Connecting to the Hero: an Overall Analysis of an Attic Black-Figure Hydria Depicting Herakles’ Exploits
Paper IV
Connecting to the Hero:
An Overall Analysis of an Attic black-figure Hydria depicting Herakles’ Exploits
Ancient Greek vases attract us not only for their significant aesthetic and narrative appeals, but also for their value as bridges connecting today’s viewers to the ancient Greek world, an advanced civilization richly influenced by myths. My museum object, a late sixth century black-figured hydria that depicts the beginning and the end of exploits of the hero Herakles, is reflective of a major vase painting development and the rapid circulation of myths of Herakles in its period. In this paper, I am going to explore my vase in detail by placing it in its historical context with comparison to both textual and artistic sources, and by investigating the continuing influence of Herakles’ Labors beyond the ancient times.
My vase is made in approximately 520-510 BC, a crucial transitional period in Greek art when black-figure technique reaches its pinnacle and begins to be replaced by the red-figure technique. The overall high quality of black-figure painting of the period is visible in my vase through the vividly depicted figures and details such as the folds in clothes and the additional use of white and red colors for female skin and decorations. Specifically, my vase exemplifies the styles of the Antimenes Painter and that of the Leogros group, both are active in the last two decades of the sixth century. The Antimenes painter is the most prolific Attic artist who specializes in painting hydriae and neck amphorae at his time. His vases are identified by stylistic traits such as the primary picture on the front of the body, a subordinate one on the shoulder, the linear pattern at the bottom of the neck, the ivy pattern framing the body and the ray pattern at the predella. The artist has a special fondness for chariot processions and Herakles as subjects. One of his other hydriae closely resembles my object in terms of subject matter and
Connecting to the Hero:
An Overall Analysis of an Attic black-figure Hydria depicting Herakles’ Exploits
Ancient Greek vases attract us not only for their significant aesthetic and narrative appeals, but also for their value as bridges connecting today’s viewers to the ancient Greek world, an advanced civilization richly influenced by myths. My museum object, a late sixth century black-figured hydria that depicts the beginning and the end of exploits of the hero Herakles, is reflective of a major vase painting development and the rapid circulation of myths of Herakles in its period. In this paper, I am going to explore my vase in detail by placing it in its historical context with comparison to both textual and artistic sources, and by investigating the continuing influence of Herakles’ Labors beyond the ancient times.
My vase is made in approximately 520-510 BC, a crucial transitional period in Greek art when black-figure technique reaches its pinnacle and begins to be replaced by the red-figure technique. The overall high quality of black-figure painting of the period is visible in my vase through the vividly depicted figures and details such as the folds in clothes and the additional use of white and red colors for female skin and decorations. Specifically, my vase exemplifies the styles of the Antimenes Painter and that of the Leogros group, both are active in the last two decades of the sixth century. The Antimenes painter is the most prolific Attic artist who specializes in painting hydriae and neck amphorae at his time. His vases are identified by stylistic traits such as the primary picture on the front of the body, a subordinate one on the shoulder, the linear pattern at the bottom of the neck, the ivy pattern framing the body and the ray pattern at the predella. The artist has a special fondness for chariot processions and Herakles as subjects. One of his other hydriae closely resembles my object in terms of subject matter and
Bibliography: Beazley, J.D., 1986, The Development of Attic Black-Figure, University of California Press, Berkeley, L.A., London Carpenter, T.H., 1991, Art and Myth in Ancient Greece, Thames and Hudson Ltd, London Gantz, T., 1993, Early Greek Myth, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London Hesiod, Ehoiai Homer, Odyssey Robertson, M., 1992, The Art of Vase-Painting in Classical Athens, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge [ 10 ]. Gantz, 1986, pp.460 [ 11 ] [ 12 ]. Gantz, 1986, pp.461 [ 13 ] [ 16 ]. Carpenter, 1991, pp.120 [ 17 ] [ 18 ]. Gantz, 1993, pp. 461 [ 19 ] [ 20 ]. Carpenter, 1991, pp.117 [ 21 ] [ 22 ]. Apotheosis of Hercules, François Lemoyne, the ceiling of Salon d’Hercule, Palace of Versailles, 1733-1736