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Ancient Mediterranean + Europe
Course: Ancient Mediterranean + Europe > Unit 6
Lesson 2: Pottery- Greek Vase-Painting, an introduction
- Ancient Greek vase production and the black-figure technique
- Dipylon Amphora
- Dipylon Amphora
- Terracotta Krater
- Commemorating the Dead in Greek Geometric Art
- Eleusis Amphora
- Sophilos: a new direction in Greek pottery
- The François Vase: story book of Greek mythology
- Exekias, amphora with Ajax and Achilles playing a game
- Exekias, Amphora with Ajax and Achilles Playing a Game
- Exekias, Dionysos Kylix
- From tomb to museum: the story of the Sarpedon Krater
- The many meanings of the Sarpedon Krater
- Euthymides, Three Revelers
- Niobid Painter, Niobid Krater
- Niobid Krater
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Ancient Greek vase production and the black-figure technique
Used for the storage and shipment of grains, wine, and other goods, as well as in the all-male Greek drinking party, known as the symposium, ancient Greek vases were decorated with a variety of subjects ranging from scenes of everyday life to the tales of heroes and gods. The two most popular techniques of vase decoration were the black-figure technique, so-named because the figures were painted black, and the red-figure technique, in which the figures were left the red color of the clay. The black-figure technique developed around 700 B.C. and remained the most popular Greek pottery style until about 530 B.C., when the red-figure technique was developed, eventually surpassing it in popularity. This video illustrates the techniques used in the making and decorating of a black-figure amphora (storage jar) in the Art Institute of Chicago's collection.
This video was produced with the generous support of a Long Range Fund grant provided by the Community Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago. It was created for LaunchPad, a program of digital interpretive materials that supplement the viewing of works of art on display in the Art Institute of Chicago's galleries.
. Created by Getty Museum.Want to join the conversation?
Why not use Celsius temperatures ?(18 votes)
I 100% agree. I think Khan Academy should make an executive decision for the sake of learning and use the Metric System exclusively. The British Imperial system is dated and counter-intuitive to learning. I live in the USA and that is all I know, but I am completely open to learning a much better and more efficient system.(22 votes)
There is an amazing level of knowledge of the materials at work here. This truly is an art.
But why go through all this trouble? Weren't the Greeks known for their painting abilities? Why not just paint it?(9 votes)
If they had been painted, the color would have likely flaked or worn off with use over time. The process used instead is far more durable and the result is that we still have images that the ancient Greeks created.(19 votes)
Have their been many discoveries of these kilns from this time period? If so, is there a link that shows what it would have looked like?(4 votes)- Numerous examples are known. Here is an example from the southwest sector of the Athenian Agora, excavated in 1947 (http://agora.ascsa.net/id/agora/image/1997.18.0361); read the excavator's notebook beginning at page 837 (http://agora.ascsa.net/id/agora/notebookpage/%CE%9F%CE%9F-5-23?q=references%3A%22Agora%3ANotebook%3A%CE%9F%CE%9F-5%22&t=&v=icons&p=1&sort=rating%20desc%2C%20sort%20asc&s=93). Here another example, excavated in 1939 (http://agora.ascsa.net/id/agora/image/1997.04.0048?q=%22pd%2062%22&t=&v=list&sort=&s=2). For more information look for Toby Schreiber (1999) Athenian Vase Construction or Brian Sparkes (1991) Greek Pottery: An Introduction or John Boardman (2006) The History of Greek Vases: Potters, Painters and Pictures.(7 votes)
Is the gray thing paint and is the gray thing for decorations and what is kiln. I also like how he makes the beautiful art.(3 votes)
The grey is not paint, but clay also. It is a clay and water slurry that was painted on the pot. A kiln is a type of oven used to harden ceramics, tiles, pottery.(3 votes)
why were glazes not used?(2 votes)
The ancient Greeks did had not the yet the ability to create kilns that were able to get hot enough to vitrify a true glaze. In other words, they couldn't melt the glaze.(4 votes)
How on earth did they figure all that out?(3 votes)
Mmmmmmagic. But seriously, if you're asking how they found out how the ancient Greeks made these vases with the clay layering and color, etc , they found out by examining ancient Greek vases, and they may even search current vases that regular artists make. Even people in this century still make those vases mostly for artistic purposes, and they just think and search through the ancient Greek vase's outer layers of clay, and see how it was all put together.(2 votes)
The kiln doesn't make any sense to me. How big is it? How does the potter put the pot into the kiln? When they withdraw the oxygen, do the cover the opening in the front?(1 vote)- I too would love to see the actual use of one of these kilns.(1 vote)
- I wonder what time in the past in the Ancient Greek made the vase?(1 vote)
- I found this in the paragraph "about". The black-figure technique developed around 700 B.C. and remained the most popular Greek pottery style until about 530 B.C.(1 vote)
I just wonder what if they decorated the vases with gold leaf, after heating what color gold leaf will be ? or it will melt ?(1 vote)
Why didn't they mix the colours (red ochre and iron oxide) to create more nuanced shades?(1 vote)- maybe its because the red and iron oxide would create a whole diff substance(0 votes)
