Greek Vase Painting Vase Shapes bell krater used

Greek Vase Painting

Vase Shapes “bell” krater used for mixing hydra used for water amphora used for wine

Vase Shapes (cont. ) kylix used for drinking wine at a symposium lekythos used for oil Click here for more on Greek vase shapes.

1 • • Geometric Krater by the Dipylon Master from the Dipylon Cemetery, Athens, GR ca. 740 BCE 3’ 4 1/2” high The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY Q 1. 1: Characterize the art of the Geometric period. Q 1. 2: What is the narrative on this krater? Q 1. 3: How is the human figure portrayed on the krater? Q 1. 4: What is ameander, and how is it used on this krater?

2 • • Françoise Vase (Attic black-figure volute krater) Kletias and Ergotimos from Chiusi, Italy ca. 570 BCE approx. 2’ 2” high Museo Archeologica, Florence, IT This krater is known as the “Francois Vase“. Q 2. 1: What narrative, if any, is represented on the krater

3 Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game (detail from black-figure amphora) from Vulci, Italy Exekias ca. 540 - 530 BCE whole vessel approx. 2’ high Vatican Museums, Rome, IT • • • Q 3. 1: How does this painting reveal Ajax and Achilles as great warriors? How does it humanize them? Q 3. 2: What kinds of weapons and armor did these great Greek warriors have at their disposal? Q 3. 3: Examine Exekias' Achilles and Queen Penthesilia. How does the portrayal of Achilles differ in this painting?

4 • Signature of Exekias black on red Louvre, Paris, FR 4. 1: This signature of Exeklias reads thus: “Exekias made me. ” (Note: The Greeks did not put spaces between their words, as we do in English. )

5 Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game (Attic bilingual amphora) from Orvietto, Italy Andokides Painter ca. 525 - 520 BCE black-figure side (left) red-figure side (right) approx. 1’ 9” high Museum of Fine Arts, Boston • • Definition: bilingual pottery Q 5. 1: What might account for the emergence of bilingual pottery? Q 5. 2: Why might an artist prefer the bilingual style? Q 5. 3: Eventually, the bilingual style becomes unfashionable. What might account for this?

6 Oedipus and the Sphinx Achilles Painter ca. 440 - 430 BCE red-figure amphora Staatliche Antikensammlugen, Munich, Germany • • Definitions: red-figure pottery Q 6. 1: The Achilles painter is considered to be one of the finest red-figure painters. What formal and content advancements does the red-figure style allow that the black-figure style doesn't?

Web Resources • Wikipedia's entry on Ancient Greek Pottery • The Beazley Archive: Classical Art Research Centre [Note: Beazley is known as the first significant scholar of Greek pottery after Wincklemann. ] • The Metropolitan Museum of Art's web page on Athenian pottery – both black- and red-figure pottery is discussed.