Author: Dionisios Pappas

The seminal book History of the Art of Antiquity (1764) by Johann Joachim Winckelmann, marked a radical shift in the Western world's perception on ancient Greek art. Its glorification of Classical antiquity sparked off Neoclassicism and irrevocably redefined our conception of our past. Disregarding the fact that ancient Greek and Roman sculptures were originally painted with bright colors, Winckelmann argued that white marble represents the unblemished beauty and absolute truth, influencing a great number of