Gods in Color

The exhibition is based on the conclusions drawn from research on ancient polychromy, conducted especially by the Classical archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann since the early 1980s, based on earlier works by Volkmar von Graeve.

It displayed copies of ancient sculpture in their reconstructed and painted appearance that had been produced during his studies, as well as new reconstructions created especially for the exhibition, in conjunction with the originals or comparable ancient sculptures.

Since 2007, the exhibition and underlying research has received support from a foundation created by the government of Bavaria, as well as private donations.

After the original German catalogue produced for the 2003 Munich exhibition, new editions were issued for later showings, most recently for the 2020 one in Frankfurt.

In 2007, the Colored Gods formed part of the exhibition Color of Life – Polychromy in Sculpture from Antiquity to the Present, at the Getty Villa in Los Angeles, with contributions in the respective catalogue.