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# Once again, taking this reconstruction of the original appearance of the 2nd-century AD Tauroctony from the British Museum as my example, I am convinced that ancient sculptures, in any present-day state and in any artist's rendering, lose very badly when
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/v-ocherednoi-raz-na-primere-etoi-rekonstruktsii-iznachalnogo-vida-tavrokhtonii-2-v-n-e-iz-britanskogo-muzeia-ubezhdaius-chto-antichnye-skulptury-v-liubom-sovremennom-sostoianii-i-liubom/
- Published: 2022-01-15T10:53:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:39:35.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Art, London, Museums, Observations

Once again, taking this reconstruction of the original appearance of the 2nd-century AD Tauroctony from the British Museum as my example, I am convinced that ancient sculptures, in any present-day state and in any artist's rendering, lose very badly when painted, which is meant to restore to them, as it were, their original full-colour appearance. And it is not a matter of being accustomed to seeing marble as marble, but of the fact that they are usually painted by very mediocre draughtsmen, whereas they were created by superb sculptors

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_5806@15-01-2022_13-53-30.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_5807@15-01-2022_13-53-30.jpg)

![](https://theparnassian.com/content/images/2026/09/photo_5808@15-01-2022_13-53-30.jpg)