L. D. Caskey, J. D. Beazley, Attic Vase Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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Volume i

PREFACE

The accompanying thirty plates are the first part of a publication planned to include eventually all the Attic vase paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts which deserve to be reproduced at their actual size. Black-figured paintings are not excluded by the title; but it is proposed to present first the more significant works of the century from 530 to 430 B.C. in which the red-figured style flourished at Athens. Since this is not a complete catalogue of the collection, it has seemed unnecessary to follow a rigid classification. But most of the sixty-five vases here illustrated in chronological sequence belong, from the point of view of style, to four clearly defined groups. Fifteen early archaic plates, cups, and lekythoi are reproduced on Plates I-IV and in figure 11. Plates VI-XIV are devoted to the Brygos painter and his school, including ten works of the master, three unpublished cups by the Foundry painter, and six school pieces. The group of the Villa Giulia painter is represented by two of his followers, the Chicago painter and the Euaion painter, the former by six vases, the latter by four (Plates XVI-XXI); all of these are here published for the first time. The only work in the Museum by the Villa Giulia painter himself is omitted because it is extensively repainted. Plates XXII-XXIX, with figures 41, 42, give seventeen vases of the group of the Achilles painter. These include three of his minor red-figured paintings and four of his white lekythoi, two paintings by the Dwarf painter, and three by the Phiale painter. An amphora by the Kleophrades painter (Plate V), two polychrome vases (Plate XV), and a lekythos by the Eretria painter (Plate XXX) have been added to complete the tale of plates. It is, I hope, unnecessary to add that these paintings have been selected for their intrinsic value, not because they have been attributed to this or that artist. No one will deny, however, that the appreciation of a work of art is increased by acquaintance with other closely related works. So, for example, each of the exquisite miniature drawings shown on Plate XVIII gains in interest when it is compared with its three companion-pieces on the same plate, with the pictures on Plates XVI-XVII, drawn by the same hand on a larger scale, and with the cups on Plates XIX-XXI, which are by a different artist of the same group.

The difficulty of reproducing the decoration of Attic vases in two dimensions is well known. Doubtless the best method is to give drawings supplemented by photographs of significant details. But competent draughtsmen are not easily found. Most of the illustrations on these plates are therefore photographic. The excellent drawings on Plates VI and XXX were made many years ago by the late F. Anderson. The rest of the drawings on the plates, as well as those reproduced in the text, have been made by myself. Their shortcomings are to some extent atoned for by the accompanying photographs. Some of the pictures are shown in two views; occasionally two or more photographs have been joined together. In a few cases I have strengthened the anatomical markings in pencil on the photographic prints. But otherwise the collotypes have been made directly from the original negatives and have not been subjected to any retouching which affects the pictures.

No one who works in this field at the present day can avoid being under a heavy obligation to Professor Beazley. But in this case my debt to him is so great that I have asked him to allow his name to appear on the title-page. He has encouraged me in the undertaking from the outset, and has supervised the preparation of the plates. I am responsible for the form of the text and, to a large extent, for its content; but before writing it I had the benefit of discussing every piece with him during two visits to Oxford, and I have incorporated in it much information derived from him. The attributions of [p. vi] paintings which are made here for the first time are all his, as well as most of those which have been proposed before. Besides furnishing a discussion of the pyxis no. 37 (Boston 98.887), and offering shorter comments, he has read the text both in manuscript and in proof, and has improved it in many ways.

I should like also to express here my gratitude to Mr. John Johnson, Printer of the University, for his valuable co-operation and for the friendly interest which he has taken in the publication.

CONTENTS

EARLY ARCHAIC PLATES, CUPS, AND LEKYTHOI

530-500 B.C.

PLATE	NO.
I	1	PLATE. HERAKLES AND KERBEROS.
	2	PLATE. TWO ATHLETES.
II	3	PLATE. NEREID.
	4	PLATE. CROUCHING SILEN.
III	5	KYLIX. SILEN BESTRIDING A WINE-SKIN.
	6	KYLIX. KNEELING SILEN.
	7	KYLIX. MENELAOS AND HELEN.
	8	KYLIX. ARCHER TESTING ARROW.
	9	KYLIX. CROUCHING WARRIOR.
	10	KYLIX. HORSEMAN.
	11	KYLIX. MAENAD.
	12	KYLIX. YOUTH AT LAVER.
	13	KYLIX. YOUTH RUNNING.
IV	14	LEKYTHOS. COWS LED TO SACRIFICE.
	15	LEKYTHOS. ATHLETES AND TRAINER. Figure 11, p. 12.

A WORK OF THE KLEOPHRADES PAINTER

About 500 B.C.

V

16

AMPHORA. ATHLETIC VICTOR AND FRIEND.

WORKS OF THE BRYGOS PAINTER AND HIS SCHOOL

490-470 B.C.

[p. viii]

VI	17	KANTHAROS. ZEUS PURSUING AEGINA; ZEUS PURSUING GANYMEDE.
VII	18	SKYPHOS. ATHLETES PRACTISING WITH JUMPING-WEIGHTS.
VIII	19	AMPHORA. CITHARA-PLAYER AND LISTENER.
	20	SMALL OINOCHOE. YOUTH DANCING AND GIRL FLUTING.
IX	21	LEKYTHOS. EROS FLYING WITH FILLET.
	22	HORSE-HEAD RHYTON. SILENS AND MAENAD.
	23	KYLIX. KOMAST VOMITING.
	24	KYLIX. YOUTH FLUTING.
	25	PART OF HANDLE OF KYLIX. SIGNATURE OF BRYGOS.
X	26	KYLIX. APOLLO RUNNING.
X	27	KYLIX. SILEN.
	28	KYLIX. ATHLETE WITH DOG.
	29	LEKYTHOS. WOMAN WORKING WITH WOOL.
	30	LEKYTHOS. MAENAD.
XI	31	KYLIX. ARMING SCENES.
XII	32	KYLIX. SYMPOSIUM.
XIII	33	KYLIX. SILENS AND MAENADS.
	34	KYLIX. PALAESTRIC SCENES. Figures 25, 26, pp. 30, 31.
XIV	35	KYLIX. PHANAS AND EMPEDION. HECTOR PURSUED BY ACHILLES ROUND THE WALLS OF TROY.

TWO POLYCHROME VASES

460-450 B.C.

XV	36	COVERED KYLIX. APOLLO AND A MUSE.
	37	PYXIS. A COWHERD AND SIX MUSES.

WORKS OF THE GROUP OF THE VILLA GIULIA PAINTER

About 450 B.C.

XVI	38	STAMNOS. WOMEN AT A FESTIVAL OF DIONYSOS.
XVII	39	STAMNOS. KOMOS.
XVIII	40	OINOCHOE. SILEN AND MAENAD.
	41	OINOCHOE. GREEK AND PERSIAN IN COMBAT.
	42	OINOCHOE. TWO YOUTHS AND DOG.
	43	OINOCHOE. KOMASTS.
XIX	44	KYLIX. MEN AND YOUTHS.
XX	45	KYLIX. REVELLERS.
XXI	46	KYLIX. SILENS AND MAENADS.
	47	SMALL OINOCHOE. SILEN DANCING. Figure 31, p. 43.

WORKS OF THE ACHILLES PAINTER AND HIS GROUP

460-430 B.C.

XXII	48	LEKYTHOS. ZEUS PURSUING AEGINA.
	49	LEKYTHOS. THE DEATH OF ORPHEUS.
XXIII	50	KALYX-KRATER. ZEUS PURSUING AEGINA. On the reverse, A MAN, Figure 32, Suppl. Plate 2.
	51	AMPHORA. OEDIPUS AND THE SPHINX. On the reverse, A YOUTH, Figure 33, Suppl. Plate 2.
XXIV	52	WHITE LEKYTHOS. WOMAN AND GIRL.
	53	WHITE LEKYTHOS. WOMAN AND GIRL.
XXV	54	WHITE LEKYTHOS. TWO WOMEN.

[p. ix]

XXV	55	WHITE LEKYTHOS. TWO WOMEN AT TOMB.
XXVI		THE LEKYTHOI Nos. 48, 49, 52, 53.
	56	LEKYTHOS. YOUTH AND WOMAN AT STELE.
	57	LEKYTHOS. YOUTH AND WOMAN AT STELE.
XXVII	58	HYDRIA. THE FAREWELL OF AMPHIARAOS.
	59	PELIKE. YOUTH ATTENDED BY DWARF WITH DOG. On the reverse, A SECOND YOUTH.
XXVIII	60	WHITE LEKYTHOS. YOUTH AND WOMAN AT STELE.
	61	WHITE LEKYTHOS. MAN AND WOMAN AT STELE.
XXIX	62	PHIALE. MEN ENTERTAINED BY WOMEN.
	63	PELIKE. ACTORS DRESSING. On the reverse, A MAN, Figure 40, Suppl. Plate 2.
	64	AMPHORA. MAN AND WOMAN AT ALTAR. On the reverse, A WOMAN. Figures 41, 42, Suppl. Plate 3.

A WORK IN THE MANNER OF THE ERETRIA PAINTER

About 430 B.C.

XXX

65

SQUAT LEKYTHOS. THESEUS IN COMBAT WITH AMAZONS.

Cross references from Lisa M. Cerrato, Robert F. Chavez, Perseus Classics Collection: An Overview:
1

This text is based on the following book(s):
OCLC: 27475283