The equation of white marble with beauty is not an inherent truth of the universe; it’s a dangerous construct that continues to influence white supremacist ideas today. Modern technology ( ultraviolet rays, etc) gives us proof that the Greek and Roman statues they were originally painted, they were adorned with vivid hues and bright colors, but it’s hard for most to imagine quite what this would have looked like.
Marble was a precious material for Greco-Roman artisans, but it was considered a canvas, not the finished product for sculpture. It was carefully selected and then often painted in gold, red, green, black, white, and brown, among other colors.
Marble wasn’t the only material that would have been painted over. Terracotta statues, as used by both the Greeks and especially the Etruscans, would have been painted, too.
The same naturally applies to ancient wooden statues. In some cases, different materials were used for different effects: a pair of marble hands and a head could be attached to a wooden body, probably because the marble, when painted, looked similar to human skin.
Perhaps surprisingly, bronze statues also had colours applied to them. While the bronze “skin” of a statue would have been left unpainted, probably because it at least approximates the skin colour of a tanned person living in the Mediterranean, colours were used for other parts of the body and for clothing. Eyes and teeth were often inlaid and hair was made darker; gold leaf could be applied to highlight other parts of a statue’s body or dress.
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