For the ancient Greeks, the concept of art covered all forms of creative activity that contributed to their cultural development. Those of us who are lucky enough to be born in this part of the world can see the artistic heritage of Athens with every step we take. Everywhere we look there are visible traces of architecture that has been copied but never outgrown. In museums around the world we can see extraordinary examples of sculpture that has taken figures full of life, beauty and harmony from cold marble. Perhaps nothing is more a uniquely Athenian achievement than Attic pottery, which, in its quest for creative perfection through vibrant ornamentation, tells us about the way of life of the people, their worship of the gods, and their joys and sorrows. . The attic soil has always produced a rich clay for the potter’s trade, whether for domestic, religious or other purposes. With this material, the Athenian artists – potters and painters – known and anonymous, experimented, created and achieved immortality.

One of the earliest pieces of pottery produced in Attic workshops is the famous large (1.75 m high) amphora on the Dipylon Gate, now on display in the Archaeological Museum. It was found in the Keramikos necropolis, having adorned the grave of a distinguished citizen of the 8th century BC. The scene it represents leaves no doubt as to its use as a tombstone. Its shape is simple, without ostentation; It has a narrow base and an elongated neck, indicating a daring potter who did not fear such an unwieldy size. The decoration consists of successive series of straight lines and restless Greek key designs, while in the middle is the funeral procession with the body placed on a cart surrounded by bereaved relatives and professional mourners who pull out their hair; little birds fill the spaces. The scene recalls Cretan funeral songs and maniotes, timeless expressions of the pain of death. The entire work – both the vase and its decoration – was characteristic of the severity of the time, where geometric symbols were close to transcendental.

In that same period, a completely different type of pottery began to be produced in Corinth and in neighboring Sikyon, consisting of small round vessels with richly painted decorative belts depicting animals from Asian countries. Griffins, sphinxes, and lions suggested trade between Corinth and the eastern ports. Pottery of the same type was produced in Milos and Rhodes, other well-known trading centers of the ancient Aegean. However, it was the Corinthians who first used the black figure technique of making an incision in the outline of the shapes on the surface of the vessel and then painting them black.

At the beginning of the most productive period of Athens, Solon and his laws brought in many capable potters to produce works for a secure clientele. At the same time, the artisans themselves began to respond to artistic demands by creating new shapes and sizes with the corresponding development in decoration. The rigid and inflexible figures of the geometric funeral urn gradually acquired elasticity of movement. The artists were initially inspired by relief sculptures, deriving their theme from the inexhaustible themes of mythology. And while the Corinthian pioneers gave their work an oriental flair by painting exotic decorative figures on it, Athenian art turned narrative. Their black figures revealed the passions of gods and heroes, as well as the occupations of common people: their work, ceremonies and weaknesses. At first, the scenes evolved horizontally, as did the Corinthian vessels that were their models, although the Athenian works were much larger. The incised decoration revealed the natural color of the clay, and only in the female forms the faces and exposed parts of the body were painted white. Very often, the artists added the names of the portrayed figures in archaic writing.

Starting in the 6th century, artisans were no longer anonymous when they began to sign their works. The first signed piece of pottery we have is from a man named Sophilos. This priceless fragment is dated to 570 BC. C. It was this same craftsman who left us a signed scene of the funeral games held in honor of the dead Patroclus outside the walls of Troy, in which spectators are shown seated on a double platform with steps: the first tribune to be go into the history of the tiered theater.

The golden age of black-figure vases was from 550 to 500 BC. To this period belongs the famous Francois vase, now exhibited in Florence, on which the potter Ergotimos and the painter Kleitias proudly placed their signatures. These two artists managed to portray 250 living figures of people and animals in five parallel rows in a vase with a total height of only 66 cm. This advance made Attic vessels sought after throughout the Mediterranean and led settlers from southern Italy and Sicily to establish their own workshops, leaving behind many examples of their incomparable art. Museum windows are filled with vases depicting gods, cheeky satyrs, drunken mortals, lovers, hard-hearted pedophiles, and noble horses ready to pull the chariots of heroes.

Exekias, perhaps the greatest ceramic painter of his time, lived around 530 BC. C. He was the first to dare to adorn the outside of his mugs with two huge eyes of superstitious origin. The most splendid example of his art is the kylix in Munich, the interior of which shows Dionysus carelessly sailing his ship, transforming pirates who wanted to wound him into dolphins. A lush vine sprouts from the mast and the grapes cast their shadow on the billowing sail. This trip, on a dreamlike red background, was the preface to a new form of ceramic painting, with red figures.

This new technique was exactly the opposite of the previous one, since here the entire surface of the vessel was painted black, except for the previously drawn figures that retained the warm brick color of the fired clay. The artists no longer affected the design, but used brushes, capturing the details of the dress and the hairstyle made with safe lines. Women are no longer presented in white. In contrast, both male and female forms were frequently covered with a reddish varnish that reflected some of the internal heat of the human body.

The inventor of the red-figure technique is considered to be a man named Andokides, although he himself often decorated his vases the old-fashioned way. The transition period can be seen in his so-called “bilingual” vessels in which the same scene was presented with red figures on one side and black figures on the other. Cups with black figures on the inside and red on the outside have been found. Then certain differences in the details of the features began to appear. For example, in black pottery, men were shown with round eyes, while women always had long eyes; However, in the red figure technique, men and women had the same almond-shaped eyes with thick eyelashes. At the same time, the artists were moving away from the inflexible archaic relief that showed things in profile. The artists’ study of the full-length sculptures was clearly visible in the representation of figures that appeared to be facing the viewer. Looking, for example, at the marble child of Kritias in the Acropolis Museum and a youthful figure on a piece of pottery, we can detect precisely the same proud posture of the body.

The increasing realism of the sculpture could not help but influence the ceramics, so that the painted decoration also began to acquire movement and vitality. Scenes from everyday life were featured, sometimes bordering on mockery. The painters were relentless in their portrayal of the elderly, showing all the wrinkles and ugliness of age. The deformed satyrs gave artists the opportunity to display their art and, at the same time, provoked joy. There is a characteristic goblet in Munich in which the painter Epileios shows an extremely ugly satyr with an unlikely name Terpon (delicacy), exclaiming the phrase “sweet wine” before a full wineskin. Elsewhere, explicitly erotic scenes were drawn in which facial expressions were as graphically represented as movement. Sometimes multi-figure compositions are presented at different levels for narrative purposes. The inscriptions appeared less and less frequently as time passed and the art developed.

A wonderful example of a red-figure vase from 500 BC. C. is the Sosias kylix in Berlin. It represents a moment in the Trojan War in which Achilles tends to Patroclus’ wound. The scene is vividly presented: for example, the details of the heroes’ hair are emphasized with small lines and their scaled armor appears to be in relief. For the first time, the eyes are drawn in profile, precisely as we see them in reality. Patroclus is shown with his mouth ajar, clenching his teeth from the pain of his wound, which Achilles has bandaged with a white cloth. Achilles’ left hand and the injured man’s right foot, with its bony fingers, demonstrate superb technique.

The possibilities offered to the artist by red-figure ceramic painting completely supplanted the ancient black-figure technique that had prevailed exclusively in Athenian pottery decoration until the fourth century. The amphorae, as their name indicates in Greek, were vessels with two handles to facilitate their transport. In these amphorae, the Athenians would send oil, wine, nuts, and legumes to the entire known world. With the establishment of the Panathenaia, it became a habit to give amphorae filled with oil from the sacred olive trees of the goddess Athena to the winners of the competitions. The height of these vessels was about 70 cm and their shape was more or less round, always with a small circular base and a clay plug to protect the contents. Often the neck of the vase was decorated with anthemia. In the Panathenaic amphoras there was always a presentation of Athena in arms on the one hand and the contest in which the victor had distinguished himself on the other.

On the evolution of painting as such, we have no more knowledge than the writings that have come down to us. From them we derive descriptions of the works of Apellis and Polygnotos, but very little else. That is why ceramic painting is so valuable. The so-called Rich Order of 5th century art, with its luxurious dress, colors, and golden jewelry, is highly indicative of a comfortable society. The Attic lekythoi are equally eloquent.

White lekythos were another type of pottery in the Polis, but with limited use. These vases generally contained aromatic oils for the preparation of the dead. After the funeral procession and cremation, they were placed in the tomb or on the steps of the funerary monument. The entire surface of this special container was coated in a whitish color in which figures were freely drawn. Usually, the dead person was depicted receiving funeral gifts from loved ones or some other scene related to the death. The white background of these vases encouraged the use of colors in the figures and especially in the clothing. Dark or blond hair could be magnificently depicted, as could the expressions on the faces of those in mourning, which showed mortals accepting the will of the almighty gods in noble pain. The representations in the white Attic lekythoi were the forerunners of the magnificent wall paintings of Macedonian tombs to which the land of the Hellenic north is only now gradually abandoning.