Early Greek Vases
Because of the 3D nature of the canvas, early Greek vase painters had to devise new and effective ways to portray their 2D work of arts onto the rounded vessels. The Greek vase painting styles of the era are divided into three main types (all of which describe their colouring after being fired): Black-figure, Red-Figure and White-Ground. Black-Figure painted vases fall into one of two groups: the miniature style and the grand style". The Francois vase is an example of one of the most elaborate miniature style vases of the time. Its neck is divided into two bands; its belly has four, three of which portray figurines (the last being ornamental); one on the foot - giving the vase a total of 6 decorated bands e
In Side A, the characters are portrayed in a way that best accentuates the vases shadowed outline. Because of this and the nature of the vase's shape (Volute Krater), it means the vase can be placed differently according to preference to show varied stories depending on which side is in view. A chain of ivy vines articulate the flanged curves of the handles with the rounded belly, which is also modelled with the ornamental pattern at the foot and the top border of the main illustration. The depiction of these multiple mythical stories by using bands to separate them, is an effective compositional technique by Kleitias. The various parts of the vase's is emphasised by the decoration in a variety of ways, both ornamentally and using the characters. An example of a grand style black figure vase is the Exekias Belly Amphora. Exekias attempts to make a 2D scene more realistic by putting the central character behind a larger object and also by the detail in which the incision is made on the wavy clothing. The spears and the shield flow downwards with the handles creating a beautiful triangular motif within the vase. The two sides of Exekias's belly Amphora are very different in respect to the placement of the models. Another effective feature, and one used in a lot of other vases is the use of ornamental borders accentuate the curves of the handles and sometimes near the base of the vase or framing a frieze. Both figures are depicted sitting down with their spears crossed oppositely to the direction that their bodies are facing, so that the two characters mirror the other in symmetry. The vase itself has two sides, therefore whether or not the story flows in a circular composition alternates between each band.
Common topics in this essay:
Belly Amphora,
White-Ground Black-Figure,
Volute Krater,
,
belly amphora,
miniature style,
curves handles,
black figure,
grand style,
greek vase,
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