Bell-krater

This bell-krater, used for mixing wine and water at the Greek symposium, displays the story of Persephone's return to her mother, Demeter. Persephone steps up from Hades on the left, with Hermes standing back nearby. Hekate is in the center of the vase, lighting the journey with her two torches. Demeter stands at the far right, waiting for her daughter. The art on this vase is red figure, and the black background is identified as night-time by Hekate's large torches. Persephone's return from the underworld meant the return of spring and the growing season, so the story on this krater is rather important. 

An ornate border is above the figures, filled with what looks like leaves. Another more geometric border is below them, and it reminds me of a stone road or path on which the deities are standing. The figures' clothing is very detailed, with precise lines representing the folds. They are not stiff and regular like Archaic figures, the clothing falls more naturally, and Persephone and Hekate are caught mid-movement. The faces and anatomy of the figures have a much more Classical feel, and the krater dates back to 440B.C. It is simply attributed to "the Persephone Painter." I could find no actual artist name.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/28.57.23

Egypt Presentation

The presentation!

Pompeii

Call it morbid, but I've had a fascination with the disaster at the city of Pompeii ever since reading about it in a DK kids book about natural disasters at the age of seven. The fact that so many people were encased in ash, their last moments preserved in a mold, is so darkly poetic to me, I've always found it very interesting. That's why this article stood out to me so much. The article talks about an exhibit in the National Museum of Singapore that displays many artifacts from Pompeii and details life in the city before its ruin. The thing that caught my attention was the picture of the cast of a man's final moments. It's frightening, but something that sparks my interest, and if this exhibit comes to Nashville anytime soon, I WILL be seeing it. 

Pompeii on ArtDaily

The East Pediment

I chose to talk about a relatively small part of the Parthenon, the east pediment figures. There are nine surviving figures on the east pediment, including the two horses. The first horse is that of Helios, the sun god, while the horse on the right side is Selene's, the moon goddess. The central figures are missing, but were likely Zeus with his daughter Athena. The reclining male on the left side is either Herakles or Dionysos, the two seated women next to him are possible Demeter and Persephone, the earth and grain goddesses respectively. The next figure is Iris, a messenger of the gods. To the right of the missing central figures are likely Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love. 

The figures of the reclining Dione and Aphrodite are stunning to me. The folds of their dresses are so complicated and natural, clinging to the bodies of the two goddesses with surprising lightness. Their heads are missing, but you can still see that they look like they are just waking up and are very relaxed. These, like the other statues in the pediment, were once painted, which must have added to their lifelike nature. Though, at the height where they were situated, I wonder how much of the detail in these statues would have been visible.