The Greek painting in
the British Museum is easy to overlook. You will easily find the
sculpture of Classical Greece, but painting? Who has ever hard of
that? Well, perhaps not many people, but it is there and it is quite
interesting, here are the examples. Seeing these examples one is
tempted to thing that it is anything but primitive. However, you
won't find big canvasses you might expect when you thing of great
painting. Perhaps this is the very reason why not many people realise
that it exists. These paintings are hidden in a few small glass
cupboards in rooms upstairs, they are painted on clay vases. Greek
vases are, of course well known, though few visitors to the Museum
pays much attention. Even less realise that not all vases are
decorated in black and ochre colours, that there exist also white
vases with black paintings (or perhaps I should say drawings, or even
sketches?) on them.
