GREEK ART OF THE SIXTH CENTURY B.C.:
THE BOTHMER GALLERY I
 The Gallery for Greek Art of the Sixth Century B.C. provides an insight into the lives of Athenians of this time, primarily through the Museum’s exceptional collection of painted terracotta vases. Among the known leading artistic personalities represented in this gallery, Exekias was the consummate master of the black-figure technique, practiced from the late seventh to the early fifth centuries B.C., in which the glazed portions of a work were black and the remaining surface was the deep orange color of the clay. His predecessors included such innovators as Nearchos and Lydos; his contemporaries were the Affecter and the Amasis Painter, among others. (Some names of vase painters are known from their signatures; others remain anonymous and are given names of convenience. These modern names may stem from the name of a collaborator that is known, such as a potter; a significant location; a particular collector in modern times; or a feature of the artist’s style.) Whether their ancient names are known or not, the potters and painters reveal distinctive artistic personalities and a singular capacity to depict a story, with decoration including all manner of scenes from daily life as well as from the colorful and complex world of mythology.
The arrangement of the pieces in the gallery is roughly chronological, from ca. 600 B.C. to 525 B.C. This period covers the mature Archaic style in Athens and ends with a major historical development: the initial westward push of the Persian Empire, which ultimately was defeated by Greece in the Persian Wars. It was at this time that the red-figure technique in vase painting was invented and gradually began to replace the earlier black-figure technique.
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