High Renaissance Ceramic Figure Painting: Geometric Pottery

Often involving large vases and other vessels, it was decorated originally with linear designs, then more elaborate patterns of triangles, zigzags and other similar shapes. Geometric pottery includes some of the finest Greek artworks, with vases typically made according to a strict system of proportions. This ceramic figure painting was the first sign of the enduring Greek fascination with the human body, as the noblest subject for a painter or sculptor: a fascination rekindled in the High Renaissance painting of Michelangelo and others. Another ceramic style introduced by Corinth was black-figure pottery: figures were first drawn in black silhouette, then marked with incised detail.