略谈古希腊的绘画
A brief discussion of ancient Greek painting

希腊人是古代最好学、最聪明的民族。最早使世界上的人知道恬静、均衡与完善的美，也是古希腊的美术家。全世界没有一个民族，能够像希腊民族那样，产生过那么多的思想家、音乐家、戏剧家，甚至雕刻和绘画的美术家。所以古希腊在文学、哲学和艺术上的成就，是极其辉煌的。虽然古希腊民族的天才，发挥尽致的时期，不过两百年，可是全世界的人，直到现在，还是把他们当作智慧的明灯。

希腊人生绘画史上最早的贡献，大概是在纪元前一六〇〇年——一一〇〇年之间。那时候，他们已能运用自然界的植物或海洋动物的模样，造成立体的美术了。不过很可惜的，这些古希腊的绘画，至今已是荡然无存。所以我们无法清楚地了解古希腊的绘画，究竟达到什么程度。我们仅能根据学术上记载的，和从古墓中掘出的古瓶，以及若干的莫扎依克，邦贝，和赫尔克拉拏木的壁上小装饰等，用“以管窥豹”飞方法，从中略窥这大美术国的天才罢了！根据考古学家议论与钻研的结果，认为这些都是古希腊美术的源流。不过，我们若单靠这些发掘物来断定古希腊绘画的价值，仍是不可靠的。这不过是当时希腊美术的一端而已。

希腊的绘画史，约在纪元前一一〇〇年左右，当多利安（Dorian）民族南侵以后的黑暗时期开始的。这时期的瓶绘，完全是倾向于狄飞隆式（Diphplon），用几何体的模样绘成的，画家的主要目的仅在装饰而已。在纪元前六世纪与七世纪之间，所有希腊的彩瓶作家的作品，都显示出一种强烈的东方意味，这种影响毫无疑问地是来自亚细亚以及爱琴海残存的势力，于是就形成了柯林斯式（Corinth）纤细瓶绘艺术了。

若以雅典为中心，那么希腊绘画的黄金时代，就是在纪元前六世纪，当她的红底黑绘陶器支配了整个地中海市场的时候了。其时，画家的素描极精，作者已在其作品上署姓名。以此风格而闻名于世的画家有Nikosthense，Amasis与 Exekias等。在这时期中，最早的杰作，就是现在保藏在卢浮宫里的Klitias所作的瓶绘。现存的还有一些由墓穴中发掘出来的金属与陶瓷器等，都是运用此风格绘就的。

在纪元前六世纪的后半期，古希腊的画家们又倾向于黑底红绘的新技法了。首创者为壁画家Kimon，彩瓶画家Epikteos与Euphronios。他们努力地开拓了这种精致复杂的形式。到了纪元前五世纪的中叶，这种结构完美的黑底红绘风格，又被画家们摈弃了。他们认为足以妨碍透视及空间的表现效果，以及那种多色彩的画法足以破坏陶瓷的性质。因而阿奇尼斯Achilles Master就创立了白底的彩绘式。这是一种独特优雅的线条表现，技巧绝工，富有中国画的风味。从此瓶绘的制作日渐衰落，绘画就继而渐兴了！在此后的世纪中，焦息斯Zeuxis、尼卡斯Nikias及阿比利斯APelles诸画家，显然地在实质方面都有了极高的造诣！

许多人大概已从Iempriere的文学辞典或其他的书籍中读过那些颇饶深趣的古希腊美术家的故事吧！——Zeuxis和Parrhasios在公众之前比赛绘画，当Zeuxis在高台上展示着他那幅描画着许多葡萄的画幅时，天空中飞过的鸟儿，竟误以为真的，飞下来啄食。于是观众都大声地喝采。接着Parrhasios也步上高台，展示其作品，大家都喧嚷着要他揭开布帷，让大家看看后面的画。但Parrhasios不作任何表示，直至Zeuxis等不耐烦了，走上去要拉开布帷，这时Parrhasios才告诉他说:“我这幅画就是画着布帷！”这故事也许是无稽之谈，不过已足以证明当时古希腊的绘画，已开始注重妙肖实物的写实主义了。尤其是在远近、明暗、背景、色彩及轮廓方面，都有了极高的造诣，达到了有效的表现！

The Greeks were the most studious and intelligent people in ancient times. They were the first to introduce the world to the concepts of tranquility, balance, and perfection in beauty, and this extends to their artists as well. No other nation in the world has produced as many philosophers, musicians, playwrights, and artists as the Greek people. Therefore, the achievements of ancient Greece in literature, philosophy, and art are extremely magnificent. Although the period when the genius of the ancient Greek people flourished lasted only two hundred years, the people of the world still regard them as beacons of wisdom to this day.

The earliest contributions of the Greeks to the history of painting probably date back to between 1600 and 1100 BC. During this time, they were already capable of creating three-dimensional art using the forms of plants or marine animals from the natural world. Unfortunately, these ancient Greek paintings have long since disappeared. As a result, we cannot clearly understand the extent to which ancient Greek painting reached. We can only gain glimpses of the genius of Greek art through academic records, ancient pottery excavated from tombs, and some small decorations found on walls in places like Mycenae, Tiryns, and the Heraion of Samos. According to the discussions and research of archaeologists, these are considered to be the origins of ancient Greek art. However, relying solely on these excavated artifacts to determine the value of ancient Greek painting is still unreliable. These artifacts only represent a small portion of Greek art at that time.

The history of Greek painting began around 1100 BC, during the dark period that followed the invasion of the Dorians. The vase paintings of this period were completely dominated by geometric patterns, with the primary purpose of the painters being decoration. Between the 6th and 7th centuries BC, the works of all Greek vase painters showed a strong Eastern influence, undoubtedly stemming from the remaining powers in Asia Minor and the Aegean. This influence led to the development of the Corinthian style of fine vase painting.

If we take Athens as the center, the golden age of Greek painting occurred in the 6th century BC when its red-figure black pottery dominated the entire Mediterranean market. At that time, painters were highly skilled in their sketches, and artists began to sign their works. Renowned painters of this style include Nikosthense, Amasis, and Exekias. One of the earliest masterpieces of this period is the vase painting by Klitias, now preserved in the Louvre Museum. Some metal and ceramic artifacts excavated from tombs also exhibit this style.

In the latter half of the 6th century BC, ancient Greek painters began to favor a new technique of red-figure black pottery. Pioneers in this style were muralist Kimon, vase painters Epikteos, and Euphronios. They worked hard to develop this refined and complex form. By the mid-5th century BC, painters abandoned the perfectly structured red-figure black pottery style. They believed it hindered the representation of perspective and space, and the multicolored technique could damage the nature of ceramics. Thus, the Achilles Master established the white-ground polychrome style, characterized by unique and elegant line expressions, exquisite techniques, and a flavor reminiscent of Chinese painting. From then on, the production of vase paintings gradually declined, while painting itself flourished. In the subsequent centuries, painters like Zeuxis, Nikias, and Apelles clearly achieved high proficiency in substance!

Many people may have read about the intriguing stories of ancient Greek artists in literary dictionaries like Iempriere's or other books! For example, Zeuxis and Parrhasios once competed in a public painting competition. When Zeuxis displayed his painting of grapes on a platform, birds flying in the sky mistook them for real and tried to peck at them, prompting loud applause from the audience. Then Parrhasios stepped onto the platform and presented his work, and the audience clamored for him to unveil the curtain to reveal the painting behind it. However, Parrhasios remained silent until Zeuxis became impatient and approached to pull back the curtain himself. It was then that Parrhasios revealed that "the curtain" was actually part of his painting! This story may be apocryphal, but it suffices to demonstrate that ancient Greek painting had begun to focus on realistic representation, especially in terms of perspective, light and shadow, background, color, and contours, achieving effective expression!