Relief line

The dots in this crater of Euphronios in the Louvre were highlighted by the hair with small dots using a relief line technique.

Relief line is a term from ancient vase painting. In contrast to black-figure vase painting , in which the subtleties of the figures were incised, the details of the figurative representations in red-figure vase painting were applied to the unfired clay with a brush and clay slip . These drawings were called relief lines in their clearest form. These were used for rough delineations and sharp contrasts. For finer, more detailed markings, the often diluted clay slip was drawn in a thinner line, which produced colored effects.

Only the use of the relief line, which was introduced by the pioneer group , allowed the further development of red-figure vase painting to a form that was ultimately responsible for the triumph of red-figure painting and the end of black-figure vase painting.

literature

• John Boardman : Black-Figure Vases from Athens. A manual (= cultural history of the ancient world . Volume 1). 4th edition. von Zabern, Mainz 1994, ISBN 3-8053-0233-9 .