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In black-figure vase painting, figural and ornamental motifs were applied with a slip that turned black during firing, while the background was left the color of the clay. In contrast, the decorative motifs on red-figure vases remained the color of the clay; the background, filled in with a slip, turned black.
What is the difference between black figure pottery and red-figure pottery?
Red-figure is essentially the reverse of black figure: the background is filled in with a fine slip and has a black colour after firing, while the figures are reserved. Details are added using fine brushes instead of through incision, allowing the artists to add a greater level of detail to their art.
What was the red-figure pottery used for?
Like black-figure pottery, red-figure pottery was created in a variety of shapes for specific uses. Daily use pottery, such as amphora for transporting goods and hydria for drawing water, often depicted scenes of daily life.
Who is the master of red figure painting?
The beginnings of red-figure painting Euthymides worked mainly between 515 and 500 B.C.E., in a time when artists were exploring the possibilities of red-figure technique, invented in Athens around 530 B.C.E.
What technique was used to decorate this vase?
The two most popular techniques of vase decoration were the black-figure technique, so-named because the figures were painted black, and the red-figure technique, in which the figures were left the red color of the clay.
What were volute Kraters used for?
Volute krater, a bowl used in ancient Greece for diluting wine with water.
What was the group of Attic red figure painters known for their affected subject matter called?
The Mannerists were a group of Attic red-figure painters known for their affected (emotive) subject matter. They were active from about 480 BCE until near the end of the fifth century BCE.
What is red-figure Greek pottery?
Red-figure pottery, type of Greek pottery that flourished from the late 6th to the late 4th century bce. In the red-figure style, decoration was also outlined in black, but the background outside the outline was filled in with black, leaving the figures red.
How does white ground differ from red and black-figure painting?
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.
Are red-figure pottery named after the place where it was found?
Its modern name is based on the figural depictions in red colour 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, were in Southern Italy. The style was also adopted in other parts of Greece.
How were the red-figure vases painted?
This technique of vase painting is essentially the reverse of black-figure vase painting. In the red-figure technique, the background of a vessel’s surface is coated with a black slip. The decorative figures are left to stand out in reserve, that is, in the red-orange color of the base clay.
How many phases of firing did black figure pottery require?
Once the vessel has been decorated, it progresses through a three-stage firing process.
Which style of vase had a black background?
Through the introduction and removal of oxygen in the kiln and, simultaneously, the increase and decrease in temperature, the slip transformed into a glossy black color. Briefly, ancient Greek vases display several painting techniques, and these are often period specific.
What is black figure pottery made of?
The black color in black figure pottery is not a pigment or dye, but a result of firing clay in the kiln. As the vases were being made, a liquid clay called slip was applied to patch up weak areas or hold pieces together.
Which artist created the Attic black figure amphora?
Steven Zucker in front of an Attic black figure amphora by Exekias (potter and painter), archaic period, c. 540-530 B.C.E., 61.1 cm high, found Vulci (Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Vatican). Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
What is Corinthian pottery?
Corinthian ceramics is characterized by a light-yellow clay and a painted decoration applying the technique of the black figure, with final improvements carved with a stylus. The figurative patterns are also surrounded by colored spots.
What was common subject matter for much of Greek pottery?
The drawing on Greek ware of this period is often of the highest quality, and the subject matter is an inexhaustible mine of information on Greek life and thought. Greek artists sought to endow their figures with mood and character as well as the capacity for action.
Did red or black-figure pottery come first?
Red-figure pottery. The Red-figure technique was first adopted in Athens in the 6th century BCE. Before this period, the Black-figure pottery technique was prevalently utilized.
Who created black and red-figure pottery?
The red-figure technique was invented around 530 B.C., quite possibly by the potter Andokides and his workshop. It gradually replaced the black-figure technique as innovators recognized the possibilities that came with drawing forms, rather than laboriously delineating them with incisions.
What is white ground painting?
White-ground technique is a style of white ancient Greek pottery and the painting in which figures appear on a white background. It developed in the region of Attica, dated to about 500 BC.
When did the attic white ground style gain in popularity?
White ground technique The technique gained great importance during the 5th and 4th centuries, especially in the form of small lekythoi that became typical grave offerings. Important representatives include its inventor, the Achilles Painter, as well as Psiax, the Pistoxenos Painter, and the Thanatos Painter.
What style is the Greek black figure ceramics?
Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic (Greek, μελανόμορφα, melanomorpha) is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BC, although there are specimens dating as late as the 2nd century BC.
When did black figure pottery develop in Greece?
Black-figure pottery, type of Greek pottery that originated in Corinth c. 700 bce and continued to be popular until the advent of red-figure pottery c. 530 bce.
What were the most distinctive forms of free standing sculpture?
Two of the most distinctive forms of free-standing sculpture to emerge during the Archaic period of Greek art (about 600-480 B.C.E.) were statues of youths (kouroi) and maidens (korai).
What was the lekythos vase used for?
A lekythos is a vessel used to store oil used for religious or funerary purposes (1). This lekythos is an example of an ancient Greek vase decorated in the black-figure technique (2). The vase is made of a light red clay, with decorative elements, including the figural decoration, added in a black slip.
