Interpreting Armor Surface Finishes in Renaissance Artwork

To what extent can we accept historical artworks to be literal depictions of reality? In what situations must we consider the cultural or historical context to more accurately interpret what we see? Let's take a look at a common question (among armor nerds, anyways): "is this armor black, or white?" (This is a shameless repost from other platforms, just in case you don't follow Lorica elsewhere. :) Just a hair too long to be a short!) *MY ARMOR FASHION BRAND* https://loricaclothing.com/ *SUPPORT THE CHANNEL* https://ko-fi.com/loricaclothing #history #armor #medieval #renaissance