Everything about Red-figure Pottery totally explained
Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural
Greek vase painting. It developed in
Athens around 530 BC and remained in use until the late 3rd century BC. It replaced the previously dominant style of
Black-figure vase painting within a few decades. 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.
Etruria became an important centre of production outside the
Greek World.
Attic red-figure vases were exported throughout Greece and beyond. For a long time, they dominated the market for fine ceramics. Only few centres of pottery production could compete with Athens in terms of innovativeness, quality and production capacity. Of the red figure vases produced in Athens alone, more than 40,000 specimens and fragments survive today. From the second most important production centre, Southern Italy, more than 20,000 vases and fragments are preserved. Starting with the studies by
John D. Beazley and
Arthur Dale Trendall, the study of this style of art has made enormous progress. Some vases can be ascribed to individual artists or schools. The images provide irreplaceable evidence for the exploration of Greek
cultural history,
everyday life,
iconography, and
mythology.
Technique
Red figure is, put simply, the reverse of the black figure technique. The paintings were applied to the shaped but unfired vessels after they'd dried to a leathery, near-brittle texture. In
Attica, the normal unburnt clay was of orange colour at this stage. The outlines of the intended figures were drawn either with a blunt scraper, leaving a slight groove, or with charcoal, which would disappear entirely during firing. Then, the contours were redrawn with a brush, using a glossy clay
slip. Occasionally, the painter decided to somewhat change the figural scene. In such cases, the grooves from the original sketch sometimes remain visible. Important contours were often drawn with a thicker slip, leading to a slightly protruding outline (relief line); less important lines and internal details were drawn with diluted glossy clay. Detail in other colours, like white or red, were applied at this point. The relief line was probably drawn with a bristle brush or a hair, dipped in thick paint. The suggestion of a hollow needle seems somewhat unlikely. The application of relief outlines was necessary, as the rather liquid glossy clay would otherwise have turned out too dull. After the technique's initial phase of development, both alternatives were used, so as to differentiate gradations and details more clearly. The space between figures was filled with a glossy grey clay slip. Then, the vases underwent triple-phase firing, during which the glossy clay reached its characteristic black or black-brown colour through
reduction, the reddish color by a final re-
oxidation. Since this final oxidizing phase was fired using lower temperatures, the glazed parts of the vase didn't re-oxidized from black to red: their finer surface was melted (sintered) in the reducing phase, and now protected from oxygen.
The new technique had the primary advantage of permitting a far better execution of internal detail. In black-figure vase painting, such details had to be scratched into the painted surfaces, which was always less accurate than the direct application of detail with a brush. Red-figure depictions were generally more lively and realistic than the black-figure
silhouettes. They were also more clearly contrasted against the black backgrounds. It was now possible to depict humans not only in profile, but also in frontal, rear, or three-quarter perspectives. The red-figure technique also permitted the indication of a third dimension on the figures. However, it also had disadvantages. For example, the distinction of sex by using black slip for male skin and white paint for female skin was now impossible. The ongoing trend to depict heroes and deities naked and of youthful age also made it harder to distinguish the sexes through garments or hairstyles. In the initial phases, there were also miscalculations regarding the thickness of human figures. In black-figure vase painting, the pre-drawn outlines were a part of the figure. In red-figure vases, the outline would, after firing, form part of the black background. This led to vases with very thin figures early on. A further problem was that the black background didn't permit the depiction of space with any depth, so that the use of spatial perspective almost never was attempted. Nonetheless, the advantages outnumbered the disadvantages. The depiction of muscles and other anatomical detail clearly illustrates the development of the style.
Attica
Black figure vase painting had been developed in
Corinth in the 7th century BC and quickly became the dominant style of pottery decoration throughout the Greek world and beyond. Although Corinth dominated the overall market, regional markets and centres of production did develop. Initially, Athens copied the Corinthian style, but it gradually came to rival and overcome the dominance of Corinth. Attic artists developed the style to an unprecedented quality, reaching the apex of their creative possibilities in the second third of the 6th century BC.
Exekias, active around 530 BC, can be seen as the most important representative of the black-figure style.
In the 5th century, Attic fine pottery, now predominantly red-figure, maintained its dominance in the markets. Attic pottery was exported to
Magna Graecia and even
Etruria. The preference for Attic vases led to the development of local
South Italian and Etrurian workshops or "schools", strongly influenced by Attic style, but producing exclusively for local markets.
Beginnings
The first red-figure vases were produced around 530 BC. The invention of the technique normally is accredited to the
Andokides Painter. He, and other early representatives of the style, eg.
Psiax, initially painted vases in both styles, with black-figure scenes on one side, and red-figure on the other. Such vases, eg. the
Belly Amphora by the Andokides Painter (Munich 2301), are called
bilingual vases. Although they display major advances against the black figure style, the figures still appear somewhat stilted and seldom overlap. Compositions and techniques of the older style remained in use. Thus, incised lines are quite common, as is the additional application of red paint ("added red") to cover large areas.
Pioneering phase
The artists of the so called "
Pioneer Group" made the step towards a full exploitation of the possibilities of the red-figure technique. They were active between
circa 520 and 500 BC. Important representatives include
Euphronios,
Euthymides and
Phintias. This group, recognised and defined by twentieth-century scholarship, experimented with the different possibilities offered by the new style. Thus, figures appeared in new perspectives, such as frontal or rear views, there were experiments with perspective
foreshortening, and more dynamic compositions. As a technical innovation, Euphronios introduced the "relief line". At the same time, new
vase shapes were invented, a development favoured by the fact that many of the pioneer group painters also were active as potters.
New shapes include the
psykter and the
pelike. Large
krater and
amphorae became popular at this time. Although there's no indication that the painters understood themselves as a group in the way that modern scholarship does, there were some connections and mutual influences, perhaps, in an atmosphere of friendly competition and encouragement. Thus, a vase by Euthymides is inscribed
"as Euphronios never [wouldhave been able]". More generally, the pioneer group tended to use inscriptions. The labelling of mythological figures or the addition of
Kalos inscriptions are the rule rather than the exception.
One of the key features of this most successful Attic vase painting style is the mastery of perspective foreshortening, allowing a much more naturalistic depiction of figures and actions. Another characteristic is the drastic reduction of figures per vessel, of anatomic details, and of ornamental decorations. In contrast, the repertoire of depicted scenes was increased. For example, the myths surrounding
Theseus became very popular at this time. New or modified vase shapes were frequently employed, including the Nolan amphora (see
Typology of Greek Vase Shapes),
lekythoi, as well as bowls of the
askos and
dinos types. The specialisation into separate vase and bowl painters increased.
The production of mainstream red-figure pottery ceased around 360 BC. The Rich and Simple styles both existed until that time. Late representatives include the
Meleager Painter (Rich Style) and the
Jena Painter (Simple Style).
Kerch Style
The final decades of Attic red--figure vase painting are dominated by the
Kerch Style. This style, current between 370 and 330 BC, combined the preceding Rich and Modest Styles, with a preponderance of the Rich. Crowded compositions with large statuesque figures are typical. The added colours now include blue, green and others. Volume and shading are indicated by the use of diluted runny glossy clay. Occasionally, whole figures are added as appliques, for example as thin figural reliefs attached to the body of the vase. The variety of vessel shapes in use was reduced sharply. Common painted shapes include
pelike, chalice
krater, belly
lekythos,
skyphos,
hydria and
oinochoe. Scenes from female life are very common. Mythological themes are still dominated by
Dionysos;
Ariadne and
Heracles are the most commonly depicted heroes. The best-known painter of this style is the
Marsyas Painter.. According to modern research, the workshops were owned by the potters. The names of about 40 Attic vase painters are known, from vase inscriptions, usually accompanied by the words ἐγραψεν (égrapsen, has painted). In contrast, the signature of the potter, ἐποίησεν (epoíesen, has made) has survived on more than twice as many, namely circa 100, pots (both numbers refer to the totality of Attic figural vase painting). Although signatures had been known since circa 580 BC (first known signature by the potter
Sophilos), their use increased to an apex around the Pioneering Phase. A changing, apparently increasingly negative, attitude to artisans led to a reduction of signatures, starting during the Classical period at the latest. Overall, signatures are quite rare. The fact that they're mostly found on especially good pieces indicates that they epressed the pride of potter and/or painter.
The status of painters in relation to that of potters remains somewhat unclear. The fact that eg.
Euphronius was able to work as both painter and potter suggests that at least some of the painters were not
slaves. On the other hand, some of the known names indicate that there were at least some former slaves and some
perioikoi among the painters. Additionally, some of the names are not unique: for example, several painters signed as
Polygnotos. This may represent attempts to profit from the name of that great painter. The same may be the case where painters bear otherwise fanous names, like
Aristophanes (vase painter). The careers of some vase painters are quite well known. Apart from painters with relatively short periods of activity (one or two decades), some can be traced for much longer. Examples include
Douris,
Makron,
Hermonax and the
Achilles Painter. The fact that several painters later became potters, and the relatively frequent cases were it's unclear whether some potters were also painters or
vice versa, suggest a career structure, perhaps starting with an apprenticeship involving mainly painting, and leading up to being a potter. This division of labours appears to have developed along with the introduction of red-figure painting, since many potter-painters are known from the black-figure period (including
Exekias,
Nearchos and perhaps the
Amasis Painter). The increased demand for exports would have led to new structures of production, encouraging specialisation and division of labours, leading on to a sometimes ambiguous distinction between painter and potter. As mentioned above, the painting of vessels was probably mainly the responsibility of younger assistants or apprentices. Some further conclusions regarding the organisational aspects of pottery production can be suggested. It appears that generally, several painters worked for one pottery workshop, as indicated by the fact that frequently, several roughly contemporary pots by the same potter are painted by various painters. For examples, pots made by
Euphronios have been found to be painted by
Onesimos,
Douris, the
Antiphon Painter, the
Triptolemos Painter and the
Pistoxenos Painter. In contrast, an individual painter could also change from workshop to another. For example, the bowl painter
Oltos worked for at least six different potters..
Although from a modern perspective the vase painters are often considered as artists, and their vases thus as works of
art, this view isn't consistent with that held in antiquity. Vase painters, like potters, were considered as craftsmen, their produce as trade goods. The craftsmen must have had a reasonably high level of education, as a variety of inscriptions occur. On the one hand, the aforementioned
Kalos inscriptions are common, on the other hand, inscriptions often label the depicted figures. That not every vase painter could write is shown by some examples of meaningless rows of random letters. The vases indicate a steady improvement of literacy from the 6th century BC onwards. Whether potters, and perhaps vase painters, belonged to the Attic
elite hasn't been satisfactorily clarified so far. Do the frequent depictions of the
symposium, a definite upper-class activity, reflect the painters personal experience, their aspirations to attend such events, or simply the demands of the market? A large proportion of the painted vases produced, such as
psykter,
krater,
kalpis,
stamnos, as well as
kylikes and
kantharoi, were made and bought to be used at symposia.
Elaborately painted vases were good, but not the best, table wares available to a Greek. Metal vessels, especially from precious metals, were held in higher regard. Nonetheless, painted vases were not cheap products; especially the larger specimens were expensive. Around 500 BC, a large painted vase cost about one
drachma, equivalent to the daily wage of a stonemason. It has been suggested that the painted vases represent an attempt to imitate metal vessels. It is normally assumed that the lower social classes tended to use simple undecorated coarse wares, massive quantities of which are found in
excavations. Tablewares made of perishable materials, like wood, may have been even more widespread. Nonetheless, multiple finds of red-figure vases, usually not of the highest quality, found in settlements, prove that such vessels were used in daily life. A large proportion of production was taken up by cult and grave vessels. In any case, it can be assumed that the production of high-quality pottery was a profitable business. For example, an expensive
votive gift by the painter Euphronios was found on the
Athenian Acropolis. There can be little doubt that the export of such pottery made an important sontribution to the affluence of Athens. It is hardly surprising that many workshops appear to have aimed their production at export markets, for example by producing vessel shapes that were more popular in the target region than in Athens. The 4th century BC demise of Attic vase painting tellingly coincides with the very period when the
Etruscans, probably the main western export market, came under increasing pressure from
South Italian Greeks and the
Romans. A further reason for the end of the production of figurally decorated vases is a change in tastes at the start of the
Hellenistic period. The main reason, however, should be seen in the increasingly unsuccessful progress of the Peloponnesian War, culminating in the devastating defeat of Athens in 404 BC. After this,
Sparta controlled the western trade, albeit without having the economic strength to fully exploit it. The Attic potters had to find new markets; they did so in the
Black Sea area. But Athens and its industries never fully recovered from the defeat. Some potters and painters had already relocated to Italy during the war, seeking better economic conditions. A key indicator for the export-oriented nature of Attic vase production is the nearly total absence of theatre scenes. Buyers from other cultural backgrounds, such as Etruscans or later customers in the
Iberian Peninsula, would have found such depiction incomprehensible or uninteresting. In Southern Italian vase painting, which was mostly not aimed at export, such scenes are quite common.
Southern Italy
At least from a modern point of view, the Southern Italian red-figure vase paintings represent the only region of production that reaches Attic standards of artistic quality. After the Attic vases, the
South Italian ones (including those from
Sicily), are the most thoroughly researched. In contrastic to their Attic counterparts, they were mostly produced for local markets. Only few pieces have been found outside Southern Italy and Sicily. The first workshops were founded in the mid-5th century BC by Attic potters. Soon, local craftsmen were trained and the thematic and formal dependence on Attic vases overcome. Towards the end of the century, the distinctive "ornate style" and "plain style" developed in
Apulia. Especially the ornate style was adopted by other mainland schools, but without reaching the same quality.
By now, 21,000 South Italian vases and fragments are known. Of those, 11,000 are ascribed to Apulian workshops, 4,000 to Campanian, 2,000 to Paestan, 1,500 to Lucanian and 1,000 to Sicilian ones.
Apulia
The
Apulian vase painting tradition is considered as the leading South Italian style. The main centre of production was at
Taras. Apulian red-figure vases were produced from
circa 430 to 300 BC. The plain and ornate styles are distinguished. The main difference between them is that the plain style favoured bell
craters, colonet
kraters and smaller vessels, and that a single "plain" vessel rarely depicted more than four figures. The main subjects were mythological scenes, female heads, warriors in scenes of combat of farewell, and dionysiac
thiasos imagery. The reverse often showed youths wearing cloaks. The key feature of these simply decorated wares is the general absence of additional colours. Important plain style representatives are the
Sisyphus Painter and the
Tarporley Painter. After the mid-4th century BC, the style grows more and more similar to the ornate style. An important artist of that period is the
Varrese Painter.
The artists using the ornate style tended to favour large vessels, like volute
kraters,
amphorae,
loutrophoroi and
hydriai. The larger surface area was used to depict up to 20 figures, often in several registers on the body of the vase. Additional colours, especially shades of red, yellow-gold and white are used copiously. Since the 2nd half of the 4th century, the necks and sides of the vases are decorated with rich vegetal or ornamental decorations. At the same time, perspective views, especially of buildings such as "Palace of
Hades" (
naiskoi), develop. Since 360 BC, such structures are often depicted in scenes connected with burial rites (
naiskos vases). Important representatives of this style are the
Ilioupersis Painter, the
Darius Painter and the
Baltimore Painter. Mythological scenes were especially popular: The assembly of the Gods, the
amazonomachy, the
Trojan War,
Heracles and
Bellerophon. Additionally, such vases frequently depict scenes from myths that are only rarely illustrated on vases. Some specimens represent the single source for the iconography of a particular myth. Another subject that's unknown from Attic vase painting are the theatre scenes. Especially farce scenes, eg from the so-called
phlyax vases are quite common. Scenes of athletic activity or everyday life only occur in the early phase, they disappear entirely after 370 BC.
Apulian vase painting had a formative influence on the traditions of the other South Italian production centres. It is assumed that individual Apulian artists settled in other Italian cities and contributed their skills there. Apart from red-figure, Apulia also produced black-varnished vases with painted decor (Gnathia vases) and polychrome vases (Canosa vases).
Campania
Campania also produced red-figure vases in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The light brown clay of Campania was covered with a slip that developed a pink or red tint after firing. The Campanian painters preferred smaller vessel types, but also
hydriai and bell
kraters. The most popular shape is the bow-handled amphora. Many typical Apulian vessel shapes, like volute
kraters, colonette
kraters,
loutrophoroi,
rhyta and
nestoris amphorae are absent,
pelikes are rare. The repertoire of motifs is limited. Subjects include youths, women, thiasos scenes, birds and animals, and often native warriors. The backs often show cloaked youths. Mythological scenes and depictions related to burial rites play a subsidiary role.
Naiskos scsnes, ornamental elements and polychromy are adopted after 340 BC under Lucanian influence.
Before the immigration of Sicilian potters in the second quarter of the 4th century BC, when several workshops were established in Campania, only the
Owl-Pillar Workshop of the second half of the 5th century is known. Campanian vase painting is subdivided in three main groups:
The first group is represented by the
Kassandra Painter from
Capua, still under Sicilian influence. He was followed by the workshop of the
Parrish Painter and that of the
Laghetto Painter and the
Caivano Painter. Their work is characterised by a preference for
satyr figures with
thyrsos, depictions of heads (normally below the handles of
hydriai), decorative borders of garments, and the frequent use of additional white, red and yellow. The Laghetto and Caivano Painters appear to have moved to
Paestum later.
The
AV Group also had its workshop in Capua. Of particular importance is the
Whiteface-Frignano Painter, one of the first in this group. His typical characteristic is the use of additional white paint to depict the faces of women. This group favoured domestic scenes, women and warriors. Multiple figures are rare, usually there's ony one figure each on the front and back of the vase, sometimes only the head. Garments are usually drawn casually.
After 350 BC, the
CA Painter and his successors worked in
Cumae. The CA painter is considered as the outstanding artist of his group, or even of Campanian vase painting as a whole. From 330 onwards, a strong Apulian influence is visible. The most common motifs are
naiskos and grave scenes, dionysiac scenes and symposia. Depictions of bejewelled female heads are also common. The CA painter was polychrome but tended to use much white for architecture and female figures. His successors were not fully able to maintain his quality, leading to a rapid demise, terminating with the end of Campanian vase painting around 300 BC.
Paestum
The
Paestan vase painting style developed as the last of the South Italian styles. It was founded by Sicilian immigrants around 360 BC. the first workshop was controlled by
Asteas and
Python. They are the only South Italian vase painters known from inscriptions. They mainly painted bell
kraters, neck amphorae,
hydriai,
lebes gamikos,
lekanes,
lekythoi and jugs, more rarely
pelikes, chalice
kraters and volute
kraters. Characteristics include decorations such as lateral palmettes, a pattern of tendrils with
calyx and umbrel known as "asteas flower",
crenelation-like patterns on garments and curly hair hanging over the back of figures. Figures that bend forwards, resting on plants or rocks, are equally common. Special colours are used often, especially white, gold, black, purple and shades of red.
The themes depicted often belong to the Dionysiac cycle: thiasos and symposium scenes, satyrs,
maenads,
Silenos,
Orestes,
Elektra, the gods
Aphrodite and
Eros,
Apollo,
Athena and
Hermes. Paestan painting rarely depicts domestic scenes, but favours animals. Asteas and Python had a major influnece on the vase painting of Paestum. This is clearly visible in the work of the
Aphrodite Painter, who probably immigrated from Apulia. Around 330 BC, a second workshop developed, originally following the work of the first. The quality of its painting and variety of its motifs deteriorated quickly. At the same time, an influence by the Campanian
Caivano Painter becomes notable, garments falling in a linear fashion and contourless female figures followed. Around 300 BC, Paestan vase painting came to a halt.
Sicily
The production of
Sicilian vase painting began before the end of the 5th century BC, in the
poleis of
Himera and
Syracusae. In terms of style, themes, ornamentation and vase shapes, the workshops were stongly influenced by the Attic tradition, especially by the Late Classical
Meidias Painter. In the second quarter of the 4th century, Sicilian vase painters emigrated to Campania and Paestum, where they introduced red-figure vase painting. Only Syracusae retained a limited production.
The typical Sicilian style only developed around 340 BC. Three groups of workshops can be distinguished. The first, known as the
Lentini-Manfria Group, was active in
Syracusae and
Gela, a second, the
Centuripe Style around Mt.
Aetna, and a third on
Lipari. The most typical feature of Sicilian vase painting is the use of additional colours, especially white. In the early phase, large vessels like chalice
kraters and
hydriai were painted, but smaller vessels like flasks,
lekanes,
lekythoi and skyphoid
pyxides are more typical.The most common motifs are scenes from female life,
erotes, female heads and
phlyax scenes. Mythological scenes are rare. Like in all other areas, vase painting disappears from Sicily around 300 BC.
Red-figure vase painting
True red figure vase painting, ie. vases were the red areas had been left unpainted, was introduced to Etruria near the end of the 5th century BC. The first workshops developed in Vulci and Falerii and produced also for the surrounding areas. It is likely that Attic masters were behind these early workshops, but a
South Italian influence is evident, too. These workshops dominated the Etruscan market into the 4th century BC. Large and medium-sized vessels like
kraters and jugs were decorated mostly with mythological scenes. In the course of the 4th century, the Falerian production began to eclipse that of Vulci. New centres of production developed in
Chiusi and
Orvieto. Especially the
Tondo Group of Chiusi, producing mainly drinking vessels with interior depictions of dionysiac scenes, became important. During the second half of the century,
Volterra became a main centre. Here, especially rod-handled
kraters were produced and, especially in the early phases, painted elaborately.
During the 2nd half of the 4th century BC, mythological themes disappeared from the repertoire of Etruscan painters. They were replaced by female heads and scenes of up to two figures. Instead of figural depictions, ornaments and floral motifs covered the vessel bodies. Large figural compositions, like that on a
krater by the
Den Haag Funnel Group Painter were only produced exceptionally. The originally large-scale production at Falerii lost its dominant role to the production centre at Caere, which had probably been founded by Falerian painters and can't be said to represent a distinct tradition. The standard repertoire of the Caere workshops included simply painted
oinochoai,
lekythoi and drinking bowls of the
Torcop Group, and plates of the
Genucuilia Group. The switch to the production of black glaze vases near the end of the 4th century, probably as a reaction to changing tastes of the time, spelt the end of Etrurian red-figure vase painting.
Research and Reception
About 65,000 red-figure vases and vase fragments are known to have survived. The study of ancient pottery and of Greek vase painting began already in the
Middle Ages.
Restoro d'Arezzo dedicated a chapter (
Capitolo de le vasa antiche) of his description of the world to ancient vases. He considered especially the clay vessels as perfect in terms of shape, colour, and artistic style. Nevertheless, initially the attention focused on vases in general, and perhaps especially on stone vases. The first collections of ancient vases, including some painted vessels, developed during the
Renaissance. We even know of some imports from Greece to Italy at that time. Still, until the end of the
Baroque period, vase painting was overshadowed by other genres, especially by
sculpture. A rare pre-
Classicist exception is a book of
watercolours depicting figural vases, which was produced for
Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc. Like some of his contemporary collectors, Peiresc owned a number of clay vases.
Since the period of
Classicism, ceramic vessels were collected more frequently. For example,
William Hamilton and
Giuseppe Valletta had vase collections. Vases found in Italy were relatively affordable, so that even private individuals could assemble important collections. Vases were a popular souvenir for young northwestern Europeans to bring home from the
Grand Tour. In the diaries of his voyageto Italy,
Goethe refers to the temptation of buying ancient vases. Those who couldn't afford originals had the option of acquiring copies or prints. There were even
manufactories specialised in imitating ancient pottery. The best known is
Wedgwood ware, although it employed techniques entirely unrelated to those used in antiquity, using ancient motifs merely as a thematic inspiration.
Since the 1760s, archaeological research also began to focus on vase paintings. The vases were appreciated as source material for all aspects of ancient life, especially for
iconographical and
mythological studies. Vase painting was now treated as a substitute for the almost entirely lost oeuvre of
Greek monumental painting. Around this time, the widespread view that all painted vases were Etruscan works became untenable. Nonetheless, the artistic fashion of that time to imitate ancient vases came to be called
all’etrusque. England and France tried to outdo each other in terms of both research and imitation of vases. The German aesthetic writers
Johann Heinrich Müntz and
Johann Joachim Winckelmann studied vase paintings. Winckelmann especially praised the
Umrißlinienstil ("outline style", for example red-figure painting). Vase ornaments were compiled and disseminated in England through
Pattern books.
Vase paintings even had an influence on the development of modern painting. The linear style influenced artists such as
Edward Burne-Jones,
Gustave Moreau or
Gustav Klimt. Around 1840,
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller painted a
Still Life with Silver Vessels and Red-Figure Bell Krater.
Henri Matisse produced a similar painting (
Intérieur au vase étrusque). Their aesthetic influence extends into the present. For example, the well-known curved shape of the Coca Cola bottle is inspired by Greek vases.
The scientific study of Attic vase paintings was advanced especially by
John D. Beazley. Beazley began to study the vases from about 1910 onwards, inspired by the methodology that the
art historian Giovanni Morelli had developed for the study of paintings. He assumed that each painter produced individual works that can always be unmistakably ascribed. To do so, particular details, such as faces, fingers, arms, legs, knees, garment folds and so on, were compared. Beazley examined 65,000 vases and fragments (of which 20,000 were black-figure). In the course of six decades of study, he was able to ascribe 17,000 of them to individual artists. Where their names remained unknown, he developed a system of conventional names. Beazley also united and combined individual painters into groups, workshops, schools and styles. No other archaeologist has ever had as formative an influence on a whole subdiscipline as had Beazley on the study of Greek vase painting. A large proportion of his analysis is still considered valid today. Beazley first published his conclusions on red-figure vase painting in 1925 and 1942. His initial studies only considered material from before the 4th century BC. For a new edition of his work published in 1963, he also incorporated that later period, making use of the work of other scholars, such as
Karl Schefold, who had especially studied the
Kerch Style vases. Famous scholars who continued the study of Attic red-figure after Beazley include
John Boardman,
Erika Simon and
Dietrich von Bothmer.
For the study of
South Italian case painting,
Arthur Dale Trendall's work has a similar significance to that of Beazley for Attica. All post-Beazley scholars can be said to follow Beazley's tradition and use his methodology. The study of Greek vases is ongoing, not least because of the constant addition of new material from
archaeological excavations,
illicit excavations and unknown private collections.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Red-figure Pottery'.
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