Greek Vase Painting

Fowling in the Marshes, from the Tomb of Nebamun
18th Dynasty, British Museum
Egyptian paintings have survived the ages in abundance because they were preserved in
tombs — but not a single example of Greek painting has been found!

Yet we know it existed because ancient writers have left tantalizing descriptions

For example, Pliny the Elder tells the story of a painting competition between two Greek
painters, Zeuxis and Parrhasius

19th century illustration of Pliny’s story of the grapes of Zeuxis
According to the story, Zeuxis painted grapes that were so realistic, birds came to peck at
them

When Parrhasius presented his masterpiece, Zeuxis asked him to pull away the curtain that
was hiding his painting — but it turned out that the curtain was the painting!.

Parrhasius won the competition because Zeuxis had only fooled birds — but Parrhasius had
fooled an expert!

This story about the competition between two famous artists tells us that Greek painters
achieved a high level of illusionistic realism in their art. Unfortunately, none of it survives for
us to see!

But painted Greek vases have survived in great abundance, and their decorations can help us
imagine what Greek painting might have looked like

Pottery was a major Greek export industry, and vases came in a variety of shapes and sizes
designed for different purposes. Their decoration was often related to their function.

Geometric Krater from the Dipylon cemetary,
Athens, c. 740 BCE
The earliest vase paintings from the Geometric period were highly abstract, and were
arranged on horizontal bands, using the register format

Geometric Krater from the Dipylon cemetary,
Athens, c. 740 BCE
This krater from the Dipylon cemetary outside Athens marked the grave of a fallen warrior

The top register shows the prothesis – the Greek funerary ritual in which the deceased is laid
out on a funerary bier, surrounded by family and mourners

On the register below is a procession of warriors on chariots, and foot soldiers carrying hour
glass shaped shields, probably referencing the military exploits of the deceased

The figures are rendered in a highly stylized stick-figure format, with triangular shapes for
torsos, simple circles for their heads, and a dot to indicate the eye

Kleitas and Ergotimos, François Vase, c. 570 BCE
During the Orientalizing and Archaic periods, figures became more complex, but remained
highly stylized

Kleitas and Ergotimos, François Vase, c. 570 BCE
The François Vase is decorated with episodes from Greek mythology, with characters labeled
for legibility

This scene represents the story of the Lapiths and Centaurs, where members of a Greek tribe
battled against the mythical creatures that were half man, and half horse

Amphora, c. 550-540 BCE
Art Institute of Chicago
During the Archaic and Classical periods, vase painters abandoned the register format and
began to focus on a single scene of action

The method used to decorate the vases is called black figure vase painting

To create the image, the artist would start with a sketch on the unglazed pot
Source: Ancient Greek Vase Production and Black-Figure Technique (AIC)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=10&v=FpLPx_Akl7Y

The figures would then be painted with a slip, and details would be added with incised lines

A darker slip would be added for details such as the men’s hair, and a whiter slip for women’s
skin

The vessel was then fired in a kiln at high temperature

The slip would turn glossy, while the background remained the reddish color of the unglazed
clay

So, in black figure vase painting, the figures are black, and the background is red

A variety of themes were depicted on Greek vases

Amongst the most popular were scenes from mythology depicting the exploits of
mythological characters like Herakles, legendary warriors, and athletic champions

Marvel Super Heroes, 1966 edition Image source:
http://www.mycomicshop.com/search?ItemID=21480461
So Greek vase paintings were kind of like our modern comic books, with thrilling stories
about super heroes, which would have appealed to an aristocratic class that valued military
valor and athletic prowess

Attic black-figure amphora, c. 550-540 BC
Attributed to Exekias
Louvre
One of the most popular subjects was Herakles, who was given the task of performing twelve
Labors

The first Labor was the Nemean lion, which he managed to defeat with his bare hands

Thereafter, the lion skin became his defining attribute

This kylix cup (used for drinking wine) illustrates an episode from Homer’s Iliad
Attributed to the Amasis Painter, kylix cup, c.540 BCE
Metropolitan Museum

It shows the god Poseidon (identifiable by his trident) readying his armies to aid the Greeks
Attributed to the Amasis Painter, kylix cup, c.540 BCE
Metropolitan Museum

Panathenaic amphora, ca. 530 B.C.; Archaic Attributed to the Euphiletos Painter
Many Greek vases were given as prizes to victors in the Olympic games

Panathenaic amphora, ca. 530 B.C.; Archaic Attributed to the Euphiletos Painter
This one shows a foot race on one side, and the goddess Athena on the other

In this detail we can see how the musculature has been incised with lines

The figures are rendered in a composite view – while the legs are seen from the side, the
shoulders are twisted frontally

Exekias, Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game, detail of a black figure
amphora, c. 540-530 BCE
This vase was painted by Exekias, one of the leading vase painters of the 6th century, and
represents two of the heroes from Homer’s The Iliad

In this scene, Ajax and Achilles are playing a game of dice
Achilles
Ajax

We can tell who is winning because of the captions: Achilles says he has four (“tesara”),
while Ajax has only three (“tri”)

Homer described Achilles as the “best of the Achaeans,” and Ajax as second best only to
Achilles -- so the game would seem to underline the relationship between the two great
heroes of the story

Exekias is famous because he began to explore more sophisticated techniques in the
rendering of three dimensional forms

The shoulders, for example, are rendered in foreshortened perspective, rather than in the
composite pose – so they appear to be projecting into space

And the shields on either side are seen in foreshortened perspective, rather than frontally, so
they appear to recede into depth

Two handled amphora with Achilles
and Ajax,525-520 BCE
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
This vase from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston shows the same story of Achilles and Ajax

The same scene is represented on the other side, but it uses a new style called red figure

Red figure is the opposite of black figure

Now, the background is painted with black slip, while the figures are left unpainted, so they
take on the reddish color of the the unglazed clay

Details are painted with thin lines, rather than incised

BLACK FIGURE
Figures are black
Background is red
RED FIGURE
Figures are red
Background is black

Euphronios, Herakles
Wrestling Antaios, red
figure calyx krater
c. 510 BCE Louvre
Red figure technique enabled increasing exploration of naturalistic effects in the rendering of
human anatomy

Euphronios, Herakles Wrestling Antaios, red figure calyx krater
c. 510 BCE Louvre
In this scene we see Herakles wrestling with the Libyan giant Antaios

While Herakles is neatly coifed (his hair and beard are neatly trimmed), the giant has shaggy
hair and an un-trimmed beard

Herakles’ pose resembles an earlier black figure vase by Psiax depicting the hero wrestling
the Nemean lion

The contrast makes it easy to see the greater naturalism made possible by the red figure
technique

The figures’ poses are extraordinarily complex

And the rendering of the anatomy on Antaios’s torso is particularly impressive: he’s got six-
pack abs, and we can even see his rib cage

So vase painters were keeping pace with sculptors in the accurate rendering of anatomy

Another popular theme in vase painting was the Greek symposium, an all-male drinking
party

In this scene we see two men reclining on couches, drinking wine from kylix cups while being
entertained by a flautist

While aristocratic women were not allowed to attend the symposium, professional
prostitutes (called heterai) were a common feature

Euthymides, Three revelers, red
figure amphora, c. 510 BCE
This amphora by Euthymides depicts three male revelers at a symposium

The artist depicts each figure from a different perspective

Compared to the stylized figures of earlier Black Figure vases, Euthymides’ figures have
become more three-dimensional and life-like
Ezekias, Achilles slaying Penthesilea, 530-525 BCE
British Museum

The ancient convention of the composite view has finally been abandoned, and the human
figure now moves freely through three-dimensional space

Greek art introduced a new way of representing the figure based on how the eye actually
sees it (optical approach), rather than relying on the artificial formulas that had been used
through ancient art

Greek Vase Painting

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Greek Vase Painting