Polychromy was an indispensable element in the decoration of churches in the Middle Ages. The 19th century, literature and cinema “have done a lot of damage” to the true image of the Middle ages.
The Renaissanceists ignored the fact that classical marbles had been shedding their abundant original polychrome over time, either buried or due to the effects of the elements. The discovery of the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum would end up demonstrating that the taste for color is natural to human beings.