[1] Exekias worked mainly in the black-figure technique, which involved the painting of scenes using a clay slip that fired to black, with details created through incision.

Exekias is regarded by art historians as an artistic visionary whose masterful use of incision and psychologically sensitive compositions mark him as one of the greatest of all Attic vase painters.

[3] The works of Exekias are distinguished by their innovative compositions, precise draughtsmanship, and subtle psychological characterization, all of which transcend the inherent challenges of the black-figure technique.

[12] Exekias not only enjoyed a thriving market in Athens; many of his extant vases were also exported to Etruria, Italy, found at sites such as Vulci and Orvieto, where they were buried in Etruscan tombs.

Here, Exekias uses the tondo as a working surface for the main scenario: Dionysus was the god of inspiration, and the painting depicts his initial journey to Athens by ship.

[24] Apart from the selection of this very intimate, seemingly relaxed scene as a symbol for the Trojan War, this vase-painting also showcases the talent of Exekias as an artist: the figures of both Achilles and Ajax are decorated with fine incised details, showing elaborate textile patterns and almost every hair in place.

There is no extant literary source that is known to have circulated in the sixth century BC in Athens regarding a narrative involving Ajax and Achilles playing a board game.

[25] Exekias may have drawn his inspiration for this innovative composition from local oral bardic traditions regarding the Trojan War, which may have developed during his lifetime in the cultural context of sixth century Athens.

[26] Despite the ambiguity surrounding the origin of this mythological narrative, Exekias' new depiction of Ajax and Achilles playing a board game was popular and was copied over 150 times in the ensuing fifty years.

Other scenes are crowded with figures, such that attention is drawn toward the complex composition itself, or to individual men and women in a chariot or the magnificent horses arranged in groups.

A variety of compositional devices are used to brilliant effect in the painting of Exekias, riveting the attention of the viewer, who then lingers to appreciate the finely executed forms and exquisite details.

Also characteristic of Exekias is his expert use of line, both in terms of his finely drawn figures and also his carefully incised detail—to delineate hair, beards, unique facial features, aspects of armor and furniture, traits of plants and animals, and particularly the patterns on woven or embroidered garments, which are impressively varied and spectacularly precise.

[30] This can be appreciated in the famous Vatican amphora (344), on which Achilles and Ajax are both shown wearing richly ornamented cloaks, with almost every element clearly visible and identifiable despite the small scale.

Musculature is deftly executed, as are details of hands, feet, and armor, and hair is precisely drawn with a series of lines that run exactly parallel and end in curls; the facial expressions of the two heroes are likewise perfectly accomplished, so as to indicate, within the conventions of black figure, the intense concentration as shown by the gaze of both players.