Greek+Vase+Painting

//**Greek Vase P**////**aintings**//

Greek Vases are one of the most important artisitic and historical artifacts of the ancient world. The best vases were made in Athens, where the people used high quality clay. (Pearson12) They illustrate Greek rituals (like weddings and funerals) and scenes from Greek lierature. Paintings on these vases tell many great stories of the past.(Greek-Vases) In the 600 B.C., vase painters created scenes from mythology and painted them on the vases.

Vases were made with different decoration styles: Black-figure painting, red-figure painting, and the white ground technique. (After 500 B.C. the red-figure technique took over.) (Greek Painting 42) Between the begining of the sixth and the end of the fourth centuries B.C., black and red-figure techniques were used in Athens to fine pottery while simpler, undecorated wares fulfilled everyday household purposes.(Pearson12) Vases were very helpful to the Greeks because they had so many purposes including: storing food, holding cosmetics, carrying water, ect. (Greek Painting 42) Some were even mad for specific rituals. (Claybourne 13) Greek vases are an extraordinary ritual that is still carried on today.

The Greeks made their vases in multiple sections. The very first step was to shape the vessel on a wheel then they let it dry to a leather hardess. After that they assemebeled the Slip, which is loose clay. They used the slip to make handles, but this was not always necessary. Lastly, they painted and glazed the vase. (Athenian Vase Paintings)

media type="youtube" key="WhPW50r07L8" height="226" width="320"The Greeks had 3 stages to their firing process. First, their was the Oxidizing Stage where air was allowed in the Kilm, which is the name of the oven they put the vases in. This changes the color of the vase. Next, there is the Subsequent stage where they put green wood into the kilm to air out. This turns the vase black. Lastly, there is the Air stage where they put the air back in the kilm. This turns reserved porportions back to a glossed orange, the areas remain black. (Athenian Vase Paintings)

There were two main types of vase pantings. Starting somewhere around 700 b.c. black figured vase painting was introduced. this was silhouettes painted on an reddish-orange backround. The paint was just clay that turned black when fired. The vases were cheap, durable, and beautifully decorated, because of this people used them often in their daily lifes. They were decorated to show emphasis on mythology. Black vases paintings were the first type of vase paintings in the greek history. (Greek black-figured wase painting)

After about 530 b.c. black vase paintings died out and red vase paintings came into play. They had a black backround and were painted with red. This type of paint made painting humans much easier. They were also cheap, durable, and beautifuly decorated. They were used in their daily lives and used for decoration. Humans and daily life activities were painted on the vases. Red vase painting took over after black vase paintings died out. (Athienian Vase Paintings)

Pearson, Anne. //Ancient Greece Eyewitness Book//. Chicago: Eyewitness, 2001. 12. Print. "Greek Painting." P. New York: World Book, 2006. Print.

. "Athenian Vase Painting." //metmuseim.org//. Metropitian Museum of Art, 2011. Web. 26 Mar 2012.

Hill, Suzanne. //suzannehill.suite101.com//. google, 2008. Web. 26 Mar 2012.