Artist Francesco Vezzoli Shows us What the Ancient Romans Looked Like With Their Makeup On

True Colors (A Marble Relief Head of a Goddess), c.1st century A.D.-2014. Francesco Vessoli

It’s easy to imagine the ancients in monochrome. Their classic architecture and statuary give us pure white marbles to project upon.

But what of the people themselves? The stories of ancient Rome are far too colorful to reconcile with the silent, stoic figures we see in museums.

Archaeologists have long contended that the statues were painted – particles of pigment have been fond on many statues …