The reality is originally Greek statues which. Antique sculptures in color: NY Carlsberg Glyptotek exhibition (Copenhagen) - Art History
Since the Renaissance, the white surfaces of ancient statues have been a standard of beauty and a source of inspiration for artists. But archaeologists Ulrika Koch-Brinkman and Vincenz Brinkman destroyed the dreams of aesthetes.
Scientists have previously noticed that on some statues traces of painting were preserved in the folds of togas and robes. Vincenz and Ulrika made a bold assumption that the statues were painted. To prove this, scientists examined them using X-rays, infrared and ultraviolet radiation. The assumption was confirmed: modern technologies using microparticles they even helped restore the color of paints. And they turned out to be quite cheerful.
Actually, nature should be blamed for the fact that they came to us white: over the centuries, under the influence of rain and wind, the paint was washed off. The Brinkman couple decided to recreate the original appearance of the statues, for which they painted several as they originally looked during the Ancient Greece and Rome. An exhibition of reconstructed statues of the Brinkmans has been touring museums around the world since 2003.
Now the painted statues look tacky and ridiculous. But in ancient times, when color was a symbol of status and wealth, they bright colors emphasized the greatness of the rulers and the country. “People often think of it as kitsch,” says Vincenz. - And this is not surprising. But the point is rather that this is unusual for our modern eye. And then, a thousand years ago, when slaves and the poor wore clothes made of unbleached linen, merchants who did not belong to noble class, had no right to wear purple and blue, no matter how rich they were. Just imagine with what reverence they looked at the statues - for example, a lion with an indigo mane from Greek city Loutraki."
The “Sarcophagus of Alexander” was found during excavations of the necropolis of the Phoenician city of Sidon. Alexander the Great is depicted on it during the battle with the Persians. Tunic with long sleeves talks about his conquests and the fact that he is now an eastern ruler. And the headdress made of lion skin refers to Hercules and indicates the divine origin of Alexander.
We're used to seeing greek statues white, painted only in shades of marble. They appear the same way in our imagination greek temples. However, the data modern research they say that in fact the Greeks were not fans of monochrome either in sculpture or in architecture. They painted their statues in bright colors, painted patterns on clothes, emphasized the features of stone faces with paints. The buildings were also decorated - with multi-colored patterns, geometric and floral. These patterns can still be seen - although only in ultraviolet light.
German archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann points out antique statues and fragments of architectural decorations, the light of ultraviolet lamps, and the outlines of patterns that once covered sculptures and temples appear before the scientist’s eyes. Brinkmann then recreates the ornaments and designs: with his help, we can see the statues approximately as the ancient Greeks saw them.
Brinkmann cannot be sure how to arrange the colors - only the outlines of the drawings have been preserved, and it is difficult for a scientist to judge what kind of paint the artist used. However, the archaeologist tries to use only those dyes that could be obtained in Greece. Green comes from crushed malachite, blue from the mineral azurite, yellow from natural arsenic compounds, red from cinnabar, black from burnt bone and wine.
Unfortunately, those who tried to imitate antiquity in the Renaissance and later did not have the technology that would allow them to see ancient paintings. Therefore, the architecture of classicism, which considered itself the heir of antiquity, was devoid of cheerful patterns and designs, maintaining pure “antique” whiteness.
It cannot be said that people know absolutely everything about real masterpieces of art, especially if we're talking about about ordinary people, and not about art critics. There are many secrets hidden in the architectural creations of the geniuses of their time.
In some cases, there is even mysticism - and all this will be interesting to know for absolutely everyone. Why does the statue of Moses have horns? Where did the hands of Venus de Milo go? Were ancient statues originally white? Or were they painted in different colors? The answers to these questions may surprise you. And to find them out, you should read this article, which will examine in detail the secrets associated with greatest creations brilliant sculptors of bygone years who managed to create a work of art from a marble block.
Michelangelo created a sculpture of Moses with interesting element- a pair of horns. Many historians explain this as a misinterpretation of the Bible: the Book of Exodus says that the Jews had difficulty looking at the face of Moses when he came down from Mount Sinai with stone tablets containing God's commandments. The Hebrew word used in the Bible can be translated as both “shine” and “horns.” However, from the context it is quite clear that Moses' face radiated radiance and was not framed by horns.
For a long time it was believed that all ancient Greek and Roman statues were simply white. But according to recent research, it may be that they were originally painted multi-colored paints, which faded over time and eventually disappeared completely due to exposure sunlight and wind. 
"Kiss" is famous masterpiece Auguste Rodin, who was originally called "Francesca da Rimini" after the thirteenth-century Italian aristocrat whose name was immortalized in Dante's Inferno (" The Divine Comedy")". Her husband was Giovanni Malatesta, but she fell in love with him younger brother Paolo. They were reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere when Giovanni found them together and killed them both. The sculpture shows Paolo holding a book in his hands, but the lovers do not touch each other's lips. This demonstrates that they committed no sin. A more neutral name - "The Kiss" - was given to the statue by critics who saw it in 1887. 
Rodin’s student E. A. Bourdelle said about “The Kiss”: “There was not and will not be a master capable of putting into clay, bronze and marble a rush of flesh more soulfully and intensely than Rodin did.” R. M. Rilke wrote: “You feel how waves from all contacting surfaces penetrate the body, a thrill of beauty, aspiration, power. That’s why it seems as if you see the bliss of this kiss in every point of these bodies; he is like the rising sun with its omnipresent light.” The sculpture was so sensual that many considered it indecent for display to a wide audience. There is a version that Rodin depicted himself and his mistress and assistant Camille Claudel in the sculpture.
Secret " Marble veil"Rafael Monti
One look at these statues, whose faces are supposedly covered with a translucent veil, makes you wonder how it was possible to make this out of ordinary stone. The secret lies in the marble that was used to create the statue, and more specifically in its structure. The block from which the sculpture was created had two layers - one of them more transparent than the other. Such marble is not easy to find, but it exists. The sculptor had a clear idea of what he wanted and what kind of marble to look for. Monty worked on the surface as usual, while simultaneously creating carvings that separated the normal part from the transparent part. The end result is that the sculpture's veil actually looks transparent. 
The most mysterious sculpture is located in the Poblenou cemetery in Barcelona. It's called "Kiss of Death" and its creator remains unknown. It is assumed that it was created by Jaume Barba, but there are also suggestions that its author is Joan Fonbernat. This sculpture is located in one of the far corners of the cemetery, and it was this sculpture that inspired Ingmar Bergman to create the film “The Seventh Seal”, which tells the story of a fallen knight and Death 
The Venus de Milo statue is one of the most famous in the world, it is located in Paris, in the Louvre. It is said that a Greek peasant discovered it in 1820 on the island of Milos. When the sculpture was discovered, it was broken into two halves, but the hands were still there. They say that she held an apple in one hand and held her robe with the other so that it would not fall to the ground. 
Hellenistic period sculptor Alexandros is believed to have carved this stone masterpiece between 130 and 100 BC. The statue was originally found with a pedestal-slab on which it stood. There an inscription about the creator was discovered. Subsequently, the pedestal mysteriously disappeared.
Some believe that the sculpture does not depict Aphrodite/Venus, but Amphitrite, a sea goddess who was especially revered on Milos. Still others even suggest that this is a statue of the goddess of victory Victoria. There is also debate about what the statue was originally holding. There are different versions that it could be a spear or a spinning wheel with threads. There is even a version that it was an apple, and the statue was Aphrodite, who was holding in her hands an award given to her by Paris as the most beautiful goddess. 
Kentrotas originally found this statue with the French sailor Olivier Voutier. Having changed several owners while trying to remove it from the country, the statue eventually ended up with the French Ambassador in Istanbul, the Marquis de Riviere. It was the Marquis who presented Venus to the French King Louis XVIII, who, in turn, gave the statue to the Louvre, where it remains to this day. 
Kentrotas found fragments of the hands when he discovered the statue in ruins, but after they were reconstructed they were considered too "rough and ungraceful." Modern art historians believe that this does not mean at all that the hands did not belong to Venus; most likely they were damaged over the centuries. Both the arms and the original pedestal were lost when the statue was transported to Paris in 1820.
19th-century art historians decided that the Venus statue was the work of the Greek sculptor Praxiteles (it was very similar to his statues). This classified the statue as belonging to classical era(480-323 BC), whose creations were valued much more than the sculptures of the Hellenistic period. To support this version, even at the cost of misinformation, the pedestal was removed before the sculpture was presented to the king. 
During his conquests, Napoleon Bonaparte brought back one of the most beautiful examples greek sculpture- statue of Venus de Medici - from Italy. In 1815, the French government returned this statue to Italy. And in 1820, France gladly took the opportunity to fill the empty space in the main French museum. The Venus de Milo became more popular than the Venus de Medici, which was also presented in the Louvre. 
Perhaps the most famous of the detractors of the Venus de Milo, the famous impressionist artist stated that the sculpture is very far from depicting female beauty.
By the fall of 1939, with the threat of war looming over Paris, the Venus de Milo, along with several other priceless artifacts such as the sculpture of the Nike of Samothrace and works by Michelangelo, were removed from the Louvre to be stored in various castles in the French countryside. 
Venus is missing more than just hands. It was originally decorated jewelry, including bracelets, earrings and tiara. These decorations disappeared a long time ago, but there were holes in the marble for fastening. 
The height of the Venus de Milo is 2.02 m.
Art historians note that the Venus de Milo bears a striking resemblance to Aphrodite or the Venus of Capua, which is a Roman copy of the original Greek statue. From the time of the creation of the Venus of Capua, at least 170 years passed before Alexandros created the Venus de Milo. Some art historians believe that both statues are actually copies of an older source. 
The Missing Arms of the Venus de Milo is much more than the source of numerous lectures, discussions and essays by art critics. Their absence has also led to countless fantasies and theories as to how the hands might be positioned and what they might contain.
This delightful statue of the goddess Nike was found in 1863 on the island of Samothrace by the French ambassador and amateur archaeologist Charles Champouzao. The sculpture is made of golden Parian marble, and on the island it was the center of the altar to the sea gods. Scholars say that this statue was created in the second century BC to praise the victories of the Greek navy. The head and arms of the statue are lost, although many attempts have been made to restore them. It is assumed that the goddess held right hand above the head, and a cup, a crown or even horns was clamped in it. An interesting fact is that any attempts to return the hands in place ended in failure - they only spoiled the appearance of the masterpiece. And all these failures make us understand that Victory is beautiful the way it is - its imperfections only complement its splendor. 
Monument to Peter I 
Etienne Falconet, Monument to Peter I, 1768–1770
The Bronze Horseman is a monument surrounded by mystical and otherworldly stories. One of the legends associated with him says that during Patriotic War In 1812, Alexander I ordered the removal of especially valuable works of art from the city, including the monument to Peter I. At this time, a certain Major Baturin secured a meeting with the Tsar’s personal friend, Prince Golitsyn, and told him that he and Baturin were haunted by the same dream. He sees himself on Senate Square. Peter's face turns. The horseman rides off his cliff and heads through the streets of St. Petersburg to Kamenny Island, where Alexander I then lived. The horseman enters the courtyard of the Kamenoostrovsky Palace, from which the sovereign comes out to meet him. “Young man, what have you brought my Russia to,” Peter the Great tells him, “but as long as I’m in place, my city has nothing to fear!” Then the rider turns back, and the “heavy, ringing gallop” is heard again. Struck by Baturin’s story, Prince Golitsyn conveyed the dream to the sovereign. As a result, Alexander I reversed his decision to evacuate the monument. The monument remained in place.
