everyone is like “oh actually the ancient statues probably had sophisticated shading and highlights” as if our modern civilisation isn’t filled with garish Ronald McDonald statues despite being a million times wealthier
Our society is wealthy enough for disposable statues.
making art that looks like utter shit as an ostentatiously costly signal
archaeologist, sweating and visibly distressed: although these statues look horrifying today, the ancients had a sophisticated grasp of the visual arts and would have applied subtle shading – sadly long since faded – to enhance the sculpture,
