Greek Vase-Painting

Greek Vase-Painting

  • Pottery is virtually indestructible, making it an excellent tool for dating and understanding ancient sites and trade.
  • Vases provide insights into religion, daily life, and society.
  • Made of terracotta, vases come in various shapes and sizes, often correlating with their function (e.g., krater for mixing wine and water, hydria for carrying water).

Vase Decoration & Periods

  • Geometric Period (c. 900-700 B.C.E.): Features geometric patterns.
  • Orientalising Period (c. 700-600 B.C.E.): Displays animal processions and Near Eastern motifs.
  • Archaic and Classical Periods (c. 600-323 B.C.E.): Primarily displays human/mythological activities, not exact photographs but aid in reconstructing ancient Greek lives; events, heroic deeds, Homeric tales, the world of the gods, theatrical performances and athletic competitions.

Techniques, Painters, and Inscriptions

  • Craftsmen used liquid clay ("slip") and a three-stage firing process to achieve red and black colors.
  • Firing Process:
    • 800°C, oxidizing environment: vase turns red.
    • 900-950°C, sealed vents: everything turns black.
    • Vents reopened, oxidizing conditions: unpainted areas become red, painted areas stay glossy black.
  • Geometric/Orientalising: Compasses, silhouette, and outline methods used.
  • c. 625-600 B.C.E.: Athens adopted black-figure technique (dark figures on light background with incised detail).
  • c. 525-520 B.C.E.: Red-figure invented, inverse of black-figure (light figures on dark background).
  • White-ground: Polychrome figures on white-washed background; craftsman paints details rather than incising them.
  • Inscriptions identify figures, individuals ("kalos"/"kale"), or the artist ("egrapsen"/"epoiesen"); nonsense inscriptions also exist.

Belly Amphora: Exekias, Achilles and Ajax

  • Painter and Potter: Exekias (“Exekias painted and made me”).
  • Style: Grand style, large figures, formal composition, large narrative & elegantly painted, attempt to show realism.
  • Details: Belly Amphora (A two handled vessel for storing liquid - oils & water - or grains; nothing precious). Exekias may have invented this type of vase, 61cm high, 540-530BCE.
  • Inscriptions: “Four” and “three” – allude to type of game being played; all figures identified.
  • Description: Ajax and Achilles playing a board game. Figures identified. Symmetry shown through various visual cues.
  • Drapery: Emphasis on detail, not depth. Realism shown as Achilles’ cloak bulges where his leather corselet should be.
  • Black Figure: Eyes, hair and beard are incised with fine lines.

Kylix: Oedipus and the Sphinx

  • Painter: Oedipus Painter.
  • Style: Elegant and refined. Neat composition.
  • Details: Kylix (A two handled vessel - the most common type of wine-drinking cup). Vonserved height 7.2 cm; diameter 26.3 cm, 420BCE.
  • Inscriptions: Figure identified as Oidipodes.
  • Description: Oedipus is dressed as a wayfarer, listening to the riddle formulated by the sphinx of Thebes.
  • The Kylix: Wings of the sphinx and position of Oedipus both reflect and conform with the shape of the base (tondo) of the kylix.
  • Drapery: Fine lines showing some movement.
  • Red Figure: Eyes, hair, beard and feathers are incised with fine lines.