Fresco in the Städelschen Institute, right side, scene, allegorical figure of Germania. Original colours were vivid. Germania’s gown was gold, not beige, and the blue-grey was purple. Likewise, the browns were painted as vivid red and the muted grey in Saxony’s arms was a brilliant green, now no longer visible. Bright colours in arms aided not only accurate identification on the battlefield but fulfilled Medieval standards of aesthetics. Compare with the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which after centuries, had faded, until restoration removed aged coatings and revealed vivid colouring used in the Renaissance, similarly favored in the Middle Ages and the Romantic revival of the nineteenth century.