Painting on Pottery

Marine life was a favorite of the Minoans, who were the inhabitants of Crete. After 1600 BC marine motifs (themes) seemed to be in all Minoan paintings, no matter what the subject matter. One way of accomplishing this was by using aquatic colors and earthy tones. Even paintings depicted as being on land seem to be underwater.

Horror vacui was also a trait of early Minoan (and Greek) art. Horror vacui is the fear of open spaces. When looking at a painting or drawing that has horror vacui, you can see that the artist leaves little open space in the design. The octopus vase (above) is a good example of all of these traits. The tentacles fill up all of the open space, and the artist used earthy colors.

Geometric Style


The Geometric style is the oldest characteristically Greek style, beginning about 900 B.C. Until the Geometric style, the Greeks had just been copying the styles of other influences, such as the Egyptians and the Near Easterners. The Geometric style only pertained to pottery and painted sculpture. At first, it was just decorations on vases consisting of triangles, checkers, circles, etc. However, around 800 BC, the Greeks began incorporating people and animals into their designs. They began to form elaborate scenes (see the Dipylon Vase shown above). While you may be thinking that this style is simple and must represent the low intelligence of the Greek people at this time, remember, while the Geometric style was going on, Homer was writing the Iliad and the odyssey.
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Orientalizing style


The Orientalizing style lasted between approximately 725 and 650 BC. It was heavily influenced by Egypt and the Near East. Paintings started telling stories, and the Greeks began experimenting with three-dimensional painting by overlapping limbs. (see the Blinding of Polyphemus and the Gorgons above).

Archaic

The Archaic style lasted between 700 and 480 BC, after the Egyptian and Near Eastern influences had been fully assimilated (blended). There was a far greater emphasis on pictorial subjects. The Greek artists used such things as mythology, legends, and daily life as subject material. artistic skill increased in the archaic period as well, especially in Athens.

During the Archaic period, artists began signing their work. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but in this case it is. Art historians are able to go back and trace the progress of specific Greek artists. Just as people can tell the difference between a work by Picasso and a work by M.C. Escher, art historians can distinguish between certain vase painters.

Black-figure style

While the Black-figure style was actually invented in the seventh century BC, it didn't really emerge into mainstream Greece until the 500's. Artists decided that having some figures black and some figures outlined didn't look very good. So they created the Black-figure style. With this style, artists painted black images silhouetted against a red clay background. To add details, the artist would take a needle and etch into the black figure and add white or purple paint (as shown in "Dionysus in a boat" above). Another thing that came about with the Black-figure style is the outlining of artwork.

Red-figure style


The Red-figure style is the opposite of the Black-figure style. Rather than painting black figures on red, red figures are reserved, while the background is painted black. The reasoning for switching to this style, even though it is harder to do, is that it is easier to put foreshadowing and details on red with a brush than it is to etch it and put paint on the etchings. Compare the details on "Lapith and Centaur" (above) and those on "Dionysus on a boat."

Classical


Ancient writers said that the Classical style and period of painting was the best for the Greeks as far as wall paintings go. Unfortunately, there are none left to see, so we observe the pottery of this period for answers, hoping that they are somehow similar. There was indeed a "new" way of painting vases. The artist would first paint the vase with white paint in order to create something like a blank sheet of paper. They drew their image and then painted it. With a white background, the artist didn't need to shade or use dark paints in order for the image to be seen the way the artist wanted it to be seen. By merely using thicker and thinner lines, the artist was able to produce the effect of three-dimensionality. While this technique does seem more advanced and easier to use, the Red-figure style was still more widely used. By the end of the fifth century BC, vase painting died out as a respectable art form altogether, probably because wealthy people could afford copper or silver bowls and vases.

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