Voltaire

I think you're right about the paint. In fact, I believe the whole "leave it natural" school comes about in the Renaissance because the paint had worn off for the most part, and people assumed that classical statues were always exhibited that way. The taste was clearly otherwise. There are some interesting experiment going on in which replicas of statues (or virtual models) are colored (see link below). Where the objects are classical, it makes me a bit quesy;polychromed Egyptian scupture doesn't affect me in the same way, probably because I knew from the beginning of my interest in Egyptian sculpture that it was generally painted. Preconceptions can turn into prejudices.

Lee



dsc.discovery.com/news/ briefs/20050214/colorsculpture.html