Euthymides Belly Amphora

‘hos oudepote Euphronios ‘

overview

• 510 – 500 BC• Painter: Euthymides Potter: Unknown• Red Figure• Belly Amphora• Height – 60 cm• Pioneer group• Inscription telling us it’s his!

SIDE A SIDE B

The shape

• This vase is an belly amphora• It was supposedly invented by

the potter Exekias or maybe the Myceneans (debated)

• In proto-geometric period• Liquids: oil, wine, and honey• Large neck, belly almost as wide

as it is tall, continious line from mouth to foot & flat handles

Side AThis side is often referred to as the three revelers.

Shows three men returning from a symposium after a night of drinking

Komachos, Euedemos & Teles

Mood of frienze: Happy

Characters & Drinking

• Komachos is holding a Kanthraros or a drinking cup which shows that he has been drinking

• There are vine leaves around all of the mens heads – which represent alcohol (only really wine at that time)

• With the use of poses – Euthymides has captured the characters in a drunken dance

• Eroticism – penis’ are visible and the eyes of Teles and Euedemos are on the others mens junk.

• Also the scene depicts Teles reaching for Euedemos’ junk (with his hand), Euedemos reaching down for Komachos’ while Komachos seems to be trying to protect himself from the wandering hands of Teles and Euedemos.

Painting technique

• Red figure: was able to give more of an illusion of volume and depth compared to the flat black silhouette

• Detail: painted not incised. Continuous fluid lines, better able to give impression of volume

• Purple slip

• Dark & Dilute glaze are used to highlight major & minor muscles

CompositionBoarders: all around

Top: enclosed red figure palmettes

Sides: black figure linked to pomegranates

Bottom: stylized black figure buds

Ray bands

Black band: there are large bands above and below the scene, as an additional frame

Handles: flanged handles are decorated with ivy leaves

Walking stick: there is a slight interruption to the boarder

Shoulders: shoulder contours of figures follow shoulder contours of vase

Depth: there is no overlapping of the figures to suggest depth

Ground line: simple ground line suggest no depth

Painting style Komachos: stands in profile. His torso is at a ¾ angle

Euedemos: Unusual pose. Legs are profile, ¾ buttocks, full back view, face in profile. Not a stationary positiion

Anatomy: interest apparent in this scene. Studied live models and real world. New trend, poses are realistic

Lack of Depth: No overlapping. It’s no exploited in order to give depth to the scene

Poses: complex Naturalism: continuing interest in naturalism. Realistically moulded muscles.

Foreshortening: the feet and back of Euedemos

Teles: Top is in profile while bottom is frontal

Lack of Background: just glossy glaze

Drapery: purely decorative. Hangs in the same zigzag folds

Mood: clearly drunken revelry. Shown by high stepping. The drapery flows away from bodies to accentuate movement

Side BStory of King Priam, Prince Hector, and Queen Hecuba

Scene taken from Trojan war

Depicts the arming of Hector before his fight with Achilles, it is the final goodbye of parents and child, as Hector will die in this fight : (

Myth

Hector, son of King Priam of Troy, was the greatest of the Trojan warriors. He led the Trojans in the Trojan War, since Priam was too old to fight. Hector killed Patroclus, and Achilles met Hector in a crucial scene in “The Iliad”. Achilles killed Hector before dragging his body from the back of his chariot around Patroclus’ tomb, every day for 12 days. With Hector’s death, the fall of Troy was close at hand.

ContextCloaks: there are stiff folds in the cloak around King Priam’s back

Pose: Hector looks quite awkward – painted with frontal body but head and right leg are in profile

Foreshortening: Hectors foot

Loose chiton: zigzag bottom to the material

Inscription: between Priam & Hector: ‘Euthymides the son of Polias painted (me)’

Mood: Somber. King Priam watches and gives his son some advice (as shown through the movement of this fingers)

Hector strains as he puts on his armour showing the somber moment

Poses: Hector’s pose still looks unrealistic and awkward, but Euthymides is experimenting with foreshortening, and mixing frontal with profile figures.

Palmette

This palmette decorative band runs around the top of the frieze, but is interrupted by Hector’s raised helmet. This shows Euthymides’ skill in composition.

charactersKING PRIAM QUEEN HECUBA

Aged father, bald head, stubbly beard.

Wrapped up tightly in his cloak.

He holds a knobbed stick in his left hand

Right hand gesticulates to his son as if offering advice

Dressed in a long chiton, and himation

She holds Hector’s spear and is offering her son his helmet

His helmet his leaning against his mother

Helmet: interesting move – the raised helmet disrupts the upper band of decoration

Priam’s cloak is stiff and unrealistic vs. Queen Hecuba’s lose, flowing folds in her chiton

Hector & GearHector the protector, Hero of Troy

Greatest of all Trojan warriors in Homer’s Iliad. He killed many Greeks until finally being killed by Achilles

In process of putting on his leather corselet.

Assisted by parents

Straining to put on corselet – shows somber moment

Hero Shield: head of a satyr

Comparative composition

Both sides of the vase show 3 figures, a composition typical for Euthymides.

This provides a balance on both friezes, but also allows him to contrast different poses on either side.

Realism

This is a Red-Figure vase, so details are painted on, not incised. This allows the artist to show more complex poses and a more realistic scene is possible.Euthymides uses dilute slip to show the muscle groups. He even uses dark slip for major muscles, and lighter slip for small ones. The accuracy shown here suggests he actually observed live models. This was new!

Limitations

• No overlapping • There is no attempt at background, just black

glaze.• The figures stand on a single groundline,

giving no depth.• Red figure is far more capable of giving an

illusion of volume and depth than the flat silhouette of black figure, yet Euthymides does not exploit this.