Download Vase, panel, and tomb paintings from the High Classical Period

Vase, panel, and tomb paintings from the High Classical Period
depicted natural figures with high plasticity and dynamic compositions.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Describe the styles of painting that developed through the High Classical Period as seen in vase,
panel, and tomb paintings.
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Red-figure vase painting succeeded black-figure vase painting in the Classical and High Classical
Periods.
Few examples of panel, fresco, and wall painting survive due to their organic materials. However,
the examples that do survive from the Archaic, Classical, and Late Classical periods demonstrate
the same development of the figure, from stiff, rigid images to dynamic scenes of natural figures.
The painter Apollodorus was considered one of the most talented painters in the Classical period.
He developed a technique of depicting shadows and depth known to the Greeks as skiagraphia,
which is similar to the Renaissance use ofchiaroscuro.
TERMS [ edit ]
symposium
(in ancient Greece) A drinking party, especially one with intellectual discussion.
chiaroscuro
An artistic technique popularized during the Renaissance, referring to the use of exaggerated light
contrasts in order to create the illusion of volume.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [edit ]
Classical Greece was a 200 year period in Greek culturelasting from the 5th through 4th
centuries BCE. This classical period, following the Archaic period and succeeded by
the Hellenistic period, had a powerful
influence on the Roman Empire and
greatly influenced the foundations of the
WesternCivilization. Much of modern
Western politics and artistic thought, such
as architecture, scientific thought,
literature, and philosophy, derives from
this period of Greek history.
Red- and black-figure vase
painting
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Black-figure pottery painting was an
especially common stylesof vase painting between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although
there are specimens dating as late as the 2nd century BCE. This style of painting, where
figures and ornaments were painted in black on a red background of a vessel using shapes
and colors reminiscent of silhouettes, was the first art style to give rise to a significant
number of identifiable artists. It was succeeded around 520 BCE by red-figure vase painting,
which is considered to be one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting.
Remaining in use throughout the Classical Period, red-figure painting is based on the figural
depictions in red color on a black background. Attic red-figure vases were exported
throughout Greece and beyond, and for a long time dominated the market for fine ceramics.
Only few centers of pottery production could compete with Athens in terms of its innovation,
quality, and production capacity.
Important painters of the High Classical Period include the Providence Painter, Hermonax,
and the Achilles Painter, all following the tradition of the Berlin Painter. The Phiale Painter,
probably a pupil of the Achilles Painter, is also important. New workshop traditions
developed during this time, with notable examples including the so-called "mannerists" such
as the Pan Painter. Another tradition was begun by the Niobid Painter and continued by
Polygnotos, the Kleophon Painter, and the Dinos Painter.
Panel painting
Panel painting is the painting on flat panels of wood, either a large single piece or several
joined together. Because of their organic nature many panel paintings no longer exist. Panel
paintings were usually done in encaustic or tempera and were displayed in the interior of
public buildings, such as in thepinacoteca of the Propylaea of the Athenian Acropolis.
The earliest known panel paintings are the Pitsa Panels that date to the Archaic period
between 540 and 530 BCE; however panel painting continued throughout the Classical
Period. The painter Apollodorus was considered by the Greeks and Romans to be one of the
best painters of the Early Classical period, although none of his work survived. He is credited
for the use of creating shadows by a technique known as skiagraphia. The technique
layers crosshatching and contour liners to addperspective to the scene and is similar to the
Renaissance technique of chiaroscuro.
Pista Panel, ca. 540-530 BCE. Athens, Greece.
The Pista Panels were the earliest known panel paintings, and date to the Archaic period between 540
and 530 BCE.
Tomb painting
Tomb painting was another popular method of painting, which due to its fragile nature has
often not survived. However a few examples do remain, including the 480 BCE Tomb of the
Diverand the wall paintings from the royal Macedonian tombs in Vergina that date to the
mid-fourth century BCE. A comparison between the paintings demonstrate how painting
followed sculptural development in regards to the rendering of the human body.
The Tomb of the Diver is from a small necropolis in Paestum, Italy, which was then the Greek
colony of Poseidonia, and dates from the beginning of the Classical period. The tomb depicts
asymposium scene on its walls and an image of diver on the inside of the covering slab. The
images are painted in true frescowith a limestone mortar. The scene of the diver is simple
image with a small landscape of trees, water, and the diver's platform. The diver is nude and
his body is simply defined through the use of line and color. The bodies of the men at the
symposium more accurately demonstrate an Archaic reliance on line to model theform of the
body and the draping of their clothing.
Tomb of the Diver, Fresco. Ca. 480 BCE, Paestum, Italy.
This is the symposium scene painted on the Tomb of the Diver in Paestum.
Compared to the wall paintings from the tombs at Vergina, the Early Classical tomb painting
is static and rather Archaic. The frescos from Vergina depict figures in a full painted version
of the High Classical style. For example, there is an image believed to depict King Philip II on
a chariot pulled by two horses . The fresco is poorly preserved but one is able to see on
Philip's horse the modeling of the animals produced by the color shading and a suggestion of
perspective when looking at the chariot. The artist relies on the shades and hues of his paints
to create depth and a life-like feeling in the painting.
Man on a Chariot, Wall painting. Ca. 4th c. BCE. Vergina, Greece.
The frescos from Vergina depict figures in a full painted version of the High Classical style.
One of the quintessential wall paintings at Vergina is a scene of Hades abducting Persephone
. The painted scene appears similar to the Late Classical sculptural style and the dynamic,
emotion-filled composition seems to predict the style of Hellenistic sculpture. The scene
depicts Hades on his chariot, grasping on to Persephone's nude torso as the pair ride away.
The colors are faded and faint, but the bright red drapery worn by Persephone is still easily
identifiable. Lines and shading emphasize its folds. The style appears almost impressionistic,
especially when examining Persephone's face and hair. Persephone and Hades create a
tension filled chiastic composition, as Hades races to the left, against the pull of Persephone's
outward, desperate reach to the right.
Hades Abducting Persephone, Wall painting. Ca. 4th c. BCE. Vergina, Greece.
One of the quintessential wall paintings at Vergina is a scene of Hades abducting Persephone.