The way art transforms over time is fascinating and can completely alter our perception of entire classes of art and culture. Check out ancient Roman and Greek statuary and architecture:
The Greeks and the Romans prized realism in art above all else. We know this from literature (e.g. the story of Zeuxis and Parrhasius), from surviving paintings (frescoes, portraits, etc.) which show skillful and realistic use of color, and from the shape of the sculptures themselves. They painted their statues because reality is colorful, yes. But they painted them realistically.
The notion that they painted statues with flat, unrealistic colors, without using all the realistic painting skills we know they had, is absurd. It goes against everything we know (from primary sources, not as modern opinions) about classical art, and it is simply not reasonable to believe.
Brinkmann paints reconstructions in the most garish and unrealistic way possible because controversy draws attention, and magazines repeat his claims uncritically for the same reason.
The notion that they painted statues with flat, unrealistic colors, without using all the realistic painting skills we know they had, is absurd. It goes against everything we know (from primary sources, not as modern opinions) about classical art, and it is simply not reasonable to believe.
Brinkmann paints reconstructions in the most garish and unrealistic way possible because controversy draws attention, and magazines repeat his claims uncritically for the same reason.