One view is that the western idea of "good taste" was informed by people looking at greek and roman statues and buildings and incorrectly assuming they were always intended to be plain.

Sort of explains a lot doesn’t it

sounds like partly they didn't have access to great pigments back then

Well, they didn't have pigments that would maintain their color and adhere to a surface for 2000 years.

Do we?

This is why I prefer my rust bucket of a car to something new. In 2,000 years the masses will view it as good taste.

There are frescoes of statues[1] and architecture[2] in Pompeii. Feel free to compare them with the reproductions.

[1] https://www.worldhistory.org/image/2232/fresco-of-a-statue-o...

You forgot link 2

Sorry.

https://www.maxwellanderson.com/pompeian-frescoes-in-the-met...

We don’t know. The painted reconstructions are based on pigments found on the statues, but we dont know exactly how the painting looked.

But the paintings which have been preserved from antiquity are quite beautiful.