But when there aren't any visible colors, they have another tool"
Me: "Time machine"
"UV light"
Me: "Yeah, that."
This part played RIGHT after I read this
😂😂😂😂😂
They kinda look cooler and more mysterious when they’re in their colorless marble form in my opinion lol.
Yeah right
@@prada4bratz how one comma can change everything.
Yeah, but knowing what they once looked like makes me realize how much character in these statues was lost to time.
It's also much easier to see and appreciate the sculpture's structure without the colors. This is why black and white photography is still around.
I think so too, it looks more like history in all white.
"The BLAME lies with Michelango" is a poor choice of words. He didn't know. They didn't have the knowledge to know exactly what was going on. They tried to understand history like we do now. We just have more knowledge
Well, that's not true. They were reading greek and latin ancients documents constantly, that was part of education process. They actually were aware of it. Maybe not Michelangelo himself, but scholars for sure. Some of art pieces or buildings form antiquity back then had some original colors on them, maybe faded but still. So definitely they knew the fact that objects of art were colorful.
@@jarekkril8770 You're making a broad generalization here. Who is "They"? Which ancient documents did they read? Do you have evidence that these scholars definitely knew? Is there correspondence available of scholars discussing this topic from the era you're referring to? Just because, as mentioned in the video, one guy ignored the "definite" proof that statues used to be colored, does not mean the whole educated class was familiar with this information.
i’d say you can still blame him, if he were among the first to sculpt without intent of using color. that doesn’t mean he did it on purpose. it’s just that he started the trend. i don’t see why that’s such a bad thing
I think you are looking to much into it. No one is actually blaming he. We are not pointing fingers at his tomb and saying: "It's your fault Michael! That it is not common knowledge that Greek sculptures where colored!" I think it is more of a playful way to say it. He did popularized that idea. Still, we don't look to Michaelangelo for his historic knowledge as we don't read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to understand roman history.
It’s just a script don’t be so sensitive
blasphemy! we all know color didn't exist before the invention of color photography
This guy knows too much. He must be silenced.
I can smell a r/wooosh coming up
Not true! There was white... black.... grey.... what else was there?
@@BeaverChainsaw darker grey lol
19th century wild west was only sepia tone. A very brown and tan era especially for those who frequented saloons, brothels, and jails.
Didn’t know this was a secret. The signs at the museums alway say that the statutes used to be colorful.
I know right! Smh 🤦♀️
You mean the descriptions that most museum visitors don't read?
Well I've never went to any European museum before, so...
Lisa Dixon Idk maybe people who live in Europe..... considering they’re free
@@juanmaruli4977 you dont need tho... almost every affluent city or western city have museums that have traded. been donated, or purchased ancient world sculptures and the likes
Why is it that whenever the statue of Augustus is painted, his breastplate is white, shouldn't it be gilt bronze?
Actually, I've heard It was either pure or plated gold. Obviously not worn in battle probably ceremony.
@@mikethewise2000 Even if he wore it "in b a battle", Augustus (Octavius) was a patrician general in ancient Rome. He led the battles from behind, remaining in camp or off the field to coordinate and strategize. He never had need for armor outside the ceremonial sense.
And even if he did enter battle, wearing heavily decorated armor has been the norm for high officers since the dawn of civilization. Just because something looks pretty doesn’t mean it was cerimonial: fancy armor was their BMW, their Rolex.
Same with all of the Pyramids in Egypt. All are documented to be once covered in white marble with giant copper caps or crystal tops. It's super neato. Would be cool to see a film that shows the real depictions of the times.
Thing is, most movies based on, "history", take place when the pyramids were already ancient.
Take note that monuments such as the Great Pyramid of Giza were ancient when the Roman empire came to be...
Yeah, they're really old.
Not Marble, white limestone plastering, and the the caps where typically gilded black granite.
That depiction can be seen in Assassin's Creed Origins. You can even climb them 😁
IIRC, the big 3 were once capped in gold with exquisite marble or limestone facades underneath, adorned near the bottom also. They were still intact & revered during the Ptolemaic Dynasty, & subsequent Roman period until xtianity was imposed via decree. While their true defacement occurred between the time of the Mamelukes & Ottomans, fair to say: monotheistic extremism ultimately put an end to antiquity's artistic legacy.
The pyramids, mighty as they still stand, are but one of antiquity's countless world treasures deliberately defaced, destroyed, and/or otherwise taken from view of the world. What remains intact/visible today is but a shadow of what once was.
You mean Gods of Egypt was fictional?
Assassin's Creed covered this notion pretty well by portraying many ancients Greeks with many colors and dyes
Exactly. But the Greek people in that game don't seem to actually represent how the Greeks looked like.
The funny thing, though, is that they went both ways. They got the colors right for Odyssey, but the statues in Origins were almost all white. I wonder if they got called out on it for Origins and decided to go fully authentic for Odyssey.
The statues in Odyssey also look a lot more realistic, and not tacky like the tones and pigments used in videos like this... Seems like they're just trying to make it a meme when really the statues would have been absolutely gorgeous when painted. Not basic primary colors like they lazily show here...
Yes, they did it VERY well
@@scottlemoult3109 I think its because in Odyssey, not only were the colors more realistic in that they were darker and more common dyes, but that they were also worn down. People seem to forget that the Greeks were ancient to themselves, they were around for quite some time so their own creatures were destroyed and rebuilt countless times.
And some of the Pyramids of Giza had golden caps and a white limestone finish. It’s no wonder that over thousands of years these monuments would look so different from their original forms.
actually the pyramids finish was removed to use the materials elsewhere (i dont remember for what exactly but ik the materials were eventually removed) !
Dell12 16 similar to mesoamerican pyramids - today we see them as grey, but they used to be covered in elaborate colors
Camryn Mangual oh yeah I know , but still I was saying that it’s no surprise that ancient monuments from so long ago are so different from their original forms things happen and change as time marches on and civilizations rise and fall.
@@camij6124 a lot of people stole the gold caps, and the limestone was used by conquerors to built monuments and temples.
EDIT: since some people are replying with other uses, I should clarify that they stripped the limestone to build a variety of structures.
Salty Pyro Tato well some... but some was used for paving...
Keep in mind, that when you paint on a white surface your colors seem brighter! When I paint on my tiny 25mm metal figures for my D & D game, I often paint the entire piece in gunmetal black and then drybrush colors over the black areas - this leaves a natural dark background in the folds of clothing and highlights raised areas of the figurines. If I want colors to be very bright, I paint white on top of the raised areas and then add color.
I love the idea of an ancient Roman being shown around our classical buildings and saying, "Nice! When do the decorators get here?"
Hahaha. "Why do you have a bunch of unfinished stuff lying around?"
It's my doppelganger!
If that particular Roman would read Winckelmann's quote on the 'purity' of white statues, he would probably exclaim: " Errare humanum est....sed iste in extremis !!"
Bruh don’t they know color wasn’t even invented until like 1930
Like zoinks
It existed. Dyes and paints have been found on caves. Roman's had functioning sewers and concrete, im sure they had paint.
You know one of the first pigments were discovered by Greeks right?
replies above me
bruh people in the replies can’t take a joke-
edit: spelling
*_imagine if the statues are actually victims of medusa_*
The Gogons turned people to stone, not Marble.
No because romans wouldnt have thought medusa was real.
Hyperion marble is stone isn’t it?
5.4k people: "imma pretend i didn't hear that"
Ha, You have 54 likes, and said 5.4k.
Two years of art history classes and my teacher NEVER touched upon this? HOW.
I know, right? I had a really good professor for all my classes, too -- and she never mentioned that those statues and other sculptures were painted. I will have to link this video to her when I can find her email again. She's a Docent at the Nashville Parthenon full-scale replica (which I've visited -- it's gorgeous)... might add an extra cool thing for her to discuss with visitors!
Because he doesn't use TH-cam! LOL. But it was well documented in news articles when the first coloured reconstructions came out!
"How?" - because very few people are allowed to teach art history through "lectures" anymore. Lectures are supposed to be bad teaching practice and you're supposed to teach yourself with the teacher prompting and questioning you.
It's the premier reason why so many modern British art students think "art" started in the 1990's with Japanese Manga artists or with stuff on Instagram.
fablewalls I had art history classes in high school, which pretty much are seminars. Have had other art history lectures at uni and indeed lectures tend to make you remember less.
@@hiephoi8632 - makes it difficult then doesn't it! Lectures and "art history class" is sleep inducing but if you don't do them you end up with art students who basically know nothing and don't care about what happened before they got their first Instagram account.
Somewhere, there is a happy medium - but I often think the only people interested in art history are not artists.
Churches were also painted and very colorful.
Certain ones still are - the Florence cathedral for example
Adrian Pietkiewicz that’s from a different time though. But yeah, it’s not surprising that Christian churches kept the tradition after Roman times.
@@ea635 Oh sorry, I didn't realise you meant ancient churches
Orthodox churches in particular are still very colorful and adorned with icons.
@@someguy9571 He is talking about churches in Antiquity: Orthodox churches were a development from the Middle Ages.
Fun fact: Lacoon is not a Roman statue, it's the masterpiece of a Greek artist from the Dodecanese islands and was stolen by the Romans when they conquered Greece and never returned.
@W.A M.P As the Romans claimed to be descendents of Greeks it would have been pretty weird to destroy their culture. Actually the Romans took over a big part of the Greek culture, including cuisine, philosophy, education, political systems, medicine and religion.
W.A M.P well the romans thought they were descendants of the Greeks so
more accurate title: things you didn’t know because you didn’t care, but now that you know you think it’s surprising
Spot on! lol
Mayan and Aztec statues and pyramids were painted colours also.
The mayan civilisation had collapsed and its temples and cities overgrown with forest 500 years before the Spanish arrived.
(Further. The temples were covered in plaster, so smooth. They were painted red).
nobody care
@@marvinsilverman4394 you may not care, ok, no problem. But plenty of people do, in fact, care... Ironically, it's likely there are far more who care more about the the truth of the Mayan civilization than whatever it is _you_ care most about.
@@George_D777 right on, I love the mayan and aztek cultures, the mexica people and their rich history is amazing, I wish we could see what they could've become if these lands hadnt been colonized and pillaged
Love the Mayans and Aztecs. My family and I are from Italy and we’ve been to Mexico 7 times. I have soo much ancient aztec and Mayan art in my room from when we went. I remember italy had won the World Cup and everyone in the streets would scream “FORZA ITALIA!!” Such awesome people
Is there a source to this I tried finding something but I couldn't
It's like saying medieval europe is dark and grim. Dude, everyone wear saturated color as clothes and paintings on their buildings.
I guess it's because movies always want to portray medieval times literally as the dark age, going with feeling more than accuracy.
medeival europe was dark and grim because of a certain virus wiping out millions
Ryo Bryan Lienardy I imagine that the gamut of color available in those days was rather limited to everyday people and their possessions.
@@januspanperspective1253 hmm, frankly, you are correct but from what I know until today, their colors is mostly saturated than not. So it is limited but more limited in the darker color than the bright saturated one and obviously lacking in their ability to reach many of RGB color neither be able to make gradations. Furthermore, putting aditional charcoal (Black) doesn't give good dark color generally, so, since medieval people are people like us and considering their culture consider the brighter the color the more beautiful, pristine, and of course richer it is, I believe they won't darken their lapis lazuli (Blue and all color in general) and prefer the saturated color. Correct me if I'm wrong tho.
@Sambhav Mathur I think Asian goes through medieval era rougher. Not studying Asian history that much but from what I know Chinese has weird politic where you get together and break then back together then break. Japan be like, is there any land out of Japan? Oh well, that clan is an ashole let's think about it later. Or maybe Asia is more prosperous when global trading happen? Not sure but you may be right since Asia is the source of stuff like spice where Europe mostly just the consumer.
The same happens with aztec and mayan statues and buildings, a lot of them were painted and you can hardly see mentions of it. But to be fair all of the reconstructions in textbooks do carry the color of the aztec cities.
Yes, and on the taínos too. Ignaris, subgainos etc. All colores but time make them white and without life.😥
If you want the best idea of how classical Roman statues looked just go to a catholic church. The Roman way of making statues survived in Catholicism, and how catholic statues are fully painted is exactly how Roman statues would've been painted.
I thought about that, and wax museums
Also a lot of Roman statues are copies of originally bronze greek statues
Some but not that many. Romans had their own rulers as gods. So many of their rulers were sculpted.
@@brazilianman92 You are wrong. The main Roman pantheon were just the Greeks gods with different names, Zeus->Jupiter, Athena->Minerva etc. Of course the statues of Roman leaders were original, but when it came to the majority of statue work you would have found in Rome, they were copies of Greek originals.
@@ozvulcan The imperial cult took precedent over the Greek inspired Roman gods. The leaders of Rome were always idolized. This even prior to their shift into the empire. Hence why we have statues of Marcus aurelius. When they shifted into an empire the imperial cult became huge. So emperors and the royal families were seen as Gods. Which made them the most popular choice to sculpt. Hence why so many emperors have statues. Also the cult of mithraism and various non greek cults took hold as well. The Greek gods themselves are just Phoenician and Egyptian gods by a different name. Such as Baal Hammon being Cronus/ Saturn/ Geb.
@@ozvulcan Gotta read more bud. Tisk tisk
@bishes be mad The imperial cult is a real thing bro. This is something commonly done by the Egyptians, Chinese and Roman empire. It even carried on a bit past into the Byzantine empire. Where Constantine was almost given divine like status. Just look up imperial cult and you'll find scholarly studies done on it. The concept of a Godly royal line is something the Roman empire definitely did. It started with the advent of Augustus Caeser.
Interesting fact: the terra cotta warrior statues were originally very colorful as well.
the orange lie!
They're actually among the most astounding finds ever made. Each one is different, not just by face. And yes, while I'm not an expert, I do know they were painted with a variety of colors.
There was a photo I saw which shows the statue with colors before the it immediately fade away upon exposure to oxygen.
In hind sight, it makes sense, having colours.
Colour signify that they can afford pigments. The richer you are, the more grandiose your colours should be!
And look at the clothes of existing tribes across all nations, many of them boasts colours!
Oddly enough it also makes sense if you consider stuff like garden dwarves, or nativity set statues. They're all colored because they have no reason not to be. Same for statues on streets.
@@katethegoat7507 yeah, everday figurines and statues are mostly coloured. :)
@@deidraws2530 exactly! Now imagine if that was the case with everyday architecture and decorations
@leonardimas1 what???
@leonardimas1 The Klu Klux Klan wasn't even around until after the civil war...
I love how you talked about cloth color and ignored most of the controversy hinged on which was skin color
Unlike vice
Controversy? What?
Yeah give them.a few years when they can admit they werent white
@@salmineo4132 yeah they were clearly africans lol
@@salmineo4132 the romans were what we would consider white. But back then no one really categorized people based on skin color so the Romans thought of themselves as roman and not *white*.
So you’re telling me that assassins creed was more accurate than my history class?
Yep. That's TOOOOOOTALLY it. Let's Ignore the fact that this video is about statues, not historical events and data's. And yes, if you're history class teacher *said* that they were white, then *Yes*, Assassin's creed more accurate about statues than you're class.
@little boy blue I guess I should Woosh myself.
Voland.V. r/woosh.
I think there's some truth to that. even though AC takes a lot of liberties (duh, it's fantasy) they bring in, I think, a lot of experts to build a realistic world
NO
So a man in white robes did have a fist fight with the pope over magical apples?
I feel better now knowing that the ancient world was colorful.
Same, the recreations look so dazzling!
5:08 don't tell me that that's not Mark Zuckerberg
U right u right
Underrated comment
Marcos Svcvrvus
Wait. It’s not?!
Its a joke. She says "seem human" then shows zuckerberg..
I hate it when people destroy history, especially to obfuscate.
It makes me appreciate all the more those people who work to preserve it and especially restore it. ❤
Colorized Ancient statues look exactly like modern day Catholic statues.
That's not surprising as the early Christians stole and copied a lot of things from the Greco-Roman pagans.
More like they were these pagans.
@Christine Taggart no one "stole" anything, you American conspiracy theorists.
@Ksch Koff American by heart. :)
@Christine Taggart
So you're saying that the Roman Catholic church isn't Christian?
Ooookaaaay then...
I learned that Ancient Greek and Roman statues were painted all over in middle school, if not earlier. Same thing is true for the temples. That’s why columns seem to have all those tiny indentures, because they were covered with coloured shells or beads.
I didn't know it till I saw this video
Nice
i mean here in greece they teach you that in 3rd grade history class
Me too. I don’t know how people could not know that honestly
Who else thought that when she put the tiny statue on the table that the ‘white lie’ would be that all the famous greek and roman statues were small
TheWolfboy180 aww
The lost art of sculpture painting has fascinated me since I discovered that it was a lost art while working as a security officer at the Getty museum.
Many statues of the ancient world were painted colorfully, not just classical ones! Thanks for brining this common misconception to light.
I'm going to tell my great grandchildren Christmas lights only came in white
I wish they did only come in white?
They used to be white bulbs with coloured covers.
@@timothywhite8932 They do
Never contemplated the fact that they were painted. from ignorance and general lack of discussion on the subject.
Would be great to go to Rome and see it in colour.must have been quite spectular.maybe gaudy but still spectacular.
You know what, when you color that status, it looks cheaper.....
It’s probably because today we see the plain white of those statues as valuable, especially with marble.
"The whiter the body is, the more beautiful it is"
Hol up
*audible scream*
Teringventje WHITE SUPREMACIST DETECTED
Teringventje it was a jk but better sensitive then a holocaust denier
Tbf have you seen gold Buddha statues? Not the nicest things to look at in my opinion
BLM!
Why i thought she was gonna say Cesar was black
Because Vox
You might've thought Albert einstein was white. We dont blame you, but he was actually a 12 year old asian schoolgirl.
But definitely not Hollywood white...like Jesus
Yeah And they scrubbed the melanin off some of those statues too!!
@Al Smith So you are saying that EVERYTHING in life is either regressive or progressive? Wow.
Warhammer hobbyists know all about colouring sculptures :)
they couldn't bear watching this video
@@majorfallacy5926 I did, and I reminded them of the amount of coats one should use when painting... sculptures.
you know, I think it would be a really cool thing to produce full size miniatures for top painters to compete on painting. It is possible that such hobbyists could be expected to do the very best recreations of historical statues, compared to any other artist.
Michalis Famelis hmm
THIN THY PAINTS
Is it just me or does the white Augustus look waaay better than the painted one?
Just you
It would've looked a lot better than what is shown here
I tought this is general knowledge. Statues were supposed to be lifelike and that means color as well.
false
Yea, if your not American. we are uncultured
They also had swappable limbs and heads so they could be replaced/fixed, one day they're holding a sword the next a book.
@@thoticcusprime9309 Ah yes, you say it so it's true
@@Lalox16x nah bruh I go to a British school and I didn't know
WOW! I knew that the Ancient Greeks painted their statues, but I simply had no idea that the colours were this vivid, this intricate or achingly beautiful. Your video really brought back to me "the glory that was Greece," and the sense of the Greeks as a lively, witty, fascinating people. To my mind, the restored statues are colourful without being kitsch, and with no sense of the Disney treatment.
Agree. The colors make them seem life like. Also for some statues the Roman would use different colored marbles for parts of a statue instead of painting the entire statue.
I was amazed at the vivid colors as well. Why did we have black and white television when everybody had color in real life?
"colour could make marble seem human"
*paints mark zuckerberg*
not sure its works for lizard
So you’re telling me sculptures fade after thousands of years? *wow*
But remember, it's the renaissance artists fault for not seeing the pigments that where long gone...
So the opening ceremony of Athens 2004 is pretty accurate, because the sculptures has colors..
You mean, people were not stones back then?
Hol up, my life is a lie
No, they became stone when they died.
I don't know. Pompeii seem to suggest otherwise. There have been found many stone people there. Many many.
Well... those were not the colours and patterns I was expecting
The white statues are nice but it’s really cool to see the intended original color. It’s disappointing some people wanted to ignore it because they didn’t like it. It’s not about your preferences. It’s about what’s correct.
"Colored marble" makes it sound like the marble wasn't white. Painted makes more sense
CalLadyQED How about Marble of Color? /s
No, please, these post 2000's brain washed radicals are trying to leave some racial social awerness bread-crumbs around everything they do.
r/pedant
@@WIMatthewI I think she's just saying colored marble seems like the marble itself is blue or orange or some other color.
@@WIMatthewI Mate no one was talking about race here.. This isn't America
The white marble look somehow intrigues me more than the coloured look
That was the problem. Renaissance sculptors were mostly commissioned by churches or wealthy religious patrons who owned personal chapels. The white tracery of bare marble seemed to convey the notion of unchanging, heavenly eternity better than painted stone in representative religious art, so it became the default norm. And since art is meant to be seen to be remembered, the public associates bare marble as the norm.
OMG, this makes a lot of sense actually. Imagine the main practical problem of having all white marble statues and buildings all around your city: sunlight! Ancient Romans would have been blinded by the reflection (and refraction) of the sunlight from the bright white marble statues and buildings if they were indeed bright white. This explains a lot.
I think you're absolutely right! I've been to Rome this september and the monument of Victor Emmanuel, which is made out of white marble, was beaming! I could hardly look at it, it was THAT bright.
Imagine if a Ben Hur- scale horse racing track was as white as we initially thought. All the participants, horses, audiences and VIPs will be blinded.
Interestingly enough, that's pretty much the argument Winckelmann made in before and after the quote. White as the sum of all light is supposed to make the statues bigger, more majestic and better. I don't think he would have criticised a wee reflection
But yeah, it would have made for an uncomfortable climate and missed the main purpose of the statues - looking as realistic as possible.
What's funny about your comment is that the ancient Egyptian pyramids were sheathed in white limestone. That meant they gleamed a pure, blinding white during daytime, and were quite difficult to look at directly. In fact they were too bright, as all of them were eventually stripped of their limestone facades, leaving only the dull granite cores.
Make Rome colourful again !
If the statues are painted with such colorful and patterned clothing, it's fair to assume that people's clothes weren't all white either, right?
White clothes are a b--#
There were a plethora of dies in many different colors. Purple, for example, was reserved exclusively for the clothing of the Roman Emperor.
different dyes were more expensive, so the colors you wore said more about you social stature, though nobody was running around in burlap sacks like they seem to always put poor people in in Hollywood movies.
This is correct. From frescoes we know that the clothes of the Romans and Etruscans were dyed in vibrant colors. Tyrian purple, for example, was a color reserved for royalty due to its rarity.
@@EnigmaticLucas no only the roman head of state was allowed by decree to wear purple. You mean the middle ages
When I was a kid, I had a theory that this was the case but I doubted myself because I thought it was just another one of my wild thoughts.
Smart kid 😁 I like to think that almost everything kids think was/is/will be possible 😅
And as a kid I was over here thinking why don’t astronauts just put a flower in their oxygen tank with soil and a light for infinite oxygen
@@zukoshonor7435 Because plants need food too? And they produce co2 at night, which is why having them next to your bed is the worst idea ever 😂
@@theyarnycaterpillar3563 yeah, 6 year old me really thought I was really smart for thinking why not put a flower in their tanks
Theory or random thought that happened to be correct?
Any trip to a museum in Greece, you’d find this out in the first 5 minutes :)
or you could just watch this video and find it out in the same time :)
:)
Are you Greek? It’s hard to find Greeks in America I feel like!! I am italian and love greece so much I feel so much connection, even my dna shown to have an affinity with Greek Islanders. My family from southern Italia (used to be magna Grecia ) una faccia una razza e viva il mediterraneo 🇬🇷🇮🇹🇬🇷🇮🇹🇬🇷❤️❤️❤️ ... most influential civilizations in history come from the Mediterranean . Ciao bellissima
not everyone is rich alexia
@@claudiamarianidamato9499 "most influential civilizations"? Many - yes, most - no. I understand pride, but let's not get carried away with the culture centrism. The Aztec, Maya, Mongols, Huns, Vikings, Vietnamese, Khmer, Celts, Chinese, Babylonians, Congolese, Zulu, Mali, Maori, Polynesians, Japanese, Koreans, Ainu, Persians, Portuguese, Russians, British, Indians etc. beg to differ. ;)
Can you imagine dedicating hours if your life to painting something with vibrant colours just to have people in the future say “it looks better with no colour.”
Well... It does.
yes
Now i want a series of miniatures of classical statues that i can paint however i want, like Warhammer 40k figures!
It'd be great!!
Ikr? I feel like we should have the liberty to paint as we imagine them. Loved the archer guy so colorful 😂
the “white” lie
i see what u did there
Finaly!! Someone mention it
Neil Famacion They didn’t do anything “there”.
Yea vox is the left wing cult channel
lol white lie is literally an expression.
Imperial Purple lies matter
People always say these ancient statues were used to make the person look better...
I guess someone could say their features were chiseled
Makes a lot of sense.
They gave many sculptures so much detail that painting them was just a way to make them look even more real.
Same thing is true about most of the Buddha statues (and the temples they’re housed in) in Japan. A few places, like the tombs of the first and third Tokugawa shoguns in Nikko, retain the bright colors.
"The whiter the body is, the more beautiful it is."
Black people in 18 century: hold up.
It was a matter of aesthetic, it had nothing to do with race.
@@joelrebollar7055 it was just a joke.
Musik Damals
“It had nothing to do with race” it had a lot to do with race if you’ve researched renaissance philosophers attitudes towards ethnic minority groups lol. Not saying that they can’t be appreciated aesthetically, they very much can, but a lot of our obsession with lighter pigmentation and demonization of darker pigmentation has to do with historical and cultural background. Especially with how much the enlightenment influenced the western world. It’s a matter of fact widely documented.
The Unimportant Organism thank you ! i think the video went realllllly easy on how white supremacy fuelled this whole misinformation thing about the statues. colonial art historians were suuuuper attached to their white marble, especially considering it’s divine superiority to other, tacky, ‘primitive’ cultural objects overseas
idon'tevenknowanymore Minorities within European society. . .OBVIOUSLY, dude.
whenever Americans say "Michael Angelo" xD
How would you pronounce it in English 🤔
mee-kay-langelo
@@marioskjj no not necessarily, and judging by your name, it's not likely you are a native English speaker.
guys it’s “meekel angelo”
Mario Sacaj meekel angelo*
I love that you actually got a paint brush out and got to work. A genuinely curious mind.
This means that all historic movies are wrong ,and that if someone travel in time now they'll be shocked with things that were understood and thought wrongly and this means that all my childhood fantasies were WRONG from A to Z !?
Not all, remember that during the Roman period they had color, but during the renaissance, they didn't. So it all depends on what era the movie is based on.
Yeah. It's hard to take stuff seriously with obvious errors in your face. Suspension of disbelief
I mean...you could try reading literature about Ancient world instead of watching Hollywood movies set in a period. You wouldn't be lied to. This whole thing about statues isn't a big secret, it's been known for absolute ages. But details like these are usually only interesting to historians and enthusiasts of the subject.
For example, the biggest offenders are "historical" movies set in Medieval period. Where, according to Hollywood everybody wore grey drab rags, and everybody were constantly covered in dirt. As opposed to reality, where Medieval clothing was an absolute explosion of colour. Often richly decorated in the most outrageous manner, for those who could afford it. Same goes for buildings. People loved colour. Much more so than today. And nobody walked around with dirt on their face. People weren't pigs. Being clean isn't a new invention.
@@Quicksilver_Cookie than suggest some to read
Tasnim play AC Odyssey lol. In that game all the temples and buildings are colored and it looks stunning!
Who else wants to like time travel to those days and come back to present?? Like a month vacation
Maywand Khil you will be able to in the future.
Every statues' colour since Renaissance Era:
*The Whitest White*
Raihan Miftah yikes, colonial art historians