UV shows that Greek sculptures were not plain white marble
Wondering about useful (albeit specialized) applications for ultraviolet light?*** The July 2008 Smithsonian article True Colors reveals that unadorned white marble sculptures were nothing of the sort: Greek sculptures were painted in vivid color, and as the craft evolved, intricate detail.
Painted replica
*** The original color was revealed using ultraviolet light, “raking” a strong UV source over the sculptures, making fine patterns visible to the naked eye. It is unclear if actual UV photography was used. UV photography would require a specialty lens like the Coastal Optics 60/4 UV-VIS-IR, or the discontinued UV-Nikkor.
