11-07-2006, 02:53 PM
I know that traces of paint have often been found Greek and Roman stone work, even when the natural stone is quite beautiful as we see it today. Does anyone know of any ancient sources that give an opinion one way or the other on the beauty of natural stone? Or, was marble valued for it's quality as a surface to hold paint? I remember Augustus saying he 'found Rome a city of brick, and left it a city of marble.' Did that mean *painted* marble?
I once had a landlord that explained to me that in the 1920's, when ready-mix paint was invented, people went nuts for it and painted over all their beautiful finished wood surfaces. That whole neighborhood had these old houses with cherry wood interior framing, and it was all under 80 years of horrible paint layers lol.
I wonder what the ancient sensibility was regarding paint vs. natural surfaces, and how it changed over centuries while the stonework was being maintained.
I once had a landlord that explained to me that in the 1920's, when ready-mix paint was invented, people went nuts for it and painted over all their beautiful finished wood surfaces. That whole neighborhood had these old houses with cherry wood interior framing, and it was all under 80 years of horrible paint layers lol.
I wonder what the ancient sensibility was regarding paint vs. natural surfaces, and how it changed over centuries while the stonework was being maintained.
Rich Marinaccio
