page_title: Red-figure pottery
section_title: Early and High Classical
hierarchical_section_title: Red-figure pottery / Attica / Early and High Classical
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Ödipus und der Sphinx. Attische rotfigurige Amphora, 440-430 v. Chr. Aus Nola. English: Oedipus and the Sphinx. Attic red-figure amphora, 440–430 BC. From Nola. Français&#160;: Œdipe et le Sphinx. Amphore attique à figures rouges, 440-430 av. J.-C. Provenance&#160;: Nola.
context_page_description: Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting.
  It developed in Athens around 520 BC and remained in use until the late 3rd century BC. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure vase painting within a few decades. Its modern name is based on the figural depictions in red colour 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 centre 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. Only few centres 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 centre, Southern Italy, more than 20,000 vases and fragments are preserved. Starting with the studies by John D.
context_section_description: The key characteristic of Early Classical figures is that they are often somewhat stockier and less dynamic than their predecessors. As a result, the depictions gained seriousness, even pathos. The folds of garments were depicted less linearly, thus 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, thus 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; often they radiate a self-absorbed, divine serenity.
  Important painters of this period, roughly 480 to 425 BC, 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 also developed. Notable examples include the so-called "mannerists", most famously among them the Pan Painter. Another tradition was begun by the Niobid Painter and continued by Polygnotos, the Kleophon Painter, and the Dinos Painter. The role of bowls decreased, although they were still produced in large numbers, e.g. by the workshop of the Penthesilea Painter.
caption: Oedipus and the sphinx, Nolan amphora by the Achilles Painter, circa 440/430 BC. Munich: Staatliche Antikensammlungen
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