Looking at the Masters: Black Figure Vases (2024)

The Olympics began officially in 776 BCE, but games have been recorded as early as the 9th Century BCE. The Roman historian Dio Chrystostom (40-115 CE) wrote in the Rhodian Discourse, “You know that the Olympian crown is olive leaves, and yet many have preferred this honor to life itself, not because there is anything wonderful about the olive that grows there, because it is not given carelessly or for slight achievement.”

There were four games: the Olympic, the Nemean, the Isthmian, and the Pythian. One was held each year in a four-year cycle, and the same rules applied. Each game was dedicated to a male god. In 566 BCE, the Panathenaic games started in the city of Athens and honored Athena, the patron of the city. The events included sports competitions, banquets, processions, and there were contests in poetry and music. Olympic athletes received olive wreaths made from the olive tree of Zeus, and they were celebrated with life-size statues. At the Panathenaic game, winners received olive wreaths from Athena’s olive grove and a black-figure vases filled with olive oil.

After the unexplained decline in c.1100 BCE of the Minoan and the Mycenean civilizations, Greece went through a period of dark ages. The first major artistic development was vase painting, in what is called the Geometric period (c. 900 BCE). The clay around Athens was discovered to be excellent for pottery making. It contained iron oxide giving it an orange-red color with a sheen when it was fired.

Black Figure Geometric Krater (c.750-735 BCE) is a large two- handled vase. Such vases ranged from approximately fourteen to twenty-two inches in height. The vase was used to dilute wine with water. The period was named Geometric by art historians because the first vases were painted with complex geometric patterns. By 750 BCE, painters had added a row of female mourners with their hands on their heads, standing on either side of a coffin that included men and dogs. The lower row depicted warriors either marching or driving chariots and holding figure-eight shields. The figures were composed of simple geometric shapes. The subject came from the stories of the Greek gods and heroes, later written down by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey. Such elaborate funeral rites were given to Greek kings and warriors.

“Wrestling” (c.500 BCE) (Archaic period, c.700-480 BCE) (6.5’’x9’’) is a skypos (deep drinking cup), painted by the Theseus painter. Wrestling was very popular, and with the exception of biting and attacking the genitals, everything was legal. Snapping fingers, breaking arms, and breaking other bones was typical. Wrestlers were naked and covered with oil. Wrestling standing up was held in a sand filled pit, and one wrestler had to throw the other three times to be the winner. Ground wrestling was over when one man was so exhausted he quit.

Archaic vase painters have made significant strides in depicting the human body. Proportions improved, and knowledge of musculature is evident in this piece. The potter who made the vase was not the painter. The painter used slip, a mixture of clay and water, to paint. The color of the clay was orange/red as was the color of the slip. This meant the artist applied paint the same color as the vase. The muscles were articulated by incising lines. First, the kiln was heated to 800 degrees centigrade, and the vase remained orange/red. In the second stage, reduction, the kiln vents were closed, and the temperature increased to 950 degrees centigrade. The addition of green wood to the kiln created smoke, causing the vase to turn black. Finally, the vents were opened, and oxygen entered. The non-painted areas returned to orange/red, and the thicker painted areas remained black.

The trophies of the Panathenaea were amphorae filled with olive oil from Athena’s olive grove. Athena is shown on one side and the sport on the opposite side. “Two-horse Chariot Race” (c.510 BCE) (25’’) was by the Legos group painters. Athena, goddess of wisdom, war, and crafts, wears a helmet, brandishes a spear, and holds a shield depicting an image of Nike, the goddess of victory. On pedestals on either side are roosters, representing Athena’s war aspect, because roosters were combative. The skin of Athena and Nike is white, created by adding a white slip of kaolinite, a technique used sparingly in the Archaic period.

A two-horse chariot race is depicted on the opposite side. Two horse heads are visible, one parallel with the other. To make sure the horses were complete, the artist painted eight back and front legs.

“Four-horse Chariot Race” (c.410-400 BCE) is an amphora from the Panathenaea games. The painter made progress in the depiction of the driver and the horses. The details of the four horses are more realistic. The horses’ heads are incised to show eyes, mouths, ears, and main. Each has a bridle and breast plate which is decorated with white slip dots. The bearded charioteer is dressed in a white chiton and a leather belt. Two and four horse chariots raced12 laps which equaled 9 miles.

This race was the one event where a woman could win a trophy. Women, foreigners, and slaves were not allowed to participate in any form, even as members of the audience. However, wealthy women could sponsor a chariot and horses in the race, and could win. The law stated that women would be thrown off a cliff if they trespassed. Only the priestess of Demeter and her virgins were allowed to be present at the events.

The “Hoplitodromos” (c.323-322 BCE) (26”x33’’) is a Panathenaea amphora depicting the foot race, one of the essential elements of the games. The foot race, known as a stade, was one length of the stadium. Hoplites were the civilian soldiers who wore helmets and carried shields and spears into battle. The introduction of this special foot race for hoplites was a later development. The weight of the shield and sword was approximately 12 pounds.

“Music and Dance” (c.510 BCE) (13”) is a pelike wine jar with a depiction of two male dancers and a musician playing an aulos, a double reed, double piped instrument. The games included musical and poetic competitions. A man could win a prize by reciting a Homeric poem most rhapsodically. Rhapsodist was the Greek word for reciter of epic poetry. Singers were accompanied by the aulus or a lute. Drama contests also were held.

Plato described the importance of music in Republic : “The music master makes rhythm and harmony familiar to the souls of boys, and they become gentler and more refined and having more rhythm and harmony in them they become more efficient in speech and in action. The whole life of a man stands in need of good harmony and good rhythm…In keeping the harmony of his body in tune, his constant aim is to preserve the symphony which resides in the soul.”

“Discobolus” (c.510-500 BCE) (7.7’’) is an example of the development of red-figure vase painting in c.530 BCE. Reversing the process, the artists painted the background with slip. As a result, the figure appeared more human. The artist’s knowledge of anatomy had advanced. This artist created a composition using elegant curves that perfectly echo the circular shape of the stemmed drinking cup, a kylix. The inscription around the right edge of the kylix reads, “Cleomelos is beautiful.”

Looking at the Masters: Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years. Since retiring to Chestertown with her husband Kurt in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL and the Institute of Adult Learning, Centreville. An artist, she sometimes exhibits work at River Arts. She also paints sets for the Garfield Theater in Chestertown.