1. Introduction: What is Greek painting? (Sept. 2)
2. Overview: What are Greek Vases? (Sept. 7)
Reading: Robertson and Beard, Looking at Greek Vases ch. 1 (2 articles)
3. How to do research on Greek vases (Sept. 9)
Reading: Kurtz, "Beazley and the Connoisseurship of Greek Vases" (xerox)
4. Pots and Potters (Sept. 12)
Reading: Hemelrijk in Looking at Greek Vases.
*Arafat and Morgan, "Pots and Potters in Athens and Corinth: a review"
*Webster, Potter and Patron in Classical Athens
5. Techniques of vase painting (Sept. 14)
Reading: Noble, Techniques of Attic Painted Pottery 10-36, 99-121.
*Richter, The Craft of Athenian Pottery
6. Geometric Painting (Sept. 16)
Reading: Coldstream in Looking at Greek Vases.
*Hurwit, Art and Culture of Early Greece ch. 1-3 over the next week or so.
7. Uses of Greek Vases (Sept. 19)
Reading: City of Images ch. 1.
Lissarague, Aesthetics of the Greek Banquet ch. 1-2.
8. The Rise of the Pictorial Tradition (Sept. 21)
Reading: Carter, "The Beginnings of Narrative Art in the Geometric Period" (xerox)
9. Orientalizing Painting (Sept. 23)
Reading: Hurwit, Art and Culture ch. 4, esp. 125-135, 150-179.
*Morris, Daidalos pp. 124-149.
10. Mythology in Greek Painting: Introduction (Sept. 26)
Reading: Carpenter, Art and Myth in Ancient Greece ch. 2
Goldhill and Osborne, Art and Text in Ancient Greek Culture 1-11
11. Corinth and the Development of Black Figure (Sept. 28)
Reading: Rasmussen, in Looking at Greek Vases.
12. Archaic Monumental Painting (Sept. 30)
Reading: Pemberton, "The Beginnings of Monumental Painting in Mainland Greece"
13. Trade in Greek Vases (Oct. 3)
Findspots of Greek vases assignment due
Reading: articles by Spivey and Johnston in Looking at Greek Vases.
*Boardman, "The Athenian Pottery Trade. The Classical Period" (xerox)
14. Athenian Black Figure: Sophilos (Oct. 5)
Reading: Robertson, "The State of Attic Vase-Painting in the Mid-Sixth
Century," in Papers on the Amasis Painter and his World.
Williams, "Sophilos in the British Museum"
15. The Francois Vase (Oct. 7)
Reading: Beazley, Development ch. 3.
*Stewart, "Stesichoros and the Francois Vase," in Ancient Greek Art and
Iconography.
16. Exekias and the Amasis Painter (Oct. 10)
Exekias and Amasis assignment due
Reading: Mary B. Moore, "The Amasis Painter and Exekias: Approaches to
Narrative," in Papers on the Amasis Painter and his World.
*Stewart, "Narrative, Genre and Realism in the Work of the Amasis Painter,"
in Papers on the Amasis Painter and his World.
*Beazley, Development ch. 5-6.
17. Later Attic Black Figure (Oct. 12)
Reading: Beazley, Development ch.7
18. Politics and Greek Vase Painting (Oct. 14)
Reading: Boardman, "Herakles, Peisistratos and Sons"
Moon, "The Priam Painter" in Ancient Greek Art and Iconography
*Boardman, "Herakles, Peisistratos and the Unconvinced"
Midterm (Oct. 17)
19. Black into Red (Oct. 19)
Reading: Hurwit, Art and Culture of Early Greece ch. 6, pp. 273-292
*Robertson, Art of Vase-Painting in Classical Athens ch. 1.
20. Early Red Figure: The Pioneers (Oct. 21)
Reading: Robertson, Art of Vase-Painting in Classical Athens ch. 2.
21. Love and Marriage (Oct. 24)
Reading: Oakley and Sinos, The Wedding in Ancient Athens ch. 6: "Images of
the Wedding"
22. The Kleophrades Painter and the Berlin Painter (Oct. 26)
Reading: Robertson, Art of Vase-Painting in Classical Athens ch. 3, pp. 56-83.
* Padgett, essay on the Kleophrades Painter in Perseus (try Other Essays
from the Gateway).
23. Early Red Figure Cup Painters: the Brygos Painter and Douris (Oct. 28)
Reading: Buitron, essay on Douris in Perseus
*Robertson, Art of Vase-Painting pp. 84-106.
24. The Beginning of the Classical Tradition (Oct. 31)
Reading: Hurwit, Art and Culture 336-355.
Robertson, Art of Vase-Painting ch. 4, pp. 133-139.
*___ in Greek Art: Archaic into Classical
25. Religion and Sacrifice (Nov. 2)
Reading: City of Images ch. 4.
26. "Mannerist" Vase Painters (Nov. 4)
Reading: Robertson Art of Vase-Painting 143-152.
*Beazley, entry for Boston 10.185 in Caskey-Beazley (also in Perseus).
27. Early Classical Wall Painting: Polygnotos and Contemporaries (Nov. 7)
Reading: Pollitt, The Art of Ancient Greece: Sources and Documents (on
reserve for AH201) 126-145.
*Stansbury-O'Donnell, "Polygnotos's Iliupersis: A New Reconstruction" (xerox)
*Stansbury-O'Donnell, "Polygnotos's Nekuia: A Reconstruction and Analysis"
(xerox)
28. Classical Vase and Monumental Wall Painting: the Niobid Painter (Nov. 9)
Reading: Robertson, Art of Vase Painting pp. 180-185.
*Barron, "New Light on Old Walls" (xerox)
*McNiven, "Odysseus on the Niobid Krater" (xerox)
29. Classical Red-Figure cont.: Polygnotos and his Group (Nov. 11)
Reading: Matheson, essay on the Group of Polygnotos in Perseus
30. Athletics in Greek Painting (Nov. 14)
Reading: Neils, "The Panathenaia: an Introduction" and "Panathenaic
Amphoras: Their Meaning, Makers and Markets," in Neils, ed.,Goddess and
Polis.
31. White Ground Vases: the Sotades Painter and others (Nov. 16)
Reading: Robertson, Art of Vase Painting 185-190.
32. White Ground Vases: Lekythoi (Nov. 18)
Preliminary draft of paper due: copies for NC and all group members
Reading: Oakley, essay on the Achilles Painter in Perseus
33. Death on Greek Vases (Nov. 21)
Reading: Vermeule, Aspects of Death ch. 1: "Creatures of the Day"
34. Late Classical Vase Painting (Nov. 23)
Comments on your peer's paper drafts due back in class before Thanksgiving!
(now you know how I feel)
Reading: Burn "Later Fifth-Century" in Looking at Greek Vases
35. Women and Daily Life in Greek Vase Painting (Nov. 28)
Reading: Dyfri Williams, "Women on Athenian vases: problems of
interpretation" (xerox)
Berard, "The Order of Women," in City of Images.
*Eva Keuls, "Attic Vase Painting and the Home Textile Industry," in Moon,
Ancient Greek Art and Iconography.
36. Vases and Metalwork (Nov. 30)
Reading: Vickers, "Artful Crafts: the influence of metalwork on Athenian
painted pottery" (xerox).
Cook, "'Artful Crafts': A Commentary" (xerox).
*Boardman, "Silver is White" (xerox).
*Gill and Vickers, "Pots and Kettles" (xerox).
37. 4th Century Athenian Vases (Dec. 2)
Reading: Robertson, Art of Vase-Painting ch. 9
38. Chronology of Greek Vase and Wall Painting (Dec. 5)
Reading: Francis and Vickers, "Leagros Kalos" (xerox)
Cook, "The Francis-Vickers Chronology" (xerox)
*Francis and Vickers, "Signa priscae artis: Eretria and Siphnos" (xerox)
39. Monumental Painting of Macedonia (Dec. 7)
Reading: Andronikos, Vergina 86-95.
*Pollitt, Art in the Hellenistic Age (on reserve for AH201) ch. 9.
*von Blankenhagen, "Painting in the Time of Alexander and Later" and
*Yalouris, "Painting in the Age of Alexander the Great and the Successors"
both in Macedonia and Greece in Late Classical and Early Hellenistic Times
40. Vase Painting in South Italy and Sicily (Dec. 9)
PAPER DUE
Reading: essays by Trendall, Schmidt and Noble in The Art of South Italy .
*Trendall, Red Figure Vases of South Italy and Sicily ch. 1-2, 8 and generally.
41. Drama in Greek Painting (Dec. 12)
Trendall, "Farce and Tragedy in South Italian Vase-Painting" in Looking at
Greek Vases
42. Narrative in Greek vase painting (Dec. 14)
Reading: Snodgrass, An Archaeology of Greece ch. 5 (xerox).
Meyboom, "Some Observations on Narration in Greek Art"
These projects are intended to acquaint you with some of the resources and methods for doing research on Greek painting. One of the most exciting of these is Perseus, very recently installed at the University of Wisconsin. This is best accessible from the computer laboratory in Room 140 Memorial Library. See the handout "Perseus Overview" for instructions on starting Perseus and loading paths; remember to read the News when you start Perseus, and look at the news for AH 301. More recent updates of Perseus documentation will be found on the server, on the disk PERSEUS_DISK_1 in the Documentation folder; feel free to print these out as you need them. All students in a group should take a turn at using the database, so you all get familiar with it. It would be good to come back and try it on your own at some time. If you have trouble, see me or Dena Gilby. You may turn in your assignment in writing, or you can create a path and turn that in. If you write something, make sure to answer the questions in the assignment. To make a new path, follow the instructions in the documentation. Name your path with your name and "project 1." Fill in the Path Notes windows extensively to tell me what is important, informative, interesting about this location. What does it tell you about your chosen vase shape? What do you conclude from this information? To turn in a path, you can either give me a copy of the floppy disk or you can email the file to me. You should all have email accounts: you're already paying for them in your tuition. Start Eudora, the campus email program -- it's on all the Macs in the labs. Begin a new message, put my address in the "To:" box (it's ndcahill@facstaff.wisc.edu), type "Vase shapes assignment" or something equally creative in the "Subject" box. You don't have to write a real message. Instead, choose "Attach Document" in the Message menu. It will prompt you for a document; choose your path stack. Press "Send" to send it to me. I will be available in the lab in 140 Memorial for a couple hours this week, on Thursday Sept. 8 from 12-2 and Friday Sept. 9 from 3-5.
1. Follow the path called "Greek Vase Shapes" in the Path stack called "AH 301 Paths". This will serve as an introduction to the different resources of Perseus, and give you a sense of how to navigate through this sometimes confusing mass of information. If you are taking the course for four credits, do the Extra Credit section at the end, which will introduce you to some of the tools for working with the Greek texts.
2. Choose one of the following vase shapes: aryballos, skyphos, lekythos, krater, and explore this type of vase using Perseus.
a. What was the shape used for? Did it have more than one possible use? What other shapes could be used for the same purposes?
b. How many different varieties of this shape are there? (e.g. for amphoras there are neck amphoras, belly amphoras, Type A amphoras, etc.) Give names of these varieties.
c. Find images of your shape in vase paintings. What are they being used for? How are they shown? Are the depictions similar to real vases of the same period?
d. When were the vases made? When are they most popular? Hints: try the Encyclopedia, subject index s.v. Vase Shapes; the browser and thumbnail browser; the English Index. Don't rely on just one source like the Encyclopedia; look at the vases and images!
a. Follow the path called "Symposia."
b. Find five more vases, not illustrated in this path, which show a range of the kinds of activities which went on in a symposium. What shapes are they? When were they painted? (You will probably want to look for not just symposia, but komos, flute-girls, dancing, musical performances, etc. You could also look for furniture used at a symposium: couches (called a kline in Greek), cushions, kraters, amphoras, etc.)
c. Plato and Xenophon both wrote Socratic dialogs called The Symposium. Read through these, or parts of them, to get at least a flavor for what they describe. How does their description differ from that of the vases?
d. Neither Plato nor a vase painter is giving an "accurate" description of a typical Greek symposium: both have their own agenda. What is the agenda of a vase painter? Why would he choose to depict these parties the way he does?
e. When were such vases most popular? Consider the periods 600-550, 550-500, 500-450, 450-400. Using the browser, look at the relative popularity of symposium-related iconography in Greek vase painting. What might account for these patterns?
To be posted in Perseus News.
Where were most vases represented in Perseus found? In the browser, choose Vases at the upper left and Context from the popup menu in the upper center. The scrolling field at the top which lists the sites will then tell you how many vases in Perseus were found at each site. You can save the list by pressing the "List to Search Saver" button at the upper right side of the browser; this will load the list into the Search Saver palette. If you wish to copy the list to a word processing document or elsewhere, you should save it to your notebook: use the "Search Saver to Notebook" menu item under the Perseus menu. This will paste the list into a new page of your notebook. You can then select, copy and paste it into a word processor or elsewhere. To plot the sites on the Atlas, click on the site in the Search Saver palette. This will bring up the "Enter Destination..." dialog box with the name of the site already typed in, and a list of alternate names for the site on the left and a list of locations where you could learn about the site on the right. For most sites, one location will be the Atlas; click on the word Atlas and Perseus will plot the site on the atlas. There are a lot of sites - plot the ones where significant numbers of vases were found. Try the same thing but choosing "Regions" instead of "Context" in the browser. This is a more general category, grouping sites into regions which more or less parallel ancient divisions. Are the patterns clearer? (I hope that by the time you do this, the atlas will be able to plot regions; this is still under construction). What possible explanations are there for these patterns? What does the findspot of a vase imply? What conclusions could you make about the uses of Greek vases from their findspots? Be explicit about what assumptions you make. What more would you want to know in order to generalize from them? If you want to go further, divide the vases chronologically. Try to give numbers for vases of the Geometric, Archaic, and Classical periods. You can do all this with the browser, although you may have to work at it.
This is primarily a bibliographic assignment. Using ABV, Paralipomena and the Beazley Addenda, track down and consider the vases attributed to and signed by these painters.
1. What shapes did they each favor? Make a table of frequencies.
2. What kinds of subjects did they paint?
3. Look at the vases in Perseus and in Arias and Hirmer's splendidly illustrated book on Greek vase painting. How would you compare their compositions? What narrative and compositional techniques do they use? How would you characterize the differences between their works?
This course will examine the remains of ancient Greek painting from the Geometric period (ca. 800 BC) until the late 4th century BC. We will look at the rather scanty remains of monumental wall painting in Greece and adjacent areas, and at the more plentiful "paintings" preserved on Greek vases. We will try to look at these paintings, and the vases and monuments they were painted on, in a variety of ways: from a historical viewpoint, following the development of the art forms; from a social viewpoint, trying to place the works of art in a more general context of Greek life; from a methodological viewpoint, examining how scholars have approached the works, what sources are available and how different people have used them. There will be three lectures a week, one midterm and a final. The final will concentrate on the second half of the course, but there will be overview questions addressing the course as a whole. In addition, there will assigned readings both in the books required for the course and in books and articles on reserve in Kohler library. A binder of articles will be on reserve in Kohler.
There are no prerequisites to this course. The course is open to both undergraduates (freshmen and sophomores are particularly welcome), but graduate credit will be granted. Graduate students will be expected to do the additional readings, participate in discussions more fully, and write more detailed and professional papers.
The only required book for this course is Rasmussen & Spivey, Looking at Greek Vases. Robertson's Art of Vase-Painting in Classical Athens is highly recommended, and readings from this book will be assigned. In addition there will be readings of articles and book chapters on reserve in Kohler Art Library.
In the first part of the course there will be four short weekly assignments, which must be completed and returned in order to pass the class. Some of these assignments will use Perseus, the computer database of Greek art and culture available in the Memorial library InfoLab (see handout). These are mandatory, and must be completed and handed in before class on the day they are due. For these assignments you can work in groups; students will be divided up into groups early in the semester. They shouldn't take more than an hour or two to complete. Late assignments will not be accepted. A project assistant, Dena Gilby, will be available to help at certain hours, and I will be available to help as well. The assignments are primarily looking rather than reading exercises, using primary materials - photographs and descriptions of the vases themselves - rather than secondary sources. You should look at the vases, read the descriptions, search the database, compare with other vases, but with the exception of the last assignment, you will need not do a lot of secondary research beyond the assigned readings, which will tend to be relevant to the project at hand.
After these introductory exercises, you will begin to work on a research paper, using skills and knowledge gained in the assignments. You should plan to begin this no later than the midterm. This paper will be developed in a series of stages, which will be read and critiqued along the way, to produce a polished and well-crafted essay. A proposal is due Oct. 24, outlining your topic, the issues you propose to discuss, and with a preliminary bibliography. A draft of the paper is due Nov. 18. This will be xeroxed and read and critiqued by the other members of the group you worked with at the beginning of the term, as well as by me. I will also look at your reviews of your fellow students' papers. You will thus get the comments of a variety of readers. The papers must be read, commented on and returned by Nov. 23. You can then revise the paper and do further research. It will be due on Dec. 9. You may write your paper in one of two ways: as a detailed study of a particular object in the Elvehjem, or as a research paper into a general topic of Greek painting.
1. You may write an extensive catalog of one of the unpublished or little-published vases in the Elvehjem Museum. We have some fine objects, which are worthy of real study. The vases include:
68.14.2, Neck amphora by the Euphiletos Painter
63.10.2, amphora, Circle of the Antimenes Painter
1985.99, Tyrrhenian amphora by the Goltyr Painter
1983.6, hydria attributed to the Chiusi Painter
69.31.1, krater by a follower of the Niobid Painter
Please do not choose one of the vases already published by Warren Moon. As a model for such a catalog entry, look at Caskey and Beazley's Catalog of Attic Vase Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Warren Moon's Greek Vases in Midwesern Collections. (Both catalogs are in Perseus; Caskey-Beazley has its own stack, accessible under Essays). Read large parts of these catalogs carefully, noting in particular what the authors take for granted that the readers know, what audience they presume, and the conventions (sometimes rather idiosyncratic) for writing such catalog entries. Beazley's entries in particular are masterly. Your paper should address issues of shape, function, attribution, and iconography, and should include significant and informative parallels for as many of these as possible. If the vase depicts a mythological scene, you can use Perseus and LIMC to find parallels both literary and artistic. You should also use the vase as a springboard for larger issues: for instance, the krater by a follower of the Niobid Painter depicts a man ("Theseu") pursuing a woman ("Helen"). Such pursuit scenes are fairly common, and there is a significant and interesting bibliography on their interpretation. Your essay should be
addressed at a fairly speciazed audience: assume that the reader is familiar in general with Greek vases, as Beazley and Moon do, and show how this vase is typical, how this vase is special.
2. Consider a more general topic on Greek painting and write a carefully researched essay. The topic may be a painter, a group of vases, an iconographic theme, another major monument such as one of the wall paintings we will study, a chronological issue, or the like. If you choose this route you must see me before starting. It is essential that you do not choose a topic that is so vast that you cannot possibly do a careful job with it. You should be prepared to do significant bibliographic research and also to work with primary sources, both artistic and literary.
The research paper need not offer major new insights into ancient art history. It will be judged on how well you have researched the topic, how well you understand the original works of art and their historical and social contexts, and how critically you have read other people's work. It should be an analysis of a work of art, an iconographic theme, an issue of Greek art, rather than a synthesis of other scholars' work on the subject. You should look for a variety of sources, and read them with a critical eye, remembering that none of it is the word of God. This is very important.
The paper should be 5 to 7 double-spaced pages in length. It will not be judged on quantity but on quality: it should be carefully researched, proofread, distilled and polished. Consider how much learning and insight Beazley is able to condense into a single short catalog entry, and try to emulate this. (Please make your references more complete than Beazley's, however).
Remember that much of the most interesting scholarship is not written in books but in articles, Festschriften (volumes of essays written in honor of some bigwig's 70th birthday or whatever), conference proceedings and the like. These can be hard to uncover: NLS for instance doesn't index articles or essays, but only the book or journal in which they are published. If you search for a subject only on NLS you'll probably miss the best writings. Much of the value of these research papers comes from learning to do research, to use a library and track down interesting information. Whichever paper topic you choose, I will expect you to track down and read the most recent relevant discussions.
Useful sources of bibliography include the Archaologische Bibliographie of the German Archaeological Institute (Memorial Library Reference Room 262, Z5132 A67) and L'Annee Philologique (Memorial Library Greek and Latin Room 424, Z7016 M35 A; ask for the key to this room at Circulation). Much of the contents of the Archaologische Bibliographie are now on-line on DYABOLA, a computer database soon to be available at Memorial Library. These are annual lists of all the literature on Classical subjects published that year, including articles, catalogs, book reviews, etc. Don't let the German and French scare you off: bring a dictionary, pick your way through the subject headings and you'll find a wealth of information. Tables of abbreviations are in the front of each volume. Indispensible! There are also various resources available on the Internet; see me if you are interested in learning about these.
Do not take anything you read or hear as gospel. Always try to get a second opinion: from another author on the same subject, a review of a book, etc. There is always more than one way to skin a piece of Greek art, and much of the interest of these pieces is in their multivalent interpretation and the different approaches that can be taken towards their understanding.
The study of Greek art has changed somewhat in the past few centuries, and while many older works remain essential sources, others reflect outdated opinions or approaches and should be used with caution. In doing your research, therefore, you should be aware of when the books or articles you are reading were published. Try to start with fairly recent works: 1980's or later, and work back from there. Beware too of reprints which may lead you to believe that a work is more recent than it actually is. (For example, Furtwangler's excellent book Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture in our library is a 1964 translation and reprint of a book originally written in German in 1893, and so reflects 19th century views on art.)
20% Midterm
30% Final
20% Assignments
30% Paper
The class can be taken for either three or four credits. People taking the course for four credits will be expected to do extra readings (marked on the reading list with an asterisk), meet for an extra hour a week for discussion of readings and other issues that have come up in the course, and to write a more substantial paper - 10-12 pages rather than 5-7. As announced in the course listings, the 4th credit meetings will be held on Wednesdays from 1:00 - 1:50 in room 220 Elvehjem. If you cannot make that hour you should not take the class for four credits, as one of the requirements for the 4th credit option is face-to-face contact with the instructor.
My office hours are Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:00- 3:00, and I am available at other times if you speak with me about it. My office telephone is 263-8980, or you can reach me by email at ndcahill@facstaff.wisc.edu.