Early Classical (c. 500–450 bc)

The Early Classical period is deemed to have begun after Athens’ double defeat of the Persian invaders in 490 and 479 bc, but a new feeling of self-confidence was already in the air about 500 bc, possibly as a result of the firm establishment of democracy in Athens 10 years earlier. By now the Archaic colour and pattern were gone from vase painting, to be replaced by sobriety and dignity. The artist’s ability to render anatomy in line had reached the point where he could accurately indicate the roundness of a figure without shading. The artist was still bound, however, to a strict profile view of heads, with few frontal, and even fewer three-quarter, views of the features. The vase painters of the first quarter of the 5th century bc included some of the finest Athens was ever to produce. One, the Cleophrades Painter, has often been called the “painter of power” since his intense, majestic subjects are rich in psychological insight. Although not all his vases concern scenes of violence, perhaps the vase that captures his spirit best is the kalpis, or wine jar, depicting the sack of Troy. It has been suggested that the extreme cruelty and tragedy present in this scene may well reflect Greek shock at the brutal sack of Miletus by Persian troops in 494 bc.

Another artist of this period was the Berlin Painter. His finest vases are almost completely covered in black glaze. Isolated or small groups of overlapping figures of extreme delicacy are posed on each side of the vases. The brushwork is exceptionally fine, and in these vases there is a sombre mood of introspection that also characterizes many contemporary sculptures. The work of this fine artist, though, is a relatively isolated phenomenon, except in funerary art where inaction and otherworldliness are appropriate. Most vase painters preferred a more narrative approach, and these narratives often reflected contemporary political developments. In 510 bc the tyranny (a tyrant at that time was a ruler, not necessarily brutal, who ruled unconstitutionally) of the Peisistratids had been overthrown in Athens, and the new democratic rulers, seeking among the heroes of the past a suitable patron, chose Theseus, an ancient king of Athens who had been credited with the union of the whole of Attica under the rule of its chief city. The new democracy fought off attempts to reinstate the tyrants, as well as defeating the two Persian invasions. It is therefore hardly surprising that the vase painters responded to the general enthusiasm and civic pride by adopting Theseus as a frequent subject. This development was reflected in monumental painting. About 460 bc the Painted Stoa at Athens was decorated with a series of paintings representing famous battles, including both legendary and historical events involving Athenians. Thus, probably for the first time in Greek history, painters placed their talents at the service of the state—moreover, a state that used them to decorate purely secular buildings. Panaenos, the brother or nephew of the sculptor Phidias, executed a picture of the Battle of Marathon for the Painted Stoa and, sometime later, included a painting of Greece and Salamis personified on the throne for the cult statue of Zeus at Olympia. This brought the depiction of political achievement into the very temples of the gods.

None of the Early Classical architectural paintings has survived, but a reasonable idea of what they might have looked like may be gleaned from the work of various vase painters who seem to have been working under the influence of the monumental artists. The great wall painter Polygnotus is said to have depicted figures at different depths in his compositional field, and similar compositions occur in the work of the Niobid Painter, although the lack of scope for such compositions on vases generally makes this something of an isolated example. Micon was another celebrated wall painter; both he and Polygnotus worked in Athens and Delphi. Ancient descriptions of their work dwell on features and moods that are easy to envisage in the light of extant contemporary vase painting and the Olympia sculptures, to which they seem to have been similar in spirit. The effect of wall paintings on white plaster may also be imagined by examining various white-ground vases intended for the tomb, where there is a concentration on calligraphic line and colour applied in flat areas without any use of shading. In other words, for all its achievements, Greek painting was still closer to drawing than anything that might today be regarded as exhibiting true painterly qualities.

High Classical (c. 450–400 bc)

Because Greek vase painting consists essentially of the delineation of form by line, it could not follow monumental wall or panel painting once the latter began to depart significantly from their common traditions. This happened during the second half of the 5th century bc, and vase painting, while surviving for a time by looking to sculpture as a source of inspiration, went into a swift decline from about 400 bc.

There were certainly revolutionary changes in monumental painting technique. The Athenian painter Apollodorus introduced skiagraphia (literally “shadow painting”), or shading technique. In its simplest form this consists of hatched areas that give the illusion of both shadow and volume. A few of the white-ground vases exhibit this technique in a discreet fashion, but its true potential comes out in the great cycle of wall paintings that decorate the small royal tomb at Vergina, in Macedonia. The paintings, executed in the 4th century bc, represent the abduction of Persephone by Hades. The figures are defined less by an outline technique than by complicated patterns of shading and contour lines.

Another technique that also may have been included within the concept of skiagraphia by the ancient Greeks can be found in the treatment of Persephone’s drapery: the reddish pink mantle is overlaid with slabs of darker red to create realistic patterns of light and shade, and then still darker lines are used to indicate the folds. This tomb is of the utmost importance for understanding the development of Greek painting, since it contains the earliest first-rate monumental wall painting to have survived. Therefore, it would be premature to generalize about the state of painting at that time solely from either vase painting or later Roman works, which, it has been argued, were based on Greek originals.

Late Classical (c. 400–323 bc)

All authorities agree that the Late Classical period was the high point of ancient Greek painting. Within its short span many famous artists were at work, of whom Zeuxis, Apelles, and Parrhasius were the most renowned. Technique advanced considerably during this period. Zeuxis built on the discoveries of Apollodorus, and his pupil Apelles, who lived in the later 4th century bc, worked along the same lines but achieved even greater fame. They appear to have added the concepts of highlighting and subtle gradations of colour. Late Classical monuments such as the Great Tomb at Leukadia, in Macedonia, suggest that one of the means at their disposal was the juxtaposition of lines of different colours to create optical fusion—in other words, a true painterly style in the modern sense of the term. Parrhasius, in contrast, was a conservative and insisted on the priority of something called linear style, which is assumed to be closer to drawing than painting. His influence has been detected in the figure of Hermes at Leukadia and in the Lion Hunt and Dionysus mosaics at Pella, also in Macedonia.

In Athens, red-figure vase painting was in decline, and the majority of vases were painted with showy scenes, using much added colour and gilding. Occasionally there is a glimpse of brilliant line drawing, but the technique barely survived the century.