![Pyxis Peleus Thetis Louvre L55 by Wedding Painter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Pyxis_Peleus_Thetis_Louvre_L55_by_Wedding_Painter.jpg)
Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural
Greek vase painting
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...
.
It developed in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of
black-figure vase painting
Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic ( grc, , }), is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although there are ...
within a few decades. Its modern name is based on the figural depictions in red color on a black background, in contrast to the preceding black-figure style with black figures on a red background. The most important areas of production, apart from
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
, were in
Southern Italy
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half.
The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
. The style was also adopted in other parts of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
Etruria
Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria.
Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria
are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...
became an important center of production outside the
Greek World
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in History of the Mediterranean region, Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as sig ...
.
Attic red-figure vases were exported throughout Greece and beyond. For a long time, they dominated the market for fine ceramics. Few centers of pottery production could compete with Athens in terms of innovation, quality and production capacity. Of the red-figure vases produced in Athens alone, more than 40,000 specimens and fragments survive today. From the second-most important production center, Southern Italy, more than 20,000 vases and fragments are preserved. Starting with the studies by
John D. Beazley and
Arthur Dale Trendall
Arthur Dale Trendall, (28 March 1909 – 13 November 1995) was a New Zealand art historian and classical archaeologist whose work on identifying the work of individual artists on Greek ceramic vessels at Apulia and other sites earned him in ...
, the study of this style of art has made enormous progress. Some vases can be ascribed to individual artists or schools. The images provide evidence for the exploration of Greek
cultural history
Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to examine popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. It examines the records and narrative descriptions of past matter, encompassing the ...
,
everyday life
Everyday life, daily life or routine life comprises the ways in which people typically act, think, and feel on a daily basis. Everyday life may be described as mundane, routine, natural, habitual, or normal.
Human diurnality means most peop ...
,
iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
, and
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
.
Technique
![Athena Herakles Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2301 B](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Athena_Herakles_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_2301_B.jpg)
Red figure is, put simply, the reverse of the black figure technique. Both were achieved by using the
three-phase firing
Three-phase firing (or three-step firing) or iron reduction technique is a firing technique used in ancient Greek pottery production, specifically for painted vases. Already vessels from the Bronze Age feature the colouring typical of the tech ...
technique. The paintings were applied to the shaped but unfired vessels after they had dried to a leathery, near-brittle texture. In
Attica
Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...
, the normal unfired clay was an orange color at this stage. The outlines of the intended figures were drawn either with a blunt scraper, leaving a slight groove, or with charcoal, which would disappear entirely during firing. Then the contours were redrawn with a brush, using a glossy clay
slip
Slip or SLIP may refer to:
Science and technology Biology
* Slip (fish), also known as Black Sole
* Slip (horticulture), a small cutting of a plant as a specimen or for grafting
* Muscle slip, a branching of a muscle, in anatomy
Computing and ...
. Occasionally, the painter decided to somewhat change the figurative scene. In such cases the grooves from the original sketch sometimes remain visible. Important contours were often drawn with a thicker slip, leading to a slightly protruding outline (relief line); less important lines and internal details were drawn with diluted glossy clay.
Detail in other colors, Including white or red, were applied at this point. The relief line was probably drawn with a bristle brush or a hair, dipped in thick paint. (The suggestion that a hollow needle could account for such features seems somewhat unlikely.) The application of relief outlines was necessary, as the rather liquid glossy clay would otherwise have turned out too dull. After the technique's initial phase of development, both alternatives were used, to differentiate gradations and details more clearly. The space between figures was filled with a glossy grey clay slip. Then, the vases underwent triple-phase firing, during which the glossy clay reached its characteristic black or black-brown color through
reduction, the reddish color by a final re-
oxidation
Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...
. Since this final oxidizing phase was fired using lower temperatures, the glazed parts of the vase did not re-oxidize from black to red: their finer surface was melted (sintered) in the reducing phase, and now protected from oxygen.
![Athena Herakles Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2301 A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Athena_Herakles_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_2301_A.jpg)
The new technique had the primary advantage of permitting a far better execution of internal detail. In black-figure vase painting such details had to be scratched into the painted surfaces, which was always less accurate than the direct application of detail with a brush. Red-figure depictions were generally more lively and realistic than the black-figure
silhouette
A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...
s. They were also more clearly contrasted against the black backgrounds. It was now possible to depict humans not only in profile, but also in frontal, rear, or three-quarter perspectives. The red-figure technique also permitted the indication of a third dimension on the figures. However, it also had disadvantages. For example, the distinction of sex by using black slip for male skin and white paint for female skin was now impossible. The ongoing trend to depict heroes and deities naked and of youthful age also made it harder to distinguish the sexes through garments or hairstyles. In the initial phases, there were also miscalculations regarding the thickness of human figures.
In black-figure vase painting, the pre-drawn outlines were a part of the figure. In red-figure vases, the outline would, after firing, form part of the black background. This led to vases with very thin figures early on. A further problem was that the black background did not permit the depiction of space in any depth, so that spatial perspective was almost never attempted. Nonetheless, the advantages outnumbered the disadvantages. The depiction of muscles and other anatomical details clearly illustrates the development of the style.
Attica
![Exekias Dionysos Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2044](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Exekias_Dionysos_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_2044.jpg)
Black-figure vase painting had been developed in
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
in the 7th century BCE and quickly became the dominant style of pottery decoration throughout the Greek world and beyond. Although Corinth dominated the overall market, regional markets and centers of production did develop. Initially, Athens copied the Corinthian style, but it gradually came to rival and overcome the dominance of Corinth. Attic artists developed the style to an unprecedented quality, reaching the apex of their creative possibilities in the second third of the 6th century BCE.
Exekias
Exekias ( grc, Ἐξηκίας, ''Exēkías'') was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter who was active in Athens between roughly 545 BC and 530 BC. Exekias worked mainly in the black-figure technique, which involved the painting of scen ...
, active around 530 BCE, can be seen as the most important representative of the black-figure style.
![Fight Andokides Louvre G1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Fight_Andokides_Louvre_G1.jpg)
In the 5th century BCE Attic fine pottery, now predominantly red-figure, maintained its dominance in the markets. Attic pottery was exported to
Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...
and even
Etruria
Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria.
Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria
are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...
. The preference for Attic vases led to the development of local
South Italian
, altname =
, states = Italy
, region = Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise
, ethnicity = ''Mezzogiorno'' Ethnic Italians
, speakers = 5.7 million
, date ...
and Etrurian workshops or "schools", strongly influenced by Attic style, but producing exclusively for local markets.
Beginnings
The first red-figure vases were produced around 530 BCE. The invention of the technique normally is accredited to the
Andokides Painter
Andokides was an ancient Athenian vase painter, active from approximately 530 to 515 B.C. His work is unsigned and his true name unknown. He was identified as a unique artistic personality through stylistic traits found in common among several pai ...
. He, and other early representatives of the style, e.g.
Psiax
Psiax was an Attic vase painter of the transitional period between the black-figure and red-figure styles. His works date to ''circa'' 525 to 505 BC and comprise about 60 surviving vases, two of which bear his signature. Initially he was allocat ...
, initially painted vases in both styles, with black-figure scenes on one side, and red-figure on the other. Such vases, e.g. the
Belly Amphora by the Andokides Painter (Munich 2301)
The Belly Amphora in the Staatliche Antikensammlungen at Munich (inventory number 2301) is one of the most famous works by the Andokides Painter. The vase measures 53.5 cm high and 22.5 cm in diameter. It dates to between 520 and 510 BC ...
, are called
bilingual vases. Although they display major advances against the black-figure style, the figures still appear somewhat stilted and seldom overlap. Compositions and techniques of the older style remained in use. Thus incised lines are quite common, as is the additional application of red paint ("added red") to cover large areas.
[John H. Oakley: ''Rotfigurige Vasenmalerei'', in: DNP 10 (2001), col. 1141]
Pioneering phase
![Euphronios Krater Antikensammlung Berlin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Euphronios_Krater_Antikensammlung_Berlin.jpg)
The artists of the so-called "
Pioneer Group The Pioneer Group is a term used by scholars for a number of vase painters working in potters' quarter of Kerameikos in ancient Athens around the beginning of the 5th century BC, around the time of the emergence of red-figure vase painting, which so ...
" made the step towards a full exploitation of the possibilities of the red-figure technique. They were active between ''circa'' 520 and 500 BCE. Important representatives include
Euphronios
Euphronios ( el, Εὐφρόνιος; c. 535 – after 470 BC) was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter, active in Athens in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. As part of the so-called "Pioneer Group," (a modern name given to a group ...
,
Euthymides
Euthymides was an ancient Athenian potter and painter of vases, primarily active between 515 and 500 BC. He was a member of the Greek art movement later to be known as the Pioneer Group for their exploration of the new decorative style known as ...
and
Phintias. This group, recognised and defined by twentieth-century scholarship, experimented with the different possibilities offered by the new style. Thus figures appeared in new perspectives, such as frontal or rear views, and there were experiments with perspective
foreshortening
Linear or point-projection perspective (from la, perspicere 'to see through') is one of two types of graphical projection perspective in the graphic arts; the other is parallel projection. Linear perspective is an approximate representation, ...
and more dynamic compositions. As a technical innovation Euphronios introduced the "relief line". At the same time new
vase shapes were invented, a development favored by the fact that many of the pioneer group painters were also active as potters.
New shapes include the ''
psykter
A psykter (in Greek ψυκτήρ "cooler") is a type of Greek vase that is characterized by a bulbous body set on a high, narrow foot. It was used as a wine cooler, and specifically as part of the elite sympotic set in the ancient Greek symposium. ...
'' and the ''
pelike
A pelike ( grc, πελίκη) is a one-piece ceramic container similar to an amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characterist ...
''. Large ''
krater
A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water.
Form and function
At a Greek symposium, krat ...
'' and ''
amphorae
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
'' became popular at this time. Although there is no indication that the painters understood themselves as a group in the way that modern scholarship does, there were some connections and mutual influences, perhaps in an atmosphere of friendly competition and encouragement. Thus a vase by Euthymides is inscribed ''"as Euphronios never
ould have been able Ould is an English surname and an Arabic name ( ar, ولد). In some Arabic dialects, particularly Hassaniya Arabic, ولد (the patronymic, meaning "son of") is transliterated as Ould. Most Mauritanians have patronymic surnames.
Notable pe ...
''. More generally, the pioneer group tended to use inscriptions. The labelling of mythological figures or the addition of
Kalos inscription
A ''kalos'' inscription (''καλός'') is a form of epigraph found on Attic vases and graffiti in antiquity, mainly during the Classical period from 550 to 450 BC. The word ''kalos'' (καλός) means "beautiful", and in the inscriptions it ...
s are the rule rather than the exception.
Apart from the vase painters, some bowl painters also used the new style. These include
Oltos
Oltos was a Late Archaic Greek vase painter, active in Athens from 525 BC to 500 BC. About 150 works by him are known. Two pieces, a cup in Berlin ( Antikensammlung F 2264) and a cup in Tarquinia (Museo Nazionale Tarquiniese RC 6848), are sign ...
and
Epiktetos
Epiktetos was an Attic vase painter in the early red-figure style. Besides Oltos, he was the most important painter of the Pioneer Group. He was active between 520 BC and 490 BC. His name translates as "newly acquired", which is most probably a ...
. Many of their works were bilingual, often using red-figure only on the interior of the bowl.
Late Archaic
![Libation Macron Louvre G149](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Libation_Macron_Louvre_G149.jpg)
The generation of artists after the pioneers, active during the Late
Archaic period (''circa'' 500 to 470 BCE) brought the style to a new flourish. During this time, black-figure vases failed to reach the same quality and were pushed out of the market eventually. Some of the most famous Attic vase painters belong to this generation. They include the
Berlin Painter
The Berlin Painter (active c. 490–460s BCE) is the Notname, conventional name given to an Attica, Attic Ancient Greece, Greek vase-painter who is widely regarded as a rival to the Kleophrades Painter, among the most talented vase painters of t ...
, the
Kleophrades Painter
The Kleophrades Painter is the name given to the anonymous red-figure Athenian vase painter, who was active from approximately 510–470 BC and whose work, considered amongst the finest of the red-figure style, is identified by its stylistic trai ...
, and among the bowl painters
Onesimos,
Douris,
Makron and the
Brygos Painter
The Brygos Painter was an ancient Greek Attic red-figure vase painter of the Late Archaic period. Together with Onesimos, Douris and Makron, he is among the most important cup painters of his time. He was active in the first third of the 5th ...
. The improvement of quality went along with a doubling of output during this period. Athens became the dominant producer of fine pottery in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
world, overshadowing nearly all other production centers.
[Oakley: ''Rotfigurige Vasenmalerei'', in: DNP 10 (2001), col. 1142]
One of the key features of this most successful Attic vase painting style is the mastery of perspective foreshortening, allowing a much more naturalistic depiction of figures and actions. Another characteristic is the drastic reduction of figures per vessel, of anatomic details, and of ornamental decorations. In contrast, the repertoire of depicted scenes was increased. For example, the myths surrounding
Theseus
Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages.
Theseus is sometimes describe ...
became very popular at this time. New or modified vase shapes were frequently employed, including the Nolan amphora (see
Typology of Greek Vase Shapes
The pottery of ancient Greece has a long history and the form of Greek vase shapes has had a continuous evolution from Minoan pottery down to the Hellenistic period. As Gisela Richter puts it, the forms of these vases find their "happiest express ...
),
lekythoi
A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil. It has a narrow body and one handle attached to the neck of the vessel, and is thus a narrow type of jug, with no po ...
, as well as bowls of the ''
askos'' and ''
dinos
In the typology of ancient Greek pottery, the ''dinos'' (plural ''dinoi'') is a mixing bowl or cauldron. ''Dinos'' means "drinking cup," but in modern typology is used (wrongly) for the same shape as a ''lebes'', that is, a bowl with a spherical ...
'' types. The specialisation into separate vase and bowl painters increased.
Early and High Classical
![Neck-amphora swordsman Louvre G216](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Neck-amphora_swordsman_Louvre_G216.jpg)
The key characteristic of Early
Classical figures is that they are often stockier and less dynamic than their predecessors. As a result, the depictions gained seriousness, even ''
pathos
Pathos (, ; plural: ''pathea'' or ''pathê''; , for "suffering" or "experience") appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. Pathos is a term used most often in rhetoric (in which it is c ...
''. The folds of garments were depicted less linearly, appearing more plastic. The manner of presenting scenes also changed substantially. Firstly, the paintings ceased to focus on the moment of a particular event, but rather, with dramatic tension, showed the situation immediately before the action, implying and contextualising the event proper. Also, some of the other new achievements of
Athenian democracy
Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica. Although Athens is the most famous ancient Greek democratic city- ...
began to show an influence on vase painting. Thus influences of
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
and of
wall painting
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
can be detected. Since Greek wall painting is almost entirely lost today, its reflection on vases constitutes one of the few, albeit modest, sources of information on that genre of art.
![Oidipous Sphinx Staatliche Antikensammlungen SL474](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Oidipous_Sphinx_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_SL474.jpg)
Other influences on High Classical vase painting include the newly erected
Parthenon
The Parthenon (; grc, Παρθενών, , ; ell, Παρθενώνας, , ) is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC. Its decorative sculptures are considere ...
and its
sculptural decoration. This is especially visible in the depiction of garments; the material now falls more naturally, and more folds are depicted, leading to an increased "depth" of the depiction. The overall compositions were simplified even more. Artists placed special emphasis on
symmetry
Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definit ...
,
harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
, and
balance
Balance or balancing may refer to:
Common meanings
* Balance (ability) in biomechanics
* Balance (accounting)
* Balance or weighing scale
* Balance as in equality or equilibrium
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Balance'' (1983 film), a Bulgarian ...
. The human figures had returned to their earlier slenderness; they often radiate a self-absorbed, divine serenity.
![Niobid Painter - Red-Figure Amphora with Musical Scene - Walters 482712 - Side A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Niobid_Painter_-_Red-Figure_Amphora_with_Musical_Scene_-_Walters_482712_-_Side_A.jpg)
Important painters of this period, roughly 480 to 425 BCE, include the
Providence Painter
The Providence Painter is the conventional name given to a painter of the Attic red-figure style. He was active around 470 BC.
The Providence Painter is considered to have been a pupil of the Berlin Painter. His reputation is that of a careful ...
,
Hermonax, and the
Achilles Painter
The Achilles Painter was a vase-painter active ca. 470–425 BC. His name vase is an amphora, Vatican 16571, in the Vatican museums depicting Achilles and dated 450–445 BC. An armed and armored Achilles gazes pensively to the right with one ...
, all following the tradition of the Berlin Painter. The
Phiale Painter
The Phiale Painter, also known as Boston Phiale Painter, was a painter of the Attic red-figure style. He was active around 460 to 430 BC. The Phiale Painter is assumed to have been a pupil of the Achilles Painter. In contrast to his master, he l ...
, probably a pupil of the Achilles Painter, is also important. New workshop traditions also developed. Notable examples include the so-called "
mannerists", most famously among them the
Pan Painter
The Pan Painter was an ancient Greek vase-painter of the Attic red-figure style, probably active c. 480 to 450 BC. John Beazley attributed over 150 vases to his hand in 1912:
Archaic Mannerism
Beazley identified the Pan Painter as a pupil ...
. Another tradition was begun by the
Niobid Painter
The Niobid Painter was an ancient Athenian vase painter in the red-figure style who was active from approximately 470 to 450 BC. He is named after a calyx krater which shows the god Apollo and his sister Artemis killing the children of Niobe ...
and continued by
Polygnotos
Polygnotus ( el, Πολύγνωτος ''Polygnotos'') was an ancient Greek painter from the middle of the 5th century BC. Life
He was the son and pupil of Aglaophon. He was a native of Thasos, but was adopted by the Athenians, and admitted to ...
, the
Kleophon Painter
The Kleophon Painter is the name given to an anonymous Athenian vase painter in the red-figure style who flourished in the mid-to-late 5th century BC. He is thus named because one of the works attributed to him bears an inscription in praise of a y ...
, and the
Dinos Painter
The Dinos Painter was an Attic red-figure vase painter who was active during the second half of the 5th century BC. The Dinos Painter stood in the tradition of the Kleophon Painter, but was less serious. One or few figures are depicted as the ...
. The role of bowls decreased, although they were still produced in large numbers, e.g. by the workshop of the
Penthesilea Painter
The Penthesilea Painter (active between 470 and 450 BC at Athens) was a Greek vase painter of the Attic red-figure style. His true name is unknown. His conventional name is derived from his name vase, "bowl 2688" in Munich, the inside of which ...
.
Late Classical
![Dioskouroi Herakles BM E224](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Dioskouroi_Herakles_BM_E224.jpg)
During the Late Classical period, in the final quarter of the 5th century BCE, two opposed trends were created. On the one hand, a style of vase painting strongly influenced by the "Rich Style" of sculpture developed, on the other, some workshops continued the developments of the High Classical period, with an increased emphasis on the depiction of emotion, and a range of erotic scenes. The most important representative of the Rich Style is the
Meidias Painter
The Meidias Painter was an Athenian red-figure vase painter in Ancient Greece, active in the last quarter of the 5th century BCE (fl. c. 420 to c. 400 BCE). He is named after the potter whose signature is found on a large hydria of the Meidias Pai ...
. Characteristic features include transparent garments and multiple folds of cloth. There is also an increase in the depiction of jewelry and other objects. The use of additional colors, mostly white and gold, depicting accessories in a low relief, is very striking. Over time, there is a marked "softening": The male body, heretofore defined by the depiction of muscles, gradually lost that key feature.
![Hector Cassandra Pomarici Santomasi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Hector_Cassandra_Pomarici_Santomasi.jpg)
The paintings depicted mythological scenes less frequently than before. Images of the private and domestic world became more and more important. Scenes from the life of women are especially frequent. Mythological scenes are dominated by images of
Dionysos
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
and
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
. It is not clear what caused this change of topic among some of the artists. Suggestions include a context with the horrors of the
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
, but also the loss of Athens' dominant role in the Mediterranean pottery trade (itself partially a result of the war). The increasing role of new markets, e.g.
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, implied new needs and wishes on part of the customers. These theories are contradicted by the fact that some artists maintained the earlier style. Some, e.g. the
Eretria Painter
The Eretria Painter was an ancient Greek Attic red-figure vase painter. He worked in the final quarter of the 5th century BC. The Eretria Painter is assumed to have been a contemporary of the Shuvalov Painter; he is considered one of the most ...
, attempted to combine both traditions. The best works of the Late Classical period are often found on smaller vessels, such as belly ''
lekythoi
A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil. It has a narrow body and one handle attached to the neck of the vessel, and is thus a narrow type of jug, with no po ...
'', ''
pyxides'' and ''
oinochai''. ''Lekanis'', Bell krater(see
Typology of Greek Vase Shapes
The pottery of ancient Greece has a long history and the form of Greek vase shapes has had a continuous evolution from Minoan pottery down to the Hellenistic period. As Gisela Richter puts it, the forms of these vases find their "happiest express ...
) and ''
hydria
The hydria ( el, ὑδρία; plural hydriai) is a form of Greek pottery from between the late Geometric period (7th century BC) and the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC). The etymology of the word hydria was first noted when it was stamped o ...
'' were also popular.
[Oakley: ''Rotfigurige Vasenmalerei'', in: DNP 10 (2001), col. 1143]
The production of mainstream red-figure pottery ceased around 360 BCE. The Rich and Simple styles both existed until that time. Late representatives include the
Meleager Painter (Rich Style) and the
Jena Painter
The Jena Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter, active in Athens around 400 BC. He mainly painted '' kylikes'' in the red-figure technique. His stylistic and chronological place was first determined by the British Classical archaeologist, John ...
(Simple Style).
Kerch Style
The final decades of Attic red—figure vase painting are dominated by the
Kerch Style
The Kerch style , also referred to as Kerch vases, is an archaeological term describing vases from the final phase of Attic red-figure pottery production. Their exact chronology remains problematic, but they are generally assumed to have been pro ...
. This style, current between 370 and 330 BCE, combined the preceding Rich and Modest Styles, with a preponderance of the Rich. Crowded compositions with large statuesque figures are typical. The added colors now include blue, green and others. Volume and shading are indicated by the use of diluted runny glossy clay. Occasionally, whole figures are added as appliques, i.e. as thin figural reliefs attached to the body of the vase. The variety of vessel shapes in use was reduced sharply. Common painted shapes include ''pelike'', chalice ''krater'', belly ''lekythos'', ''skyphos'', ''hydria'' and ''oinochoe''. Scenes from female life are very common. Mythological themes are still dominated by
Dionysos
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
;
Ariadne
Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...
and
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
are the most commonly depicted heroes. The best-known painter of this style is the
Marsyas Painter The Marsyas Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter of the red-figure style active in Attica between 370 and 340/330 BC. The Marsyas Painter is sometimes considered the best of the Attic red-figure painters of the late 4th-century Kerch Style.
Hi ...
.
The last Athenian vases with figural depictions were created around 320 BCE at the latest. The style continued somewhat longer, but with non-figural decorations. The last recognised examples are by painters known as the
YZ Group The YZ Group is an assumed group of ancient Greek Attic vase painters of the red-figure style.
Individual artists can only be identified with difficulty. The group was given its conventional name by John D. Beazley during his studies of Attic re ...
.
Artists and works
![Judgement Paris Getty Villa 83](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Judgement_Paris_Getty_Villa_83.AE.10_full.jpg)
The
Kerameikos
Kerameikos (, ) also known by its Latinized form Ceramicus, is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the ancient city walls, on both sides of the Dipylon Ga ...
was the potters' quarter of Athens. It contained a variety of small workshops, and probably a few larger ones. In 1852 CE, during building activity in
Ermou Street
Ermou Street ( el, Οδός Ερμού, ''Odos Ermou'', "Hermes Street") is a one and a half kilometer-long road in central Athens, Greece, connecting Kerameikos archaeological site with the Syntagma Square through Monastiraki, Psiri and Thiseio. ...
, the workshop of the
Jena Painter
The Jena Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter, active in Athens around 400 BC. He mainly painted '' kylikes'' in the red-figure technique. His stylistic and chronological place was first determined by the British Classical archaeologist, John ...
was discovered. The artefacts from it are now on display in the University collection of the
Friedrich Schiller University of Jena
The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
The un ...
. According to modern research, the workshops were owned by the potters. The names of about 40 Attic vase painters are known, from vase inscriptions, usually accompanied by the words (égrapsen, has painted). In contrast, the signature of the potter, (epoíesen, has made) has survived on more than twice as many, namely about 100, pots (both numbers refer to the totality of Attic figural vase painting). Although signatures had been known since c. 580 BCE (first known signature by the potter
Sophilos
Sophilos ( grc, Σώφιλος; active about 590 – 570 BC) was an Attic potter and vase painter in the black-figure style. Sophilos is the oldest Attic vase painter so far to be known by his true name. Fragments of two wine basins ( dino ...
), their use increased to an apex around the Pioneering Phase. A changing, apparently increasingly negative, attitude to artisans led to a reduction of signatures, starting during the Classical period at the latest. Overall, signatures are quite rare. The fact that they are mostly found on especially good pieces indicates that they expressed the pride of potter and/or painter.
[Ingeborg Scheibler: ''Vasenmaler'', in: DNP 12/I, col. 1147f.]
The status of painters in relation to that of potters remains somewhat unclear. The fact that, e.g.,
Euphronius
Euphronios ( el, Εὐφρόνιος; c. 535 – after 470 BC) was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter, active in Athens in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. As part of the so-called "Pioneer Group," (a modern name given to a group ...
was able to work as both painter and potter suggests that at least some of the painters were not
slaves
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. On the other hand, some of the known names indicate that there were at least some former slaves and some ''
perioikoi
The Perioeci or Perioikoi (, ) were the second-tier citizens of the ''polis'' of Sparta until 200 BC. They lived in several dozen cities within Spartan territories (mostly Laconia and Messenia), which were dependent on Sparta. The ''perioeci'' ...
'' among the painters. Additionally, some of the names are not unique: for example, several painters signed as
Polygnotos
Polygnotus ( el, Πολύγνωτος ''Polygnotos'') was an ancient Greek painter from the middle of the 5th century BC. Life
He was the son and pupil of Aglaophon. He was a native of Thasos, but was adopted by the Athenians, and admitted to ...
. This may represent attempts to profit from the name of that great painter. The same may be the case where painters bear otherwise famous names, like
Aristophanes (vase painter)
Aristophanes ( grc-gre, Ἀριστοφάνης; active between 430 and 400 BC in Athens) was an ancient Greek vase painter of the Attic red-figure style. Three pieces signed by him are known. Two of them are bowls made by the potter Erginos, n ...
. The careers of some vase painters are quite well known. Apart from painters with relatively short periods of activity (one or two decades), some can be traced for much longer. Examples include
Douris,
Makron,
Hermonax and the
Achilles Painter
The Achilles Painter was a vase-painter active ca. 470–425 BC. His name vase is an amphora, Vatican 16571, in the Vatican museums depicting Achilles and dated 450–445 BC. An armed and armored Achilles gazes pensively to the right with one ...
. The fact that several painters later became potters, and the relatively frequent cases where it is unclear whether some potters were also painters or ''vice versa'', suggest a career structure, perhaps starting with an apprenticeship involving mainly painting, and leading up to being a potter.
![Palaestra scene Louvre G7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Palaestra_scene_Louvre_G7.jpg)
This division of labor appears to have developed along with the introduction of red-figure painting, since many potter-painters are known from the black-figure period (including
Exekias
Exekias ( grc, Ἐξηκίας, ''Exēkías'') was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter who was active in Athens between roughly 545 BC and 530 BC. Exekias worked mainly in the black-figure technique, which involved the painting of scen ...
,
Nearchos
Nearchus or Nearchos ( el, Νέαρχος; – 300 BC) was one of the Greeks, Greek officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated expeditionary voyage starting from the Indus river, Indus River, through t ...
and perhaps the
Amasis Painter
The Amasis Painter (active around 550–510 BC in Athens) was an ancient Greek vase painter who worked in the black-figure technique. He owes his name to the signature of the potter Amasis ("Amasis made me"), who signed twelve works painted by t ...
). The increased demand for exports would have led to new structures of production, encouraging specialisation and division of labor, leading to a sometimes ambiguous distinction between painter and potter. As mentioned above, the painting of vessels was probably mainly the responsibility of younger assistants or apprentices. Some further conclusions regarding the organisational aspects of pottery production can be suggested. It appears that generally, several painters worked for one pottery workshop, as indicated by the fact that frequently, several roughly contemporary pots by the same potter are painted by various painters. For examples, pots made by
Euphronios
Euphronios ( el, Εὐφρόνιος; c. 535 – after 470 BC) was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter, active in Athens in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. As part of the so-called "Pioneer Group," (a modern name given to a group ...
have been found to be painted by
Onesimos,
Douris, the
Antiphon Painter
The Antiphon Painter was an Athenian vase painter of the early 5th century BC. He owes his name to a double Kalos inscription of Antiphon on the dinos stand in the Antique collection of Berlin (Inventory number F 2325). He was active between 500 ...
, the
Triptolemos Painter
The Triptolemos Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter, belonging to the Attic red-figure style. He was active in Athens between 490 and 470 BC. His real name is not known. He started working in the workshop of Euphronios, where he was prob ...
and the
Pistoxenos Painter
The Pistoxenos Painter was an important ancient Greek vase painter of the Classical period. He was active in Athens between c. 480 and 460 BC. Many vases have been attributed to his hand on the basis of style.
John Beazley gave him the name ...
. Conversely, an individual painter could also change from one workshop to another. For example, the bowl painter
Oltos
Oltos was a Late Archaic Greek vase painter, active in Athens from 525 BC to 500 BC. About 150 works by him are known. Two pieces, a cup in Berlin ( Antikensammlung F 2264) and a cup in Tarquinia (Museo Nazionale Tarquiniese RC 6848), are sign ...
worked for at least six different potters.
Although from a modern perspective the vase painters are often considered artists, and their vases thus as works of
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
, this view is not consistent with that held in antiquity. Vase painters, like potters, were considered craftsmen, their produce considered trade goods. The craftsmen must have had a reasonably high level of education, as a variety of inscriptions occur. On the one hand, the aforementioned
Kalos inscription
A ''kalos'' inscription (''καλός'') is a form of epigraph found on Attic vases and graffiti in antiquity, mainly during the Classical period from 550 to 450 BC. The word ''kalos'' (καλός) means "beautiful", and in the inscriptions it ...
s are common; on the other hand, inscriptions often label the depicted figures. That not every vase painter could write is shown by some examples of meaningless rows of random letters. The vases indicate a steady improvement of literacy from the 6th century BCE onwards. Whether potters, and perhaps vase painters, belonged to the Attic
elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
has not been satisfactorily clarified so far. Do the frequent depictions of the
symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...
, a definite upper-class activity, reflect the painters' personal experience, their aspirations to attend such events, or simply the demands of the market? A large proportion of the painted vases produced, such as ''
psykter
A psykter (in Greek ψυκτήρ "cooler") is a type of Greek vase that is characterized by a bulbous body set on a high, narrow foot. It was used as a wine cooler, and specifically as part of the elite sympotic set in the ancient Greek symposium. ...
'', ''
krater
A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water.
Form and function
At a Greek symposium, krat ...
'', ''
kalpis
The hydria ( el, ὑδρία; plural hydriai) is a form of Greek pottery from between the late Geometric period (7th century BC) and the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC). The etymology of the word hydria was first noted when it was stamped o ...
'', ''
stamnos
A stamnos (plural stamnoi) is a type of Greek pottery
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases ar ...
'', as well as ''
kylikes'' and ''
kantharoi'', were made and bought to be used at symposia.
![Janiform aryballos Louvre CA987](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Janiform_aryballos_Louvre_CA987.jpg)
Elaborately painted vases were good, but not the best, table wares available to a Greek. Metal vessels, especially from precious metals, were held in higher regard. Nonetheless, painted vases were not cheap products; the larger specimens, especially, were expensive. Around 500 BCE, a large painted vase cost about one
drachma
The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:
# An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...
, equivalent to the daily wage of a stonemason. It has been suggested that the painted vases represent an attempt to imitate metal vessels. It is normally assumed that the lower social classes tended to use simple undecorated coarse wares, massive quantities of which are found in
excavations
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
. Tablewares made of perishable materials, like wood, may have been even more widespread. Nonetheless, multiple finds of red-figure vases, usually not of the highest quality, found in settlements, prove that such vessels were used in daily life. A large proportion of production was taken up by cult and grave vessels. In any case, it can be assumed that the production of high-quality pottery was a profitable business. For example, an expensive
votive
A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
gift by the painter Euphronios was found on the
Athenian Acropolis
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...
. There can be little doubt that the export of such pottery made an important contribution to the affluence of Athens. It is hardly surprising that many workshops appear to have aimed their production at export markets, for example by producing vessel shapes that were more popular in the target region than in Athens. The 4th century BCE demise of Attic vase painting tellingly coincides with the very period when the
Etruscans
The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...
, probably the main western export market, came under increasing pressure from
South Italian Greeks and the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. A further reason for the end of the production of figurally decorated vases is a change in tastes at the start of the
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
. The main reason, however, should be seen in the increasingly unsuccessful progress of the Peloponnesian War, culminating in the devastating defeat of Athens in 404 BCE. After this,
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
controlled the western trade, albeit without having the economic strength to fully exploit it. The Attic potters had to find new markets; they did so in the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
area. But Athens and its industries never fully recovered from the defeat. Some potters and painters had already relocated to Italy during the war, seeking better economic conditions. A key indicator for the export-oriented nature of Attic vase production is the nearly total absence of theatre scenes. Buyers from other cultural backgrounds, such as Etruscans or later customers in the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, would have found such depiction incomprehensible or uninteresting. In Southern Italian vase painting, which was mostly not aimed at export, such scenes are quite common.
Southern Italy
At least from a modern point of view, the Southern Italian red-figure vase paintings represent the only region of production that reaches Attic standards of artistic quality. After the Attic vases, the
South Italian
, altname =
, states = Italy
, region = Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise
, ethnicity = ''Mezzogiorno'' Ethnic Italians
, speakers = 5.7 million
, date ...
ones (including those from
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
), are the most thoroughly researched. In contrastic to their Attic counterparts, they were mostly produced for local markets. Only few pieces have been found outside Southern Italy and Sicily. The first workshops were founded in the mid-5th century BC by Attic potters. Soon, local craftsmen were trained and the thematic and formal dependence on Attic vases overcome. Towards the end of the century, the distinctive "ornate style" and "plain style" developed in
Apulia
it, Pugliese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographic ...
. Especially the ornate style was adopted by other mainland schools, but without reaching the same quality.
By now, 21,000 South Italian vases and fragments are known. Of those, 11,000 are ascribed to Apulian workshops, 4,000 to Campanian, 2,000 to Paestan, 1,500 to Lucanian and 1,000 to Sicilian ones.
Apulia
![Skyphos woman head Antikensammlung Berlin 1984](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Skyphos_woman_head_Antikensammlung_Berlin_1984.58.jpg)
The
Apulia
it, Pugliese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographic ...
n vase painting tradition is considered as the leading South Italian style. The main centre of production was at
Taras
Taras may refer to:
Geography
* Taras (ancient city) of Magna Graecia, modern-day Taranto
* Taras, Iran, a village in Tehran province
* Taras, Łódź Voivodeship, Poland
* Taraš, a village in Vojvodina, Serbia
* Taras, Kazakhstan, a village in ...
. Apulian red-figure vases were produced from ''circa'' 430 to 300 BC. The plain and ornate styles are distinguished. The main difference between them is that the plain style favoured bell ''craters'', column ''kraters'' and smaller vessels, and that a single "plain" vessel rarely depicted more than four figures. The main subjects were mythological scenes, female heads, warriors in scenes of combat of farewell, and dionysiac
thiasos
In Greek mythology and religion, the ''thiasus'' ( el, θίασος, thíasos), was the ecstatic retinue of Dionysus, often pictured as inebriated revelers. Many of the myths of Dionysus are connected with his arrival in the form of a processio ...
imagery. The reverse often showed youths wearing cloaks. The key feature of these simply decorated wares is the general absence of additional colours. Important plain style representatives are the
Sisyphus Painter
The Sisyphus Painter was an Apulian red-figure vase painter. His works are dated to the last two decades of the fifth century and the very early fourth century BC.
The Sisyphus Painter is only known by this conventional name, as his true name rema ...
and the
Tarporley Painter
The Tarporley Painter was a Greek Apulian red-figure vase painter. His works date to the first quarter of the 4th century BC. The Tarporley Painter is his period's most important representative of the so-called "Plain Style". He is considered to h ...
. After the mid-4th century BC, the style grows more and more similar to the ornate style. An important artist of that period is the
Varrese Painter
The Varrese Painter was an Apulian red-figure vase painter. His works are dated to the middle of the 4th century BC.
His conventional name is derived from the Varrese hypogeum (a rock-cut grave complex) at Canosa di Puglia, which contained sev ...
.
![Krater by the Underworld Painter Staatliche Antikensammlungen Munich 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Krater_by_the_Underworld_Painter_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_Munich_1.jpg)
The artists using the ornate style tended to favour large vessels, like volute ''kraters'', ''amphorae'', ''
loutrophoroi'' and ''hydriai''. The larger surface area was used to depict up to 20 figures, often in several registers on the body of the vase. Additional colours, especially shades of red, yellow-gold and white are used copiously. Since the 2nd half of the 4th century, the necks and sides of the vases are decorated with rich vegetal or ornamental decorations. At the same time, perspective views, especially of buildings such as "Palace of
Hades
Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
" (''
naiskoi''), develop. Since 360 BC, such structures are often depicted in scenes connected with burial rites (''naiskos'' vases). Important representatives of this style are the
Ilioupersis Painter, the
Darius Painter
The Darius Painter was an Apulian vase painter and the most eminent representative at the end of the " Ornate Style" in South Italian red-figure vase painting. His works were produced between 340 and 320 BC.
The Darius Painter's conventional name ...
and the
Baltimore Painter
The Baltimore Painter was an Apulian vase painter whose works date to the final quarter of the 4th century BC. He is considered the most important Late Apulian vase painter, and the last Apulian painter of importance. His conventional name is deri ...
. Mythological scenes were especially popular: The assembly of the Gods, the
amazonomachy
In Greek mythology, Amazonomachy ( English translation: "Amazon battle"; plural, Amazonomachiai ( grc, Ἀμαζονομαχίαι) or Amazonomachies) was one of various mythical battles between the ancient Greeks and the Amazons, a nation of a ...
, the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...
,
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
and
Bellerophon
Bellerophon (; Ancient Greek: Βελλεροφῶν) or Bellerophontes (), born as Hipponous, was a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his ...
. Additionally, such vases frequently depict scenes from myths that are only rarely illustrated on vases. Some specimens represent the single source for the iconography of a particular myth. Another subject that is unknown from Attic vase painting are the theatre scenes. Especially farce scenes, e.g. from the so-called ''
phlyax'' vases are quite common. Scenes of athletic activity or everyday life only occur in the early phase, they disappear entirely after 370 BC.
Apulian vase painting had a formative influence on the traditions of the other South Italian production centres. It is assumed that individual Apulian artists settled in other Italian cities and contributed their skills there. Apart from red-figure, Apulia also produced black-varnished vases with painted decor (Gnathia vases) and polychrome vases (Canosa vases).
Campania
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
also produced red-figure vases in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The light brown clay of Campania was covered with a slip that developed a pink or red tint after firing. The Campanian painters preferred smaller vessel types, but also ''hydriai'' and bell ''kraters''. The most popular shape is the bow-handled amphora. Many typical Apulian vessel shapes, like volute ''kraters'', column ''kraters'', ''loutrophoroi'', ''
rhyta'' and ''nestoris'' amphorae are absent, ''
pelike
A pelike ( grc, πελίκη) is a one-piece ceramic container similar to an amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characterist ...
s'' are rare. The repertoire of motifs is limited. Subjects include youths, women, thiasos scenes, birds and animals, and often native warriors. The backs often show cloaked youths. Mythological scenes and depictions related to burial rites play a subsidiary role. ''Naiskos scenes'', ornamental elements and polychromy are adopted after 340 BC under Lucanian influence.
Before the immigration of Sicilian potters in the second quarter of the 4th century BC, when several workshops were established in Campania, only the
Owl-Pillar Workshop of the second half of the 5th century is known. Campanian vase painting is subdivided in three main groups:
The first group is represented by the
Kassandra Painter
The Kassandra Painter (also Cassandra Painter) was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style. His known works date to between 570 and 565 BC, and he was associated with the C Painter. The painter was identified by H.A.G. Bridjer.
A contem ...
from
Capua
Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.
History
Ancient era
The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...
, still under Sicilian influence. He was followed by the workshop of the
Parrish Painter and that of the
Laghetto Painter
Laghetto is a frazione of the comune of Colico, Lombardy, northern Italy.
Laghetto is a new name designed to combine many places, such as Borgonuovo, Fiumarga, La Cà and Corte, in a single village, the name officially appearing in 1770. In 176 ...
and the
Caivano Painter
Caivano ( nap, Caivàn') is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 14 km northeast of Naples.
The municipality contains the ''frazioni'' Casolla Valenzano and Pasc ...
. Their work is characterised by a preference for
satyr
In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, :wikt:σάτυρος, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, :wikt:Σειληνός, σειληνός ), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears ...
figures with
thyrsos
A thyrsus /ˈθɜːrsəs/ or thyrsos /ˈθɜːrˌsɒs/ (Ancient Greek: θύρσος) was a wand or staff of giant fennel (''Ferula communis'') covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and topped with a pine cone, artich ...
, depictions of heads (normally below the handles of ''hydriai''), decorative borders of garments, and the frequent use of additional white, red and yellow. The Laghetto and Caivano Painters appear to have moved to
Paestum
Paestum ( , , ) was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy). The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order, dating from about 550 to 450 BC, whic ...
later.
The
AV Group
Av (also Menachem Av, ; from Akkadian ''ʾAbū'' "father") is the eleventh month of the civil year and the fifth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. The name comes from Araḫ Abu, "month of Abu", from the Babylonian calenda ...
also had its workshop in Capua. Of particular importance is the
Whiteface-Frignano Painter, one of the first in this group. His typical characteristic is the use of additional white paint to depict the faces of women. This group favoured domestic scenes, women and warriors. Multiple figures are rare, usually there is only one figure each on the front and back of the vase, sometimes only the head. Garments are usually drawn casually.
[Hurschmann: ''Kampanische Vasenmalerei'', in: DNP 6 (1998), col. 228]
After 350 BC, the
CA Painter
CA or ca may refer to:
Businesses and organizations Companies
* Air China (IATA airline code CA)
* CA Technologies, a U.S. software company
* Cayman Airways, a Cayman Islands airline
* Channel America, a defunct U.S. television network
* Classic ...
and his successors worked in
Cumae
Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...
. The CA painter is considered as the outstanding artist of his group, or even of Campanian vase painting as a whole. From 330 onwards, a strong Apulian influence is visible. The most common motifs are ''naiskos'' and grave scenes, dionysiac scenes and symposia. Depictions of bejewelled female heads are also common. The CA painter was polychrome but tended to use much white for architecture and female figures. His successors were not fully able to maintain his quality, leading to a rapid demise, terminating with the end of Campanian vase painting around 300 BC.
Lucania
The
Lucania
Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto.
It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Brutti ...
n vase painting tradition began around 430 BC, with the works of the
Pisticci Painter
The Pisticci Painter was a vase painter who lived in the second half of the 5th century BC. Many of his artistic works were discovered in Pisticci, a small town a few kilometers from Metaponto, Lucania, Italy.
Ceramics of typically Attic taste b ...
. He was probably active in
Pisticci
Pisticci ( Metapontino: ; la, Pesticium) is a town comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.
Pisticci is the fourth most populous town in the region and the most populous in the province after Matera. It is k ...
, where some of his works were discovered. He was strongly influenced by Attic tradition. His successors, the
Amycus Painter
The Amykos Painter (active around 430–400 BC in Lucania) was the name given to a South Italian vase painter who worked in the ancient Greek red-figure pottery technique. His exact date of birth and death are unknown.
As with any of the artisa ...
and the
Cyclops Painter
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
had a workshop in
Metapontum
Metapontum or Metapontium ( grc, Μεταπόντιον, Metapontion) was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus (modern Basento). It was distant about 20 km from ...
. They were the first to paint the new ''nestoris'' (see
Typology of Greek Vase Shapes
The pottery of ancient Greece has a long history and the form of Greek vase shapes has had a continuous evolution from Minoan pottery down to the Hellenistic period. As Gisela Richter puts it, the forms of these vases find their "happiest express ...
) vase type. Mythical or theatrical scenes are common. For example, the
Cheophoroi painter, named after the
Cheophoroi by
Aeschylos
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, wikt:Αἰσχύλος, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre be ...
showed scenes from the tragedy in question on several of his vases. The influence of Apulian vase painting becomes tangible roughly at the same time. Especially polychromy and vegetal decor became standard. Important representatives of this style include the
Dolon Painter Dolon may refer to:
*Dolon (mythology), character in Greek mythology who spied for Troy during the Trojan War
*Dolon (Δόλων), a women's cult-association at Cyzicus worshiping the goddess Artemis
*Dolon (air base), air base in Semipalatinsk, Ka ...
and the
Brooklyn-Budapest Painter. Towards the mid-4th century BC, a massive drop in quality and thematic variety becomes notable. The last notable Lucanian vase painter was the
Primato Painter, strongly influenced by the Apulian
Lycourgos Painter. After him, a short rapid demise is followed by the cessation of Lucanian vase painting at the start of the last quarter of the 4th century BC.
Paestum
![Phlyax scene on a calyx krater by Asteas Antikensammlung Berlin F3044 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Phlyax_scene_on_a_calyx_krater_by_Asteas_Antikensammlung_Berlin_F3044_5.jpg)
The
Paestan vase painting style developed as the last of the South Italian styles. It was founded by Sicilian immigrants around 360 BC. the first workshop was controlled by
Asteas
Asteas (active between 350 and 320 BC in Paestum, Southern Italy) was one of the more active ancient Greek vase painters in Magna Graecia, practicing the red-figure style. He managed a large workshop, in which above all hydriai and krater
A ...
and
Python
Python may refer to:
Snakes
* Pythonidae, a family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia
** ''Python'' (genus), a genus of Pythonidae found in Africa and Asia
* Python (mythology), a mythical serpent
Computing
* Python (pro ...
. They are the only South Italian vase painters known from inscriptions. They mainly painted bell ''kraters'', neck amphorae, ''hydriai'', ''
lebes gamikos
The lebes gamikos, or "nuptial lebes," (plural lebetes gamikoi) is a form of ancient Greek pottery used in marriage ceremonies (literally, it means marriage vase). It was probably used in the ritual sprinkling of the bride with water before the we ...
'', ''lekanes'', ''lekythoi'' and jugs, more rarely ''pelikes'', chalice ''kraters'' and volute ''kraters''. Characteristics include decorations such as lateral palmettes, a pattern of tendrils with
calyx and umbel known as "asteas flower",
crenelation
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
-like patterns on garments and curly hair hanging over the back of figures. Figures that bend forwards, resting on plants or rocks, are equally common. Special colours are used often, especially white, gold, black, purple and shades of red.
![Orestes Delphi BM GR1917](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Orestes_Delphi_BM_GR1917.12-10.1.jpg)
The themes depicted often belong to the Dionysiac cycle: thiasos and symposium scenes, satyrs,
maenad
In Greek mythology, maenads (; grc, μαινάδες ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Maenads were known as Bassarids, ...
s,
Silenos
In Greek mythology, Silenus (; grc, Σειληνός, Seilēnós, ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue ('' thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which ...
,
Orestes
In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
,
Electra
Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...
, the gods
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
and
Eros
In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...
,
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
,
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
and
Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
. Paestan painting rarely depicts domestic scenes, but favours animals. Asteas and Python had a major influence on the vase painting of Paestum. This is clearly visible in the work of the
Aphrodite Painter
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
, who probably immigrated from Apulia. Around 330 BC, a second workshop developed, originally following the work of the first. The quality of its painting and variety of its motifs deteriorated quickly. At the same time, an influence by the Campanian
Caivano Painter
Caivano ( nap, Caivàn') is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 14 km northeast of Naples.
The municipality contains the ''frazioni'' Casolla Valenzano and Pasc ...
becomes notable, garments falling in a linear fashion and contourless female figures followed. Around 300 BC, Paestan vase painting came to a halt.
Sicily
![Theatre slave Louvre CA7249](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Theatre_slave_Louvre_CA7249.jpg)
The production of
Sicilian vase painting began before the end of the 5th century BC, in the
poleis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
of
Himera
Himera (Greek language, Greek: ), was a large and important ancient Greece, ancient Greek city, situated on the north coast of Sicily at the mouth of the river of the same name (the modern Imera Settentrionale), between Panormus (modern Palermo) ...
and
Syracusae
Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûsai, ; el, label=Modern Greek, Συρακούσε ...
. In terms of style, themes, ornamentation and vase shapes, the workshops were strongly influenced by the Attic tradition, especially by the Late Classical
Meidias Painter
The Meidias Painter was an Athenian red-figure vase painter in Ancient Greece, active in the last quarter of the 5th century BCE (fl. c. 420 to c. 400 BCE). He is named after the potter whose signature is found on a large hydria of the Meidias Pai ...
. In the second quarter of the 4th century, Sicilian vase painters emigrated to Campania and Paestum, where they introduced red-figure vase painting. Only Syracusae retained a limited production.
[Hurschmann: ''Sizilische Vasen'', in: DNP 11 (2001), col. 606]
The typical Sicilian style only developed around 340 BC. Three groups of workshops can be distinguished. The first, known as the
Lentini-Manfria Group, was active in
Syracusae
Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûsai, ; el, label=Modern Greek, Συρακούσε ...
and
Gela
Gela (Sicilian and ; grc, Γέλα) is a city and (municipality) in the Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province of Cal ...
, a second, making
Centuripe Ware around Mt.
Aetna
Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...
, and a third on
Lipari
Lipari (; scn, Lìpari) is the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, southern Italy; it is also the name of the island's main town and ''comune'', which is administratively part of the Metropolit ...
. The most typical feature of Sicilian vase painting is the use of additional colours, especially white. In the early phase, large vessels like chalice ''kraters'' and ''hydriai'' were painted, but smaller vessels like flasks, ''lekanes'', ''lekythoi'' and skyphoid ''pyxides'' are more typical. The most common motifs are scenes from female life, ''
erotes
In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Erotes () are a collective of winged gods associated with love and sexual intercourse. They are part of Aphrodite's retinue. ''Erotes'' (Greek ) is the plural of ''Eros'' ("Love, Desire"), who as a sin ...
'', female heads and ''phlyax'' scenes. Mythological scenes are rare. Like in all other areas, vase painting disappears from Sicily around 300 BC.
Etruria and other regions
![Artemis hinds Louvre CA1795](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Artemis_hinds_Louvre_CA1795.jpg)
In contrast to black-figure vase painting, red-figure vase painting developed few regional traditions, workshops or "schools" outside Attica and Southern Italy. The few exceptions include some workshops in
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...
(
Painter of the Great Athens Kantharos
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
),
Chalkidike
Chalkidiki (; el, Χαλκιδική , also spelled Halkidiki, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos region con ...
,
Elis
Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...
,
Eretria
Eretria (; el, Ερέτρια, , grc, Ἐρέτρια, , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th centur ...
,
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
and
Laconia
Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...
.
Only
Etruria
Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria.
Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria
are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...
, one of the main export markets for Attic vases, developed its own schools and workshops, eventually exporting its own products. The adoption of red-figure painting, imitating Athenian vases, occurred only after 490 BC, half a century after the style had been developed. Because of the technique used, the earliest examples are known as pseudo-red-figure vase paintings. The true red-figure technique was introduced much later, near the end of the 5th century BC. Several painters, workshops and production centres are known for both styles. Their products were not only used locally, but also exported to
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
,
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and
Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
.
Pseudo-red-figure vase painting
The early Etrurian examples merely imitated the red-figure technique. Similar to a rare and early Attic technique (see
Six's technique
Six's technique is the modern name for a technique used by Attic black-figure vase painters that involves laying on figures in white or red on a black surface and incising the details so that the black shows through. It was first described by the ...
), the whole vessel was covered with black glossy clay and figures were applied afterwards using mineral colours that would oxidise red or white. Thus, in contrast to contemporary Attic vase painting, the red colour was not achieved by leaving areas unpainted but by adding paint to the black prime layer. Like in black-figure vases, internal detail was not painted on, but incised into the figures. Important representatives of this style include the
Praxias Painter
Praxias ( grc, Πραξίας) and Androsthenes ( grc, Ἀνδροσθένης), were Greek sculptors, who are said by Pausanias (x. 19, 4) to have executed the pediments of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Both were Athenians, Praxias a pupil of ...
and other masters from his workshop in
Vulci
Vulci or Volci (Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan civilization, Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy.
As George Dennis (explorer), George Dennis wrot ...
. In spite of their evident good knowledge of Greek myth and iconography, there is no evidence to indicate that these painters had immigrated from Attica. An exception to this may be the Praxia Painter, as Greek inscription on four of his vases may indicate that he originated from Greece.
In Etruria, the pseudo-red-figure style was not just a phenomenon of the earliest phases, as it had been in Attica. Especially during the 4th century, some workshops specialised in this technique, although true red-figure painting was widespread among Etrurian workshops at the same time. Notable workshops include the
Sokra Group and the
Phantom Group
Phantom may refer to:
* Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things
** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living
Aircraft
* Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy unm ...
. The Sokra Group, somewhat older, preferred bowls with interior decoration of Greek mythical themes, but also some Etruscan motifs. The phantom Group mainly painted cloaked figures combined with vegetal or palmette ornamentation. The workshops of both groups are suspected to have been in
Caere
:
Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50–60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, to ...
,
Falerii
Falerii (now Fabrica di Roma) was a city in southern Etruria, 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Rome, 34 km (21 mi) from Veii (a major Etruscan city-state near the River Tiber) and about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) west of the ancient Via Flaminia. It was the main c ...
and
Tarquinia
Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. ...
. The Phantom Group produced until the early 3rd century BC. Like elsewhere, the changing tastes of the customers eventually led to the end of this style.
Red-figure vase painting
![Athena Poseidon Louvre CA7426](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Athena_Poseidon_Louvre_CA7426.jpg)
True red figure vase painting, i.e. vases where the red areas have been left unpainted, was introduced to Etruria near the end of the 5th century BC. The first workshops developed in Vulci and Falerii and produced also for the surrounding areas. It is likely that Attic masters were behind these early workshops, but a
South Italian
, altname =
, states = Italy
, region = Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise
, ethnicity = ''Mezzogiorno'' Ethnic Italians
, speakers = 5.7 million
, date ...
influence is evident, too. These workshops dominated the Etruscan market into the 4th century BC. Large and medium-sized vessels like ''kraters'' and jugs were decorated mostly with mythological scenes. In the course of the 4th century, the Falerian production began to eclipse that of Vulci. New centres of production developed in
Chiusi
Chiusi (Etruscan: ''Clevsin''; Umbrian: ''Camars''; Ancient Greek: ''Klysion'', ''Κλύσιον''; Latin: ''Clusium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy.
History
Clusium (''Clevsin'' in Etruscan) was one of t ...
and
Orvieto
Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...
. Especially the
Tondo Group
Tondo may refer to:
* Tondo (art), a circular painting or sculpture
* Tondo, Manila, a district of Manila
* Tondo (historical polity), an early historic polity on the north side of the Pasig River delta in Luzon, Philippines; a predecessor of the ...
of Chiusi, producing mainly drinking vessels with interior depictions of dionysiac scenes, became important. During the second half of the century,
Volterra
Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods.
History
Volter ...
became a main centre. Here, especially rod-handled ''kraters'' were produced and, especially in the early phases, painted elaborately.
During the 2nd half of the 4th century BC, mythological themes disappeared from the repertoire of Etruscan painters. They were replaced by female heads and scenes of up to two figures. Instead of figural depictions, ornaments and floral motifs covered the vessel bodies. Large figural compositions, like that on a ''krater'' by the
Den Haag Funnel Group Painter were only produced exceptionally. The originally large-scale production at Falerii lost its dominant role to the production centre at Caere, which had probably been founded by Falerian painters and cannot be said to represent a distinct tradition. The standard repertoire of the Caere workshops included simply painted ''oinochoai'', ''lekythoi'' and drinking bowls of the
Torcop Group, and plates of the
Genucuilia Group. The switch to the production of black glaze vases near the end of the 4th century, probably as a reaction to changing tastes of the time, spelt the end of Etrurian red-figure vase painting.
Research and reception
About 65,000 red-figure vases and vase fragments are known to have survived. The study of ancient pottery and of Greek vase painting began already in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
Restoro d'Arezzo Ristoro or Restoro d'Arezzo was an Italian monk and scientist of the Middle Ages. Italian scholar Enrico Narducci calls him the ' Humboldt' of the thirteenth century.
Life and works
Restoro was born in Arezzo, Tuscany, at an unknown date in the ...
dedicated a chapter (''Capitolo de le vasa antiche'') of his description of the world to ancient vases. He considered especially the clay vessels as perfect in terms of shape, colour, and artistic style. Nevertheless, initially the attention focused on vases in general, and perhaps especially on stone vases. The first collections of ancient vases, including some painted vessels, developed during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
. We even know of some imports from Greece to Italy at that time. Still, until the end of the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
period, vase painting was overshadowed by other genres, especially by
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
. A rare pre-
Classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
exception is a book of
watercolour
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
s depicting figural vases, which was produced for
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc (1 December 1580 – 24 June 1637), often known simply as Peiresc, or by the Latin form of his name, Peirescius, was a French astronomer, antiquary and savant, who maintained a wide correspondence with scientis ...
. Like some of his contemporary collectors, Peiresc owned a number of clay vases.
Since the period of
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...
, ceramic vessels were collected more frequently. For example,
Sir William Hamilton and
Giuseppe Valletta
Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph,
from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף.
It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it.
The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...
had vase collections. Vases found in Italy were relatively affordable, so that even private individuals could assemble important collections. Vases were a popular souvenir for young Northwestern Europeans to bring home from the
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
. In the diaries of his voyage to Italy,
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
refers to the temptation of buying ancient vases. Those who could not afford originals had the option of acquiring copies or prints. There were even
manufactories
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. ...
specialised in imitating ancient pottery. The best known is
Wedgwood
Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...
ware, although it employed techniques entirely unrelated to those used in antiquity, using ancient motifs merely as a thematic inspiration.
Since the 1760s, archaeological research also began to focus on vase paintings. The vases were appreciated as source material for all aspects of ancient life, especially for
iconographical
Iconology is a method of interpretation in cultural history and the history of the visual arts used by Aby Warburg, Erwin Panofsky and their followers that uncovers the cultural, social, and historical background of themes and subjects in the visu ...
and
mythological
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
studies. Vase painting was now treated as a substitute for the almost entirely lost oeuvre of
Greek monumental painting. Around this time, the widespread view that all painted vases were Etruscan works became untenable. Nonetheless, the artistic fashion of that time to imitate ancient vases came to be called ''all'etrusque''. England and France tried to outdo each other in terms of both research and imitation of vases. The German aesthetic writers
Johann Heinrich Müntz
Johann Heinrich Müntz (1727–1798) was an Alsatian-Swiss painter and architect, known when working in England as John Henry Muntz. He was in England for seven years, and at the heart of a group trying to adapt the rococo to architecture and int ...
and
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann (; ; 9 December 17178 June 1768) was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and founding he ...
studied vase paintings. Winckelmann especially praised the ''Umrißlinienstil'' ("outline style", i.e. red-figure painting). Vase ornaments were compiled and disseminated in England through ''Pattern books''.
![Volute Krater Vase LACMA M](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Volute_Krater_Vase_LACMA_M.82.46.jpg)
Vase paintings even had an influence on the development of modern painting. The linear style influenced artists such as
Edward Burne-Jones
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August, 183317 June, 1898) was a British painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which included Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Millais, Ford Madox Brown and Holman Hun ...
,
Gustave Moreau
Gustave Moreau (; 6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence".Cassou, Jean. 1979. ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Symbolism.' ...
or
Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 – February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's prim ...
. Around 1840,
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (; 15 January 1793 – 23 August 1865) was an Austrian painter and writer. Waldmüller was one of the most important Austrian painters of the Biedermeier period.
Career
In 1807, Waldmüller attended the Academy o ...
painted a ''Still Life with Silver Vessels and Red-Figure Bell Krater''.
Henri Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
produced a similar painting (''Intérieur au vase étrusque''). Their aesthetic influence extends into the present. For example, the well-known curved shape of the Coca-Cola bottle is inspired by Greek vases.
The scientific study of Attic vase paintings was advanced especially by
John D. Beazley. Beazley began to study the vases from about 1910 onwards, inspired by the methodology that the
art historian
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
Giovanni Morelli
Giovanni Morelli (25 February 1816 – 28 February 1891) was an Italian art critic and political figure. As an art historian, he developed the "Morellian" technique of scholarship, identifying the characteristic "hands" of painters through s ...
had developed for the study of paintings. He assumed that each painter produced individual works that can always be unmistakably ascribed. To do so, particular details, such as faces, fingers, arms, legs, knees, garment folds and so on, were compared. Beazley examined 65,000 vases and fragments (of which 20,000 were black-figure). In the course of six decades of study, he was able to ascribe 17,000 of them to individual artists. Where their names remained unknown, he developed a system of conventional names. Beazley also united and combined individual painters into groups, workshops, schools and styles. No other archaeologist has ever had as formative an influence on a whole subdiscipline as had Beazley on the study of Greek vase painting. A large proportion of his analysis is still considered valid today. Beazley first published his conclusions on red-figure vase painting in 1925 and 1942. His initial studies only considered material from before the 4th century BC. For a new edition of his work published in 1963, he also incorporated that later period, making use of the work of other scholars, such as
Karl Schefold
Karl Schefold (; 26 January 1905 – 16 April 1999) was a classical archaeologist based in Basel, Switzerland. Born and educated in Germany, he was forced in 1935 to emigrate to Switzerland, which he adopted as his home country. His speciality ...
, who had especially studied the
Kerch Style
The Kerch style , also referred to as Kerch vases, is an archaeological term describing vases from the final phase of Attic red-figure pottery production. Their exact chronology remains problematic, but they are generally assumed to have been pro ...
vases. Famous scholars who continued the study of Attic red-figure after Beazley include
John Boardman,
Erika Simon
Erika Simon (27 June 1927 – 15 February 2019) was a German scholar of classical archaeology and professor emeritus of the University of Würzburg. She was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2002. Simon died in February 2019 at the ...
and
Dietrich von Bothmer
Dietrich Felix von Bothmer (pronounced ''BOAT-mare''; October 26, 1918 – October 12, 2009) was a German-born American art historian, who spent six decades as a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he developed into the world's leading ...
.
[John Boardman: ''Schwarzfigurige Vasen aus Athen'', p. 7f.]
For the study of
South Italian
, altname =
, states = Italy
, region = Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise
, ethnicity = ''Mezzogiorno'' Ethnic Italians
, speakers = 5.7 million
, date ...
case painting,
Arthur Dale Trendall
Arthur Dale Trendall, (28 March 1909 – 13 November 1995) was a New Zealand art historian and classical archaeologist whose work on identifying the work of individual artists on Greek ceramic vessels at Apulia and other sites earned him in ...
's work has a similar significance to that of Beazley for Attica. Most post-Beazley scholars can be said to follow Beazley's tradition and use his methodology. The study of Greek vases is ongoing, not least because of the constant addition of new material from
archaeological excavations
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
,
illicit excavations and unknown private collections.
See also
*
Ancient Greek art
Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic d ...
*
List of Greek vase painters
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
* See also
Liste der Formen, Typen und Varianten der antiken griechischen Fein- und Gebrauchskeramik in the German Wikipedia for a useful set of tables classifying vase shapes and variations, with distinguishing shape outlines and typical examples, also
Typology of Greek vase shapes
The pottery of ancient Greece has a long history and the form of Greek vase shapes has had a continuous evolution from Minoan pottery down to the Hellenistic period. As Gisela Richter puts it, the forms of these vases find their "happiest express ...
.
Notes, references and sources
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
* Rolf Hurschmann:
Apulische Vasen'
![Lock-red-alt-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg)
, in:
DNP 1 (1996), col. 922 f.;
Kampanische Vasenmalerei'
![Lock-red-alt-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg)
, in: DNP 6 (1998), col. 227 f.;
Lukanische Vasen'
![Lock-red-alt-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg)
, in: DNP 7 (1999), col. 491;
Paestanische Vasen'
![Lock-red-alt-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg)
, in: DNP 9 (2000), col. 142/43;
Sizilische Vasen'
![Lock-red-alt-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg)
, in: DNP 11 (2001), col. 606;
Unteritalische Vasenmalerei'
![Lock-red-alt-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg)
, in: DNP 12/1 (2002), col. 1009–1011
*
* Sabine Naumer:
Vasen/Vasenmalerei'
![Lock-red-alt-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg)
, in DNP 15/3, col. 946-958
* John H. Oakley:
Rotfigurige Vasenmalerei'
![Lock-red-alt-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg)
, in: DNP 10 (2001), col. 1141–43
*
*
*
Ingeborg Scheibler
Ingeborg Scheibler (born 31 August 1929 in Krefeld) is a German classical archaeologist.
Ingeborg Scheibler was granted her doctorate at the University of Tübingen on 17 April 1956 by Bernhard Schweitzer for her thesis ''Studien zur Komposition d ...
:
Vasenmaler'
![Lock-red-alt-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg)
, in: DNP 12/I (2002), col. 1147f.
*
*
Further reading
*Boardman, John. 2001. ''The History of Greek Vases: Potters, Painters, Pictures.'' New York: Thames & Hudson.
*Bouzek, Jan. 1990. ''Studies of Greek Pottery In the Black Sea Area.'' Prague: Charles University.
*Cook, Robert Manuel, and Pierre Dupont. 1998. ''East Greek Pottery.'' London: Routledge.
*Farnsworth, Marie. 1964. "Greek Pottery: A Mineralogical Study." ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 68 (3): 221–28.
*Sparkes, Brian A. 1996. ''The Red and the Black: Studies In Greek Pottery.'' London: Routledge.
*
External links
*
ttp://www.latrobe.edu.au/trendall/archive.htm The Trendall archive – South Italian vase paintings
{{Authority control
Ancient Greek pottery
Ancient Greek vase-painting styles
Archaic Greek art
5th-century BC Greek art
4th-century BC Greek art