Archeology of 7th C BC 3b Pottery Orientalizing pottery Beginning of Black-figure Attic pottery
Text book: Boardman, J. 1998: Early Greek Vase Painting.
http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk Sir John Davidson Beazley (13. 9. 1885 to 6. 5. 1970) was a British classical archeologist and art historian, known for his classification of attic vases by artistic style. He was Professor of Classical Archeology and Art at the University of Oxford from 1925 to 1956.
Geometric Greece self-sufficient in its economy as well as in art. Mid of 8th Century expansion of Greek = > trade Changes in pottery style: curves, flora and fauna, human figures
Animal style Human figures
Corinth cca 725 BC: First Greek city which developed the Orientalizing style About one generation later: Athens and Cycladic islands East Greece geometric style during all 7 th C Orientalizing and Black figure pottery kept ca 2 Centuries Many local styles and schools
Corinth Due of its trade activities Corinthian pottery is found on almost every contemporary Greek sit both at home and overseas. The style of Corinth is easy to clarify, since its evolution is generally even and steady
EARLY PROTOCORINTHIAN (C.725 700 BC) - Sphings and oriental flora - The commonest and characteristic Protocorinthian shape is the ARYBALLOS - Globular (in middle Corinthian ovoid) - Animals and birds are rare and vary a lot - kotyle, oinochoe, straight-sided pyxis w/ flattish knobbed lid - Corinth was the dominant supplier of the grooving export trade in Greek pottery
Aryballos
Oinochoe Kotylai
MIDDLE PROTOCORINTHIAN (C. 700 / 650 BC) Black-figure technique: 1. Black siluette 2. Engraving of details, or contours by sharp point - It was done before the vessel was fired and was still wet.
Decoration motives dot-rosettes, chain of lotus blossoms, palmets
Protocorinthian was essentially a miniaturist style
LATE PROTOCORINTHIAN (650 640 B.C.) and TRANSITIONAL (640 625) - Transformation to black figure animal - industrial production - The style was cheapened - Bigger and longer animals - Panters are replacing lions - Bull between lion and panther - Black band with white, purple and yellow strips White figures on black ground, or black on black
TRANSITIONAL PHASE New tendencies are visible Less precise contures New shapes The commonest shape still ARIBALLOS, but lengthened and narrowed, pointed or piriform The olpe is new Oinochoe more popular Subgeometric decoration on the neck Kotylai and concave-sided pyxides
THE RIPE ANIMAL STYLE (625 550 BC) Early ripe period > its heyday The painters effort was to obtain quickly and easily a rich and decorative effect Broad friezes Long careless animal Thick details Filling ornaments Less lions, more panthers Boar, bull, goat, deer remain popular Hares, eagles, geese and snakes on aribbaloi Owls are more numerous Hybrids appear: typhon, trithon, boread, mistress of beasts Floral ornaments: almost only lotus and palmettes Continous chains. If single floral motive then doubled lotus Assyian influences to corinthian art Ariballos, alabastron >> kotylai, olpe, oinochoe >> neck-amphora and column krater appear Middle ripe period > the animal style is disintegrating
THE RIPE STYLE HUMAN FIGURES (625 550 BC) Protocorinthian pots with human figures are RARE Two influences: from animal style and from free paiting Column crater (from Louvre) Strong influence on Attic Timonidas: the only Corinthian vasepainter whose name we know
Timonidas
Protocorinthian pottery was a luxury A lot of wares made very simply with simple decoration of plain bands, animal silhouettes (dogs, hares)
SUBGEOMETRIC AND LINEAR STYLES (725 5 TH C BC) The invention of protocorinthian style didn t pushed out the geometric tradition Enrichment of repertory Some oriental novelties Spiral hook and four-leaved flower Solid triangles firstly on shoulder, later transfered to bottom Simple linear decoration better: linear style.
TECHNIQUES Corinth: deposits of whitish clays containing the traces of iron oxide After firing very pale yellow Very distinguished from the redder clays for other Greek region Pinkish tinge, from 7 th C greenish tinge Red tones are avoided >> paint in brown, reddish brown, dark brown, black For ornament: white, purple, yellow
EXPORT & INFLUENCES Exported to all parts of Greek world with exception of the East The only pottery which was widely exported The trade reached the peak in Early Ripe period. Attic competition appeared. 6 th C rapid decline Imitation only in the West (Ischia, Cumae) = Italo-corinthian school. The Ripe style: in Etruria and Attica
ATHENS The geometric style of Athens had been distinguished by a strong sense of order collapse of the approach Experiments with the forms = Protoattic style
EARLY PROTOATTIC (710 680 BC) The lower half of the body is still geometric Above we are in the new world : lions, birds with cracked necks A native development from Geometric, not the adaptation of Oriental models ANALATOS painter started his carrier as an geometric style painter and after 20 30 years can be described as a pioneer of Early Attic school
The bell-krater in Munich (ca 690): - Protocorinthian school
Analatos hydria: different
Popular motives: sphinx, horse, winged man, Centaurus Dogs, cocks, eagles Bulky figures More movement Hunting scenes, chariots parades Two parallel schools: new figural painting and still geometric tradition
Shapes: hydria = new invention, amphora, small globular oinochoe, stemmed bowl, mug The wide-necked oinochoe disappeared
THE BLACK AND WHITE STYLE (680 650 BC) This generation of artists is free of geometric mannerism In Aegina, Boeotia, Megara, Perachora near Corinth, Haereum in Argos
New York Nessos Amphora ca 660
LATE PROTOATTIC (650 610 BC) Period of the transition to clear Black-figure style The black and white style fell into a decline about 650 BC So called three-colour school Animals became black as first, human figures resisted longer On some pots elaborate polychromy: reds, yellow, browns, bluish green Period of monumental style Shapes> big amphora, kotylai-krates united with its stand and lid Decoration in light panel in black
Nessos Amphora in Athens (ca 615)
ATTIC BLACK-FIGURE: THE PERIOD OF CORINTHIAN INFLUENCE (610 590) Nessos painter: boundary between Protoattic and Attic Nessos is followed by the GORGON painter About one generation when Corinth pottery is influenting Athenian
Gorgon painter
Eurythos Crater
Sophilos painter First Attic painter known by his name Contemporary with Corinthian Timonidas Same school with Gorgon painter, but more laboured Corinthian fashion in shapes White horses Females white, males black (purple in face) 570 the satyrs are appeared The art of the 8 th 7 th C was indifferent to sex
Francoise vase Found near Chiusi in Etruria (in Florence today) No black-figure vase of so rich and complete decoration survived complete except the Francoise vase Theseus returning to Athens 200 figures, many of them named Meticulous in details Microscopic patterns Sure and elegant drawing Much is derivated from Corinthian style Human figures are moving, sphigx and griffons look as sculptures
Cleitias ca 570 1 st real Black-figure vessel
Athenian cups They appear about 580 Comast cups Flaring foot, short offset lip Shape form Corinth Three dancers in chitons, later naked Purple faces and chests are common 585 570
Siana cups Rims are higher, cups wider, foot taller Contours are more precise Balance of white and dark Lower part of cup is usually black, otherwise patterned elaborately
TYRRHENIAN AMHORA So called pannel style
Attic black-figure in early 6 th C tends to human figures Animal style faded out about 550 BC together with all old systems of decoration Before 600: starts Athenian influence of Corinth Attic pottery is found in Aegina, Boeotia, Troy, Naucratis (Egypt), Caere (Etruria) Shortly after 600: also Black Sea, Delphi, Ithaca, Etruria commonly, Massalia, Greek Italy and Sicily
LACONIA The reserving period: Laconian I (700 630) The Early Black-figure period: Laconian II (630 590) The developed Black-figure style: Laconian III (590 550) Laconian plain wares
Other regions: Boeotia Euboia (Chlacis and Eretria school) Cyclades (Theran Subgeometric, Linear island group, the protome group, Melian group, polychrome plates) East Greek cities (Subgeometric and bird bowls, the wild goat style, the Chiot styles, Ionian little mastersfikellura, Clazomenian black-figurs and sarcophagi, Vroulian, Crete, Italy, Etruscan schools: bucchero and black-figures etc.)
Laconia Eretria
Boeotia Eretria Skyros
Cycladic
Melos
Ionian
Samian
Sculptures of 7 th C BC