Red-figure pottery () is a style of ancient Greek pottery in which the background of the pottery is painted black while the figures and details are left in the natural red or orange color of the clay.
It developed in Athens around 520 BC and remained in use until the late 3rd century AD. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure pottery within a few decades. Its modern name is based on the figural depictions in red color on a black background, in contrast to the preceding black-figure style with black figures on a red background. The most important areas of production, apart from Attica, were in Southern Italy. The style was also adopted in other parts of Greece. Etruria became an important center of production outside the Greek World.
Attic red-figure vases were exported throughout Greece and beyond. For a long time, they dominated the market for fine ceramics. Few centers of pottery production could compete with Athens in terms of innovation, quality and production capacity. Of the red-figure vases produced in Athens alone, more than 40,000 specimens and fragments survive today. From the second-most important production center, Southern Italy, more than 20,000 vases and fragments are preserved. Starting with the studies by John D. Beazley and Arthur Dale Trendall, the study of this style of art has made enormous progress. Some vases can be ascribed to individual artists or schools. The images provide evidence for the exploration of Greek cultural history, everyday life, iconography, and mythology.
Technique
Red figure is, put simply, the reverse of the black figure technique. Both were achieved by using the three-phase firing technique. The paintings were applied to the shaped but unfired vessels after they had dried to a leathery, near-brittle texture. In Attica, the normal unfired clay was an orange color at this stage. The outlines of the intended figures were drawn either with a blunt scraper, leaving a slight groove, or with charcoal, which would disappear entirely during firing. Then the contours were redrawn with a brush, using a glossy clay slip. Occasionally, the painter decided to somewhat change the figurative scene. In such cases the grooves from the original sketch sometimes remain visible. Important contours were often drawn with a thicker slip, leading to a slightly protruding outline (relief line); less important lines and internal details were drawn with diluted glossy clay.
Detail in other colors, Including white or red, were applied at this point. The relief line was probably drawn with a bristle brush or a hair, dipped in thick paint. (The suggestion that a hollow needle could account for such features seems somewhat unlikely.) The application of relief outlines was necessary, as the rather liquid glossy clay would otherwise have turned out too dull. After the technique's initial phase of development, both alternatives were used, to differentiate gradations and details more clearly. The space between figures was filled with a glossy grey clay slip. Then, the vases underwent triple-phase firing, during which the glossy clay reached its characteristic black or black-brown color through reduction, the reddish color by a final re-oxidation. Since this final oxidizing phase was fired using lower temperatures, the glazed parts of the vase did not re-oxidize from black to red: their finer surface was melted (sintered) in the reducing phase, and now protected from oxygen.
The new technique had the primary advantage of permitting a far better execution of internal detail. In black-figure vase painting such details had to be scratched into the painted surfaces, which was always less accurate than the direct application of detail with a brush. Red-figure depictions were generally more lively and realistic than the black-figure silhouettes. They were also more clearly contrasted against the black backgrounds. It was now possible to depict humans not only in profile, but also in frontal, rear, or three-quarter perspectives. The red-figure technique also permitted the indication of a third dimension on the figures. However, it also had disadvantages. For example, the distinction of sex by using black slip for male skin and white paint for female skin was now impossible. The ongoing trend to depict heroes and deities naked and of youthful age also made it harder to distinguish the sexes through garments or hairstyles. In the initial phases, there were also miscalculations regarding the thickness of human figures.
In black-figure vase painting, the pre-drawn outlines were a part of the figure. In red-figure vases, the outline would, after firing, form part of the black background. This led to vases with very thin figures early on. A further problem was that the black background did not permit the depiction of space in any depth, so that spatial perspective was almost never attempted. Nonetheless, the advantages outnumbered the disadvantages. The depiction of muscles and other anatomical details clearly illustrates the development of the style.John Boardman: Athenian Red Figure Vases: The Archaic Period,1975, p. 15-16
Attica
Black-figure vase painting had been developed in Corinth in the 7th century BC and quickly became the dominant style of pottery decoration throughout the Greek world and beyond. Although Corinth dominated the overall market, regional markets and centers of production did develop. Initially, Athens copied the Corinthian style, but it gradually came to rival and overcome the dominance of Corinth. Attic artists developed the style to an unprecedented quality, reaching the apex of their creative possibilities in the second third of the 6th century BC. Exekias, active around 530 BC, can be seen as the most important representative of the black-figure style.
In the 5th century BC Attic fine pottery, now predominantly red-figure, maintained its dominance in the markets. Attic pottery was exported to Magna Graecia and even Etruria. The preference for Attic vases led to the development of local South Italian and Etruscan workshops or "schools", strongly influenced by Attic style, but producing exclusively for local markets.
Beginnings The first red-figure vases were produced around 530 BC. The invention of the technique normally is accredited to the Andokides Painter. He, and other early representatives of the style, e.g. Psiax, initially painted vases in both styles, with black-figure scenes on one side, and red-figure on the other. Such vases, e.g. the Belly Amphora by the Andokides Painter (Munich 2301), are called bilingual vases. Although they display major advances against the black-figure style, the figures still appear somewhat stilted and seldom overlap. Compositions and techniques of the older style remained in use. Thus incised lines are quite common, as is the additional application of red paint ("added red") to cover large areas.John H. Oakley: Rotfigurige Vasenmalerei, in: DNP 10 (2001), col. 1141
Pioneering phase
The artists of the so-called "Pioneer Group" made the step towards a full exploitation of the possibilities of the red-figure technique. They were active between circa 520 and 500 BC. Important representatives include Euphronios, Euthymides and Phintias. This group, recognised and defined by twentieth-century scholarship, experimented with the different possibilities offered by the new style. Thus figures appeared in new perspectives, such as frontal or rear views, and there were experiments with perspective foreshortening and more dynamic compositions. As a technical innovation Euphronios introduced the "relief line". At the same time new vase shapes were invented, a development favored by the fact that many of the pioneer group painters were also active as potters.
New shapes include the psykter and the pelike. Large krater and amphorae became popular at this time. Although there is no indication that the painters understood themselves as a group in the way that modern scholarship does, there were some connections and mutual influences, perhaps in an atmosphere of friendly competition and encouragement. Thus a vase by Euthymides is inscribed "as Euphronios never [would have been able]". More generally, the pioneer group tended to use inscriptions. The labelling of mythological figures or the addition of Kalos inscriptions are the rule rather than the exception.
Apart from the vase painters, some bowl painters also used the new style. These include Oltos and Epiktetos. Many of their works were bilingual, often using red-figure only on the interior of the bowl.
Late Archaic
The generation of artists after the pioneers, active during the Late Archaic period (circa 500 to 470 BC) brought the style to a new flourish. During this time, black-figure vases failed to reach the same quality and were pushed out of the market eventually. Some of the most famous Attic vase painters belong to this generation. They include the Berlin Painter, the Kleophrades Painter, and among the bowl painters Onesimos, Douris, Makron and the Brygos Painter. The improvement of quality went along with a doubling of output during this period. Athens became the dominant producer of fine pottery in the Mediterranean world, overshadowing nearly all other production centers.Oakley: Rotfigurige Vasenmalerei, in: DNP 10 (2001), col. 1142
One of the key features of this most successful Attic vase painting style is the mastery of perspective foreshortening, allowing a much more naturalistic depiction of figures and actions. Another characteristic is the drastic reduction of figures per vessel, of anatomic details, and of ornamental decorations. In contrast, the repertoire of depicted scenes was increased. For example, the myths surrounding Theseus became very popular at this time. New or modified vase shapes were frequently employed, including the Nolan amphora (see Typology of Greek Vase Shapes), lekythoi, as well as bowls of the askos and dinos types. The specialisation into separate vase and bowl painters increased.
Early and High Classical
The key characteristic of Early Classical figures is that they are often stockier and less dynamic than their predecessors. As a result, the depictions gained seriousness, even pathos. The folds of garments were depicted less linearly, appearing more plastic. The manner of presenting scenes also changed substantially. Firstly, the paintings ceased to focus on the moment of a particular event, but rather, with dramatic tension, showed the situation immediately before the action, implying and contextualising the event proper. Also, some of the other new achievements of Athenian democracy began to show an influence on vase painting. Thus influences of tragedy and of wall painting can be detected. Since Greek wall painting is almost entirely lost today, its reflection on vases constitutes one of the few, albeit modest, sources of information on that genre of art.
Other influences on High Classical vase painting include the newly erected Parthenon and its sculptural decoration. This is especially visible in the depiction of garments; the material now falls more naturally, and more folds are depicted, leading to an increased "depth" of the depiction. The overall compositions were simplified even more. Artists placed special emphasis on symmetry, harmony, and balance. The human figures had returned to their earlier slenderness; they often radiate a self-absorbed, divine serenity.