John Boardman

Introduction 'Some girls affect what is called the Grecian bend' commented the Daily Telegraph in 1869, and the Irish ballad applauds the 'sort of creature, boys, that nature did intend, to walk right through the world' without that affectation. It is a measure of the popular view of Greek art...

Chapter One INTRODUCTION The red figure technique of vase painting was invented in Athens by about 530 B c at a time when the black figure technique was barely past its prime and when several other important studios of vase painting were flourishing in the Greek world, from the western colonies...

PR EFACE Something like twenty thousand Athenian black figure vases have been discovered, and many more reach the light of day each year from excavations, controlled and ilHcit, or from the shelves of dealers and old collections. Of comparable works surviving from antiquity only Athens' red...