CH. 5: Evaluate the white-ground vase painting technique and its uses.
White-ground vase painting became popular toward the middle of the 5th century BCE (134).
The white-ground vase painting technique involves using clay slip, which is a chalky white color, in order to provide a background for figures painted on vases. Once the vase was covered with this white slip, the painter would outline the figures and fill them with diluted colors. They would apply brown, purple, white, and red, and send them into the kiln to be fired. Meanwhile, if they wanted to use other colors, they had to apply it after the vase was fired, because the Greeks didn’t know if the color could withstand the heat from the kiln. The colors used were short-lived; therefore they were only applied to long-term vessels (such as lekythos), and not everyday items such as cups or kraters. The white-ground vase painting technique was often used for lekythos, which were common among Greek graves, and were often used for funerary purposes. They were offerings to the deceased, and were decorated with a scene that was appropriate for its purpose. I believe the white-ground technique along with different designs painted over it would really emphasize the shape of a vase.
CH. 6: What are the Ajanta caves and why are they important?
The 28 Ajanta caves, which are located in India, are caves painted and carved with Buddha imagery. These images could be created with clay, straw, lime, and other materials, or could be carved out of a mountainside. The caves contain elaborate relief sculptures and fresco-like paintings. The different themes of the caves relate to the everyday life of Buddha, and Jataka tales. Since the materials they used were not very advanced, this incredible art has suffered from a lot of water damage. These Ajanta caves are/were incredibly important because they were used as prayer halls by Buddhist monks and for other religious practices. I wonder how they were able to create such elaborate and beautiful paintings and sculptures in these 28 caves… in the dark!
The Essay on Lascaux cave paintings
On September 12, 1940 in Dordogne, France, four men named Marcel Ravidat, Jacques Marsal, Simon Coencas, and Georges Agniel, came upon a long forgotten cave- Lascaux. The Lascaux cave, now a World Heritage site, has been called the Lascaux bestiary. A revolution occurred in the creation of art during the Upper Paleolithic Era in Europe. Beginning around 40,000 B. C. , records shows that modern ...
