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White-ground technique is a style of white ancient
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 are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...
and the
painting 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 ...
in which figures appear on a white background. It developed in the region of
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 ...
, dated to about 500 BC. It was especially associated with vases made for ritual and funerary use, if only because the painted surface was more fragile than in the other main techniques of
black-figure 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 ...
and
red-figure vase painting Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure v ...
. Nevertheless, a wide range of subjects are depicted.


Technique and style

In white-ground pottery, the vase is covered with a light or white
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 ...
of kaolinite. A similar slip had been used as carrier for vase paintings in the Geometric and Archaic periods. White-ground vases were produced, for example, in
Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...
,
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 ...
and on the
Cycladic islands The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name ...
, but only 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 ...
did it develop into a veritable separate style beside black-figure and red-figure vase painting. For that reason, the term "white-ground pottery" or "white-ground vase painting" is usually used in reference to the Attic material only. The light slip was probably meant to make the vases appear more valuable, perhaps by eliciting associations with
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
or
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
. However, in no case was a vessel's entire surface covered in white slip. It has also been conjectured that this form of painting emerged in order to emulate the more prestigious medium 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 ...
, but the thesis has been elusive of proof. Furthermore, the group of five Huge Lekythoi (c. 70–100 cm high) are covered entirely in white slip, which suggests an imitation of marble lekythoi for funerary purposes. White-ground vase painting often occurred in association with
red-figure vase painting Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure v ...
. Especially typical of this are '' kylikes'' with a white-ground interior and a red-figure exterior image. White-ground painting is less durable than black- or red-figure, which is why such vases were primarily used as
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 ...
s and grave vessels.


Types

The development of white-ground vase painting took place parallel to that of the black- and red-figure styles. In the course of that development, five sub-styles can be noted: Early use. The earliest surviving example of the technique is a fragmentary
kantharos A ''kantharos'' ( grc, κάνθαρος) or cantharus is a type of ancient Greek cup used for drinking. Although almost all surviving examples are in Greek pottery, the shape, like many Greek vessel types, probably originates in metalwork. In i ...
signed by the potter-painter
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 ...
''ca.'' 570 BC . It 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 ...
(Akropolis 611). The technique was used to create strobing bands of colour that emphasize the shape of the vase. and is associated with the workshops of Andokides,
Nikosthenes Nikosthenes was a potter of Greek black- and red-figure pottery in the time window 550–510 BC. He signed as the potter on over 120 black-figure vases, but only nine red-figure. Most of his vases were painted by someone else, called Painter ...
and
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 ...
. Type I. The use of a white ground in conjunction with outline painting did not develop until some fifty years later, when black-figure vase painting on white ground was probably introduced by the potter
Nikosthenes Nikosthenes was a potter of Greek black- and red-figure pottery in the time window 550–510 BC. He signed as the potter on over 120 black-figure vases, but only nine red-figure. Most of his vases were painted by someone else, called Painter ...
around 530/525 BC. After a short interval, this technique was also adopted by other workshops, including that of
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 ...
. The manner of painting is the same as in conventional black-figure, the colour of the grounding being the only difference. The ground is rarely pure white, but usually slightly yellowish or light beige. Type II. A second form is monochrome silhouette drawing. Images are not created from reservation (paint-free areas) and painted internal detail (as in red-figure vase painting), but from drawn outlines and painted internal detail. This style is used since the end of the 6th century BC, especially on cups, '' alabastra'' and ''
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 ...
''. Initially, the outline of the figures is executed in the form of a relief line, but from about 500 BC, this is increasingly replaced by painted yellowish-brown lines. The so-called ''semi-outline'' technique is a combination of the first and the second technique, used only in the first half of the 5th century BC, virtually exclusively on ''lekythoi'' and ''alabastra''. Type III. In the first quarter of the 5th century, the workshop of the potter
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 ...
develops a four-colour painting style using a combination of shiny 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 ...
and mineral paints. The images are made up of outline drawings in shiny slip and coloured areas in mineral paint. This style is used especially on ''pyxides'' and cups. Some details, such as fruit, jewellery, weaponry or vessels can be executed in clay slip in such a fashion as to attain a slight plasticity, additionally they may be gilded. The paints used are limited to tones of red and brown, yellow, white and black. Type IV. Early Classical ''lekythos'' painting combined shiny slip, mineral paints and non.ceramic mineral paints, This type developed in the second quarter of the 5th century BC. It was used in painting large grave ''lekythoi'' used in funerary cult. The images are mostly constructed of coloured areas. Pure outline drawing is only used for the depiction of male bodies at this stage. Female bodies are rendered in white paint, clothing in black shiny slip, mineral paints and occasionally non-ceramic paints such as
cinnabarite Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the bril ...
or
Egyptian blue Egyptian blue, also known as calcium copper silicate (CaCuSi4O10 or CaOCuO(SiO2)4 (calcium copper tetrasilicate)) or cuprorivaite, is a pigment that was used in ancient Egypt for thousands of years. It is considered to be the first synthetic pi ...
. Many images depict scenes from women's life (the '' gynaikion''). Grave images are rare. The most important representative of this style is 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 ...
. Type V. The fifth style was polychrome ''lekythos'' painting. It replaced Early Classical ''lekythos'' painting around the middle of the 5th century BC. By this time, white-ground can be identified most closely with three principal shapes: the
lekythos A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditiona ...
, the
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 cups.Cohen, ''op. cit.'', p.190 Black shiny slip and white paint now disappeared from the paintings. Female bodies were again rendered as simple outline drawings. Non-ceramic mineral paints also ceased to be used. At the same time, several painters, starting with the Sabouroff Painter, began to use red or blackish-grey matt paints, instead of shiny
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 ...
, for the contours. Only the contours are painted before firing, other paints are applied afterwards. Therefore, the durability of such vase paintings is very limited; many examples are badly preserved or completely worn. As a result, it is difficult to assess the depicted motifs. Grave scenes are predominant. Image:Achilles Ajax dice Louvre MNB911.jpg,
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...
and
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
playing a board game (Attic ''lekythos'' by the workshop of the Diosphos Painter, ''ca.'' 500 BC) File:White-Ground Oinochoe (Wine-Jug) of Herakles and the Nemean Lion.jpg, White-ground black-figure
oinochoe An oenochoe, also spelled oinochoe ( grc, οἰνοχόη; from grc, οἶνος ''oînos'', "wine" and grc, χέω ''khéō'', "I pour," sense "wine-pourer"; plural ''oinochoai''; New Latin ''oenochoë,'' plural ''oenochoae,'' English plura ...
(Wine-Jug) of Herakles and the Nemean Lion, Athens about 520 - 500 BC, attributed to the Painter of London, potted by Andokides. Image:Hypnos Thanatos BM Vase D56 full.jpg,
Hypnos In Greek mythology, Hypnos (; Ancient Greek: means 'sleep') also spelled Hypnus is the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent is known as Somnus. His name is the origin of the word hypnosis. Pausanias wrote that Hypnos was a dear ...
and
Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appea ...
removing the body of
Sarpedon Sarpedon (; grc, Σαρπηδών) is the name of several figures in Greek mythology * Sarpedon, a son of Zeus, who fought on the side of Troy in the Trojan War. Although in the ''Iliad'', he was the son of Zeus and Laodamia, the daughter of Bel ...
from the battlefield of Troy (''
lekythos A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditiona ...
'',
Thanatos Painter The Thanatos Painter (5th century BCE) was an Athenian Ancient Greek vase painter who painted scenes of death on white-ground cylindrical lekythoi. All of the Thanatos Painter's found lekythoi have scenes of or related to death (''thanatos'' in Gr ...
, ''ca.'' 440 BC) Image:Lekythos by the Group of the Huge Lekythoi Antikensammlung BerlinF 2684 (1).jpg, ''Prothesis'' (
lying in repose Lying in repose is the tradition in which the body of a deceased person, often of high social stature, is made available for public viewing. Lying in repose differs from the more formal honor of lying in state, which is generally held at the pr ...
) (Attic plychrome ''lekythos'' (type V), from Alopeke,
Group of the Huge Lekythoi A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
, late 5th century BC)


Painters and distribution

Important Classical white-ground painters (5th century BC), in addition to the Achilleus Painter and Sabouroff Painter, include the
Sappho Painter Sappho Painter was an Attica, Attic black-figure vase painter, active . His name vase is a ''Kalpis (pottery), kalpis'' depicting the poet Sappho, currently held by the National Museum, Warsaw (Inv. 142333). The hand of the Sappho Painter has be ...
,
Thanatos Painter The Thanatos Painter (5th century BCE) was an Athenian Ancient Greek vase painter who painted scenes of death on white-ground cylindrical lekythoi. All of the Thanatos Painter's found lekythoi have scenes of or related to death (''thanatos'' in Gr ...
, Bird Painter, Square Painter, Women Painter, Phiale Painter, as well as several representatives of
Group R In relation to motorsport governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, Group R refers to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for rally competition. The Group R regulations were created in 2008 as a gradual ...
(''Reed Group''), including its eponymous Reed Painter. By the end of the century, some first attempts at shaded painting can be observed, influenced probably by contemporaneous
panel painting A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not paint ...
. Notable in this regard is the
Group of the Huge Lekythoi A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...
, specialised in decorating large grave vessels. During the second half of the 5th century, white-ground vase painting was used nearly exclusively for grave ''lekythoi''. When that vase type went out of use around 400 BC, white-ground vase painting also ceased. Later, during 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 ...
, various types of white-ground pottery occur in several locations of the Greek World, sometimes painted monochrome, sometimes polychrome. They include Hâdra vases, Canosa Vases and vases of the Centuripe type. '' Lagynoi'' were often decorated in white-ground technique.


Notes


Bibliography

* Donna Kurtz: ''Athenian White Lekythoi. Patterns and Painters'', Clarendon Press, Oxford 1975 * Lévêque, Pierre; ''
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'', "
Abrams Discoveries Abrams may refer to: * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname * '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war * M1 Abrams, main battle tank * Abrams, ...
" series, New York, 1994, * John Oakley: ''Picturing Death in Classical Athens. The Evidence of the White Lekythoi'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2004, . * E. Pottier, ''Étude sur les lécythes blancs antiques'', 1883. *Schoder, Raymond V.; ''Masterpieces of Greek Art'', New York Graphic Society * Irma Wehgartner: ''Attisch weissgrundige Keramik. Maltechniken, Werkstätten, Formen, Verwendung'', von Zabern, Mainz 1983 (Keramikforschungen, Vol 5), . * Irma Wehgartner: ''Weißgrundige Vasenmalerei''. In:
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, vol. 12, cols 454-456. *Woodford, Susan; ''An Introduction to Greek Art'', New York, 1988 *


Further reading

*Kurtz, Donna C. 1975. ''Athenian white lekythoi: Patterns and painters.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. *MacDonald, Brian R. 1981. "The emigration of potters from Athens in the late fifth century BC and its effect on the Attic pottery industry." ''American Journal of Archaeology'': 159–68. *Mertens, Joan R. 1974. "Attic white-ground cups: A special class of vases." ''Metropolitan Museum Journal'' 9: 91–108. *–––. 2006. "Attic White Ground: Potter and Painter." In ''The Colors of Clay: Special Techniques in Athenian Vases'': 186–93. *Oakley, John H. 2004. ''Picturing death in Classical Athens: The evidence of the white lekythoi.'' Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. *Truitt, Penelope. 1969. "Attic White-Ground Pyxis and Phiale, ca. 450 BC." ''Boston Museum Bulletin'': 72–92. *Von Bothmer, Dietrich. 1972. "Greek vase painting: an introduction." ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'' 31(1): 3–9. {{Greek vase painting Ancient Greek vase-painting styles