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The oinochoe by the Shuvalov Painter in the collection of Antikensammlung Berlin (inventory number F 2414) is an erotic depiction from ancient Greek vase painting.
The rather small oinochoe was found in Locri, in southern Italy. The clay jug is covered with a highly glossy black clay slip almost in its entirety, thus rendering the single small painted red-figure scene particularly striking. It is positioned on the upper part of the vessel's body, directly opposite the handle.
The image depicts a young man and a girl or woman immediately before sexual intercourse. The youth of the man is clearly indicated by his long curls hanging by his temple and neck. He is seated, tightly squeezed into a leather chair, his hands holding onto the seat. His cloak has been pulled down, covering only his legs. His legs are pressed together and outstretched; his clearly visible erect penis shows that he is ready for union with the female. It seems clear that the initiative lies with the woman who is depicted totally nude, with the exception of a broad hair band. She is holding onto the chair's backrest, her right leg is lifted up, indicating that as the next step she is about to sit on the man's lap. The fact that their gazes meet and their heads touch indicates a connection, even intimacy or tenderness, which may be somewhat unexpected in such a scene. The known norms and conventions of Athenian society suggest that she must be a common prostitute or, at best, a hetaera .[ citation needed ] An honourable Athenian citizen woman would never be depicted in such a fashion, further, she would not be permitted to take the initiative in a sexual relationship with a man. Thus, the scene ought to be set in a brothel, or, perhaps more likely, at a symposium.[ original research? ] The tense posture and shy look of the young man have been suggested to imply that he is sexually inexperienced, perhaps even that the scene depicts his first introduction to heterosexual activity.
For stylistic reasons, the oinochoe is attributed to the Shuvalov Painter, who ran a workshop in Athens between 440 and 410 BC. The vase is dated to 430, at the latest 420, BC. It is very well preserved, only on the lip and handle is some of the glossy slip missing, as is a small part of its base. The particular shape is quite rare. The vessel is 19 cm high and has a diameter of 15.5 cm (without the handle). It was acquired for the Antikensammlung in 1828, from a collector called "von Koller". At present, it is on display at Antikensammlung exhibition in the Altes Museum, in case 17,3 (section Fest und Gelage – "feast and symposium"). Because of its fine painting and high quality, the vase is one of the most frequently illustrated works of Greek vase painting [1]
Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic, is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although there are specimens dating as late as the 2nd century BCE. Stylistically it can be distinguished from the preceding orientalizing period and the subsequent red-figure pottery style.
Red-figure pottery is a style of ancient Greek pottery in which the background of the pottery is painted black while the figures and details are left in the natural red or orange color of the clay.
The Altes Museum is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. Built between 1825 and 1830 by order of King Frederick William III of Prussia according to plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, it is considered a major work of German Neoclassical architecture. It is surrounded by the Berlin Cathedral to the east, the Berlin Palace to the south and the Zeughaus to the west. Currently, the Altes Museum houses the Antikensammlung and parts of the Münzkabinett. As part of the Museum Island complex, the Altes Museum was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, in recognition of its testimony to the development of the museum as a social and architectural phenomenon.
The Berlin Painter is the conventional name given to an Attic Greek vase-painter who is widely regarded as among the most talented vase painters of the early 5th century BC. There are no painter signatures on any of the Berlin Painter's attributed works. From the surviving vases, it is safe to assume that he was a major painter, there are over 400 vases and fragments attributed to him.
Lydos was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style. Active between about 560 and 540 BC, he was the main representative of the "Lydos Group". His signature, ό Λυδός, ho Lydos, inscribed on two vases, is informative regarding the cultural background of the artist. Either he immigrated to Athens from the Lydian Empire of King Kroisos, or he was born in Athens as the son of Lydian parents. In any case, he learned his trade in Athens.
Epiktetos was an Attic vase painter in the early red-figure style. Besides Oltos, he was the most important painter of the Pioneer Group. He was active between 520 BC and 490 BC. His name translates as "newly acquired", which is most probably a reference to his slave status.
The Amasis Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter who worked in the black-figure technique. He owes his name to the signature of the potter Amasis, who signed twelve works painted by the same hand. At the time of the exhibition, "The Amasis Painter and His World" (1985), 132 vases had been attributed to this artist.
The Antikensammlung Berlin is one of the most important collections of classical art in the world, now held in the Altes Museum and Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. It contains thousands of ancient archaeological artefacts from the ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Cypriot civilizations. Its main attraction is the Pergamon Altar and Greek and Roman architectural elements from Priene, Magnesia, Baalbek and Falerii. In addition, the collection includes a large number of ancient sculptures, vases, terracottas, bronzes, sarcophagi, engraved gems and metalwork.
The Pan Painter was an ancient Greek vase-painter of the Attic red-figure style, probably active c. 480 to 450 BC. John Beazley attributed over 150 vases to his hand in 1912:
Cunning composition; rapid motion; quick deft draughtsmanship; strong and peculiar stylisation; a deliberate archaism, retaining old forms, but refining, refreshing, and galvanizing them; nothing noble or majestic, but grace, humour, vivacity, originality, and dramatic force: these are the qualities which mark the Boston krater, and which characterize the anonymous artist who, for the sake of convenience, may be called the 'master of the Boston Pan-vase', or, more briefly, 'the Pan-master'.
The Eretria Painter was an ancient Greek Attic red-figure vase painter. He worked in the final quarter of the 5th century BC. The Eretria Painter is assumed to have been a contemporary of the Shuvalov Painter; he is considered one of the most interesting painters of his time. Many of his best works are painted on oinochoai and belly lekythoi. His paintings often depict many figures, moving in groups across all available surfaces. He also painted such vessels as figure-shaped vases or head-shaped kantharoi. Even as the vase shapes he painted on are unusual, his themes are conventional: athletes, satyrs and maenads, and mythological scenes. There are also some careful studies of women. He also painted white-ground vases. A lekythos in New York shows a funeral scene, typical of white-ground painting: Achilles is mourning Patroclus; the nereids bring him new weapons. The Eretria Painter's drawing style influenced later artists, e.g. the Meidias Painter and his school.
The Shuvalov Painter was an Attic vase painter of the red-figure style, active between 440 and 410 BC, i.e. in the High Classical period in Magna Graecia.
The Berlin Foundry Cup is a red-figure kylix from the early 5th century BC. It is the name vase of the Attic vase painter known conventionally as the Foundry Painter. Its most striking feature is the exterior depiction of activities in an Athenian bronze workshop or foundry. It is an important source on ancient Greek metal-working technology.
The Darius Painter was an Apulian vase painter and the most eminent representative at the end of the "Ornate Style" in South Italian red-figure vase painting in Magna Graecia. His works were produced between 340 and 320 BC.
The Arkesilas Painter was a Laconian vase painter active around 560 BC. He is considered one of the five great vase painters of Sparta.
The Berlin glass amphora from Olbia is a Hellenistic glass vessel in the shape of an amphora, which is now kept in the Antikensammlung Berlin. Presumably the glass amphora was commissioned by a rich citizen of the city of Olbia, where it was later found, in the second half of the second century. The uniquely shaped vessel was donated to the collection, with some other glass vessels, by Friedrich Ludwig von Gans in 1912 and is now displayed in the Altes Museum with the inventory number 30219, 254. It is, to date, the largest known piece of its kind - and one of the best preserved.
The statuette of Aphrodite known as Aphrodite Heyl in the Antikensammlung Berlin is an especially finely worked terracotta statue from the second century BC.
The Fragment from the tomb of Nikarete from the third quarter of the fourth century BC, found near Athens is displayed today in the Antikensammlung of the Altes Museum in Berlin.
The Neck Amphora by Exekias is a neck amphora in the black figure style by the Attic vase painter and potter Exekias. It is found in the possession of the Antikensammlung Berlin under the inventory number F 1720 and is on display in the Altes Museum. It depicts Herakles' battle with the Nemean lion on one side and the sons of Theseus on the other. The amphora could only be restored for the first time almost a hundred and fifty years after its original discovery due to negligence and political difficulties.
The statue of Pericles with the Corinthian Helmet is a lost, life-sized statue of the Athenian statesman and general Pericles. Today, only some of the base survives. Four Roman Imperial-era marble busts modelled after the head of the statue are known.
The Green Caesar is a portrait of Gaius Julius Caesar made of green slate kept in the Antikensammlung Berlin, which was probably made in the first century AD.