Vatican exhibit shows art of ancient world not all black and white

Published: 2004-11-19

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Imagine the "Venus de Milo" with painted red lips, blonde hair and blue eyes. Far-fetched? Cartoonish? A new Vatican Museums exhibit maintains that for the ancients colored statues were nothing out of the ordinary -- they were brightened with pigments to make them stand out in temples or family courtyards. But because modern eyes have grown used to the bleached-white look of Greek and Roman statuary, the Vatican exhibit will probably shock as many viewers as it pleases. "Even for us, it's a big effort," said Francesco Buranelli, director of the Vatican Museums. "We're looking at these items with eyes conditioned by taste. We have to try to look at them with the eyes of the ancients." Buranelli spoke at a press conference Nov. 16 to unveil the exhibit, "The Colors of White," which features 15 painted reproductions, some of them alongside the marble originals.

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