The beginning of Greek polychrome painting

Abstract

About the mid-seventh century, polychrome styles of vase painting appeared in five different Greek wares, and in a sixth ware a short time after. By polychrome here is meant the use of a light brown or reddish brown paint for male flesh in human figure scenes, to go with the normal colours found on seventh-century Greek vases, black, red and white. The use of this light brown or reddish brown paint may have begun a little earlier, e.g. for parts of animals, but it would be confusing to call this partial polychrome and to regard this as a preliminary step towards the distinctive use of brown for male human flesh. The six wares in which polychrome vases appear are Protocorinthian, Protoattic, Argive, Naxian, ‘Melian’ (likely from Paros), and a ware found at Megara Hyblaea. Except for ‘Melian’ polychrome which continues to the end of the seventh or early sixth century, each of these polychrome styles flourishes for a brief time and then disappears.

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