Black-figure Pottery

François Vase

black-figure pottery, type of Greek pottery that originated in Corinth c. 700 bce and continued to be popular until the advent of red-figure pottery c. 530 bce. In black-figure painting, 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 the Proto-Corinthian style pottery developed in Corinth in the first half of the 7th century bce. 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 bce, retained the Corinthian use of animal friezes for decoration until c. 550 bce, when the great Attic painters, among them Exekias and the Amasis Painter, developed narrative scene decoration and perfected the black-figure style. Outside Corinth and Athens the most important studios producing black-figure ware were in Sparta and eastern Greece.