The publication focuses on the relationship between needs-oriented images of history and the adoption of historical artistic styles. The congruence of re-enactment or reconstruction and the collective desire for a representative image of their own past is analyzed with respect to the interaction between zeitgeist, influential protagonists, and historicizing ideologies. Critical light is shed on various dogmas, such as the idea of a beautifully white antiquity, which still has an effect on our contemporary imagination. Even though color reconstructions can help us re-examine our aesthetic perceptions, it is still unclear whether and how we want to work with preconceived notions in the context of new societal challenges.