Stone Age Greek pottery goes back to the
Stone Age, such as those found in
Sesklo and
Dimini.
Bronze Age More elaborate painting on Greek pottery goes back to the
Minoan pottery and
Mycenaean pottery of the
Bronze Age, some later examples of which show the ambitious figurative painting that was to become highly developed and typical.
Iron Age After many centuries dominated by styles of geometric decoration, becoming increasingly complex, figurative elements returned in force in the 8th century. From the late 7th century to about 300 BC evolving styles of figure-led painting were at their peak of production and quality and were widely exported. During the
Greek Dark Age, spanning the 11th to 8th centuries BC, the prevalent early style was that of the
protogeometric art, predominantly using circular and wavy decorative patterns. This was succeeded in
mainland Greece, the
Aegean,
Anatolia, and
Italy by the style of pottery known as
geometric art, which employed neat rows of geometric shapes. The period of
Archaic Greece, beginning in the 8th century BC and lasting until the early 5th century BC, saw the birth of the
Orientalizing period, led largely by
ancient Corinth, where the previous stick-figures of the geometric pottery become fleshed out amid motifs that replaced the geometric patterns. The classical ceramic decor is dominated mostly by
Attic vase painting. Attic production was the first to resume after the Greek Dark Age and influenced the rest of Greece, especially
Boeotia,
Corinth, the
Cyclades (in particular
Naxos) and the
Ionian colonies in the east
Aegean. Production of vases was largely the prerogative of Athens – it is well attested that in Corinth, Boeotia, Argos, Crete and Cyclades, the painters and potters were satisfied to follow the Attic style. By the end of the Archaic period the styles of
black-figure pottery, red-figure pottery and the white ground technique had become fully established and would continue in use during the era of
Classical Greece, from the early 5th to late 4th centuries BC. Corinth was eclipsed by Athenian trends since Athens was the progenitor of both the red-figure and white ground styles. The site of
Lefkandi is one of our most important sources of ceramics from this period where a cache of grave goods has been found giving evidence of a distinctive Euboian protogeometric style which lasted into the early 8th century.
Geometric style Geometric art flourished in the 9th and 8th centuries BC. It was characterized by new motifs, breaking with the representation of the
Minoan and
Mycenaean periods: meanders, triangles and other geometrical decoration (hence the name of the style) as distinct from the predominantly circular figures of the previous style. However, our chronology for this new art form comes from exported wares found in datable contexts overseas. , mid-8th century BC, with human figures for scale. The vase was used as a grave marker.
National Archaeological Museum, Athens. With the early geometrical style (approximately 900–850 BC) one finds only abstract motifs, in what is called the "Black Dipylon" style, which is characterized by extensive use of black varnish, with the Middle Geometrical (approx. 850–770 BC), figurative decoration makes its appearance: they are initially identical bands of animals such as horses, stags, goats, geese, etc. which alternate with the geometrical bands. In parallel, the decoration becomes complicated and becomes increasingly ornate; the painter feels reluctant to leave empty spaces and fills them with
meanders or
swastikas. This phase is named
horror vacui (fear of the empty) and will not cease until the end of geometrical period. In the middle of the century there begin to appear human figures, the best known representations of which are those of the vases found in
Dipylon, one of the cemeteries of
Athens. The fragments of these large funerary vases show mainly processions of chariots or warriors or of the funerary scenes: (; exposure and lamentation of dead) or (; transport of the coffin to the cemetery). The bodies are represented in a geometrical way except for the calves, which are rather protuberant. In the case of soldiers, a shield in form of a
diabolo, called "dipylon shield" because of its characteristic drawing, covers the central part of the body. The legs and the necks of the horses, the wheels of the chariots are represented one beside the other without perspective. The hand of this painter, so called in the absence of signature, is the
Dipylon Master, could be identified on several pieces, in particular monumental amphorae. At the end of the period there appear representations of mythology, probably at the moment when
Homer codifies the traditions of
Trojan cycle in the
Iliad and the
Odyssey. Here however the interpretation constitutes a risk for the modern observer: a confrontation between two warriors can be a Homeric duel or simple combat; a failed boat can represent the shipwreck of
Odysseus or any hapless sailor. Lastly, are the local schools that appear in Greece. Production of vases was largely the prerogative of Athens – it is well attested that as in the proto-geometrical period, in Corinth, Boeotia,
Argos,
Crete and
Cyclades, the painters and potters were satisfied to follow the
Attic style. From about the 8th century BC on, they created their own styles, Argos specializing in the figurative scenes, Crete remaining attached to a more strict abstraction.
Orientalizing style The orientalizing style was the product of cultural ferment in the
Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean of the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Fostered by trade links with the city-states of
Asia Minor, the artifacts of the East influenced a highly stylized yet recognizable representational art. Ivories, pottery and metalwork from the
Neo-Hittite principalities of northern
Syria and
Phoenicia found their way to Greece, as did goods from
Anatolian
Urartu and
Phrygia, yet there was little contact with the cultural centers of Egypt or
Assyria. The new idiom developed initially in Corinth (as Proto-Corinthian) and later in Athens between 725 BC and 625 BC (as Proto-Attic). '' with registers of lions, bulls, ibex and
sphinxes, BC, Louvre It was characterized by an expanded vocabulary of motifs:
sphinx,
griffin,
lions, etc., as well as a repertory of non-mythological animals arranged in friezes across the belly of the vase. In these friezes, painters also began to apply lotuses or palmettes. Depictions of humans were relatively rare. Those that have been found are figures in silhouette with some incised detail, perhaps the origin of the incised silhouette figures of the black-figure period. There is sufficient detail on these figures to allow scholars to discern a number of different artists' hands. Geometrical features remained in the style called proto-Corinthian that embraced these Orientalizing experiments, yet which coexisted with a conservative sub-geometric style. The ceramics of Corinth were exported all over Greece, and their technique arrived in Athens, prompting the development of a less markedly Eastern idiom there. During this time described as Proto-Attic, the orientalizing motifs appear but the features remain not very realistic. The painters show a preference for the typical scenes of the Geometrical Period, like processions of chariots. However, they adopt the principle of line drawing to replace the silhouette. In the middle of the 7th century BC, there appears the black and white style: black figures on a white zone, accompanied by polychromy to render the color of the flesh or clothing. Clay used in Athens was much more orange than that of Corinth, and so did not lend itself as easily to the representation of flesh. Attic Orientalising Painters include the
Analatos Painter, the
Mesogeia Painter and the
Polyphemos Painter.
Crete, and especially the islands of the Cyclades, are characterized by their attraction to the vases known as "plastic", i.e. those whose paunch or collar is moulded in the shape of head of an animal or a man. At
Aegina, the most popular form of the plastic vase is the head of the griffin. The Melanesian amphoras, manufactured at
Paros, exhibit little knowledge of Corinthian developments. They present a marked taste for the epic composition and a horror vacui, which is expressed in an abundance of swastikas and meanders. Finally one can identify the last major style of the period, that of
Wild Goat Style, allotted traditionally to Rhodes because of an important discovery within the necropolis of
Kameiros. In fact, it is widespread over all of
Asia Minor, with centers of production at
Miletus and
Chios. Two forms prevail
oenochoes, which copied bronze models, and dishes, with or without feet. The decoration is organized in superimposed registers in which stylized animals, in particular of feral goats (from whence the name) pursue each other in friezes. Many decorative motifs (floral triangles, swastikas, etc.) fill the empty spaces.
Black-figure technique by Exekias, BC, BM. London. Black-figure is the most commonly imagined when one thinks about Greek pottery. It was a popular style in ancient Greece for many years. The black-figure period coincides approximately with the era designated by
Winckelmann as the middle to late
Archaic, from to 480 BC. The technique of incising silhouetted figures with enlivening detail which we now call the black-figure method was a Corinthian invention of the 7th century and spread from there to other city states and regions including
Sparta,
Boeotia,
Euboea, the east Greek islands and Athens. The Corinthian fabric, extensively studied by
Humfry Payne and Darrell Amyx, can be traced though the parallel treatment of animal and human figures. The animal motifs have greater prominence on the vase and show the greatest experimentation in the early phase of Corinthian black-figure. As Corinthian artists gained confidence in their rendering of the human figure the animal frieze declined in size relative to the human scene during the middle to late phase. By the mid-6th century BC, the quality of Corinthian ware had fallen away significantly to the extent that some Corinthian potters would disguise their pots with a red slip in imitation of superior Athenian ware. At Athens researchers have found the earliest known examples of vase painters signing their work, the first being a
dinos by
Sophilos (illus. below, BM, ), this perhaps indicative of their increasing ambition as artists in producing the monumental work demanded as grave markers, as for example with
Kleitias's
François Vase. Many scholars consider the finest work in the style to belong
Exekias and the
Amasis Painter, who are noted for their feeling for composition and narrative. Circa 520 BC the red-figure technique was developed and was gradually introduced in the form of the
bilingual vase by the
Andokides Painter,
Oltos and
Psiax. Red-figure quickly eclipsed black-figure, yet in the unique form of the Panathanaic Amphora, black-figure continued to be utilised well into the 4th century BC.
Red-figure technique The innovation of the red-figure technique was an Athenian invention of the late 6th century. It was quite the opposite of black-figure which had a red background. The ability to render detail by direct painting rather than incision offered new expressive possibilities to artists such as three-quarter profiles, greater anatomical detail and the representation of perspective. The first generation of red-figure painters worked in both red- and black-figure as well as other methods including
Six's technique and
white-ground; the latter was developed at the same time as red-figure. However, within twenty years, experimentation had given way to specialization as seen in the vases of the
Pioneer Group, whose figural work was exclusively in red-figure, though they retained the use of black-figure for some early floral ornamentation. The shared values and goals of The Pioneers such as
Euphronios and
Euthymides signal that they were something approaching a self-conscious movement, though they left behind no testament other than their own work. John Boardman said of the research on their work that "the reconstruction of their careers, common purpose, even rivalries, can be taken as an archaeological triumph". ''—used for drinking wine—is shaped like a donkey's head on one side of its body and a ram's on the other. BC.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore. The next generation of late
Archaic vase painters ( to 480 BC) brought an increasing naturalism to the style as seen in the gradual change of the profile eye. This phase also sees the specialization of painters into pot and cup painters, with the
Berlin and
Kleophrades Painters notable in the former category and
Douris and
Onesimos in the latter. depicting an athlete running the
hoplitodromos by the
Berlin Painter, BC, Louvre By the early to high classical era of
red-figure painting ( BC), a number of distinct schools had evolved. The Mannerists associated with the workshop of Myson and exemplified by the
Pan Painter hold to the archaic features of stiff drapery and awkward poses and combine that with exaggerated gestures. By contrast, the school of the Berlin Painter in the form of the
Achilles Painter and his peers (who may have been the Berlin Painter's pupils) favoured a naturalistic pose usually of a single figure against a solid black background or of restrained
white-ground lekythoi.
Polygnotos and the
Kleophon Painter can be included in the school of the
Niobid Painter, as their work indicates something of the influence of the
Parthenon sculptures both in theme (e.g., Polygnotos's centauromachy, Brussels, Musées Royaux A. & Hist., A 134) and in feeling for composition. Toward the end of the century, the "Rich" style of Attic sculpture as seen in the
Nike Balustrade is reflected in contemporary vase painting with an ever-greater attention to incidental detail, such as hair and jewellery. The
Meidias Painter is usually most closely identified with this style. Vase production in Athens stopped around 330–320 BC possibly due to
Alexander the Great's control of the city, and had been in slow decline over the 4th century along with the political fortunes of Athens itself. However, vase production continued in the 4th and 3rd centuries in the Greek colonies of southern Italy where five regional styles may be distinguished. These are the
Apulian,
Lucanian,
Sicilian,
Campanian and
Paestan. Red-figure work flourished there with the distinctive addition of polychromatic painting and in the case of the
Black Sea colony of
Panticapeum the gilded work of the
Kerch Style. Several noteworthy artists' work comes down to us including the
Darius Painter and the
Underworld Painter, both active in the late 4th century, whose crowded polychromatic scenes often essay a complexity of emotion not attempted by earlier painters. Their work represents a late mannerist phase to the achievement of Greek vase painting.
White ground technique by the
Brygos Painter – she holds a
thyrsos in her right hand, her left is swinging a leopard through the air, and a snake is winding through the diadem in her hair –
tondo of a
kylix, 490–480 BC,
Munich,
Staatliche Antikensammlungen The white-ground technique was developed at the end of the 6th century BC. Unlike the better-known black-figure and red-figure techniques, its coloration was not achieved through the application and firing of
slips but through the use of paints and gilding on a surface of white clay. It allowed for a higher level of polychromy than the other techniques, although the vases end up less visually striking. 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. '' with heads of a
satyr and a woman,
Relief and plastic vases Relief and plastic vases became particularly popular in the 4th century BC and continued being manufactured in the Hellenistic period. They were inspired by the so-called "rich style" developed mainly in Attica after 420 BC. The main features were the multi-figured compositions with use of added colours (pink/reddish, blue, green, gold) and an emphasis on female mythological figures. Theatre and performing constituted yet one more source of inspiration.
Delphi Archaeological Museum has some particularly good examples of this style, including a vase with
Aphrodite and
Eros. The base is round, cylindrical, and its handle vertical, with bands, covered with black colour. The female figure (Aphrodite) is depicted seated, wearing an
himation. Next to her stands a male figure, naked and winged. Both figures wear wreaths made of leaves and their hair preserve traces of golden paint. The features of their faces are stylized. The vase has a white ground and maintains in several parts the traces of bluish, greenish and reddish paint. It dates to the 4th century BC. In the same room is kept a small lekythos with a plastic decoration, depicting a winged dancer. The figure wears a Persian head cover and an oriental dress, indicating that already in that period oriental dancers, possibly slaves, had become quite fashionable. The figure is also covered with a white colour. The total height of the vase is 18 centimeters and it dates to the 4th century BC.
Hellenistic period kantharos, 330–300 BC,
Kerameikos Archaeological Museum, Athens The
Hellenistic period, ushered in by the conquests of
Alexander the Great, saw the virtual disappearance of black and red-figure pottery yet also the emergence of new styles such as West Slope Ware in the east, the
Centuripe ware in
Sicily, and the
Gnathia vases to the west. Outside of mainland Greece other regional Greek traditions developed, such as those in
Magna Graecia with the various styles in South Italy, including
Apulian,
Lucanian,
Paestan,
Campanian, and
Sicilian. == Inscriptions ==