WHAT IS THE BLACK FIGURE ?

BLACK FIGURE: A type of Greek pottery that originated in Corinth c. 700 bc and was popular until red-figure pottery, its inverse, began in c. 530 bc. This style consisted of pottery with one or more bands of human and animal figures silhouetted in black against the tan or red ground. The red color was probably taken when the pot was fired. The delineation of the figures was often heightened by the use of incised lines and the addition of white or purple coloring. The figures and ornamentation were drawn on the natural clay surface of a vase in glossy black pigment; the finishing details were incised into the black. The first significant use of the black-figure technique was on proto- Corinthian-style pottery developed in Corinth in the first half of the 7th century bc. The Corinthian painter’s primary ornamental device was the animal frieze. The Athenians, who began to use the technique at the end of the 7th century bc, retained the Corinthian use of animal friezes for decoration until c. 550 bc, when the great Attic painters developed narrative scene decoration and perfected the black-figure style. There were also studios producing black-figure ware in Sparta and eastern Greece. [Black-figure ware; black-figured (adj.)]