Euthymides Belly Amphora White text: p.43-44 Black text: p.45-48

Euthymides Euthymides means “Good spirit”. He was a contemporary of Euphronios, and another member of the Pioneer group. He and Euphronios were friends and rivals, it seems. He may have been slightly younger, but he was not an imitator. He was as good as Euphronios at composition, and his style of decoration is subtly different. Being a member of the pioneers means being interested in showing the human form

He used dilute glaze more to show anatomical details, he made more inscriptions, his figures are heavier than Euphronios’, his figures rarely have eyelashes or loose ringlets, and have simpler ears, long flat feet, and rubbery fingers. Euthymides signed only 6 vases, but he seems to have preferred belly amphorae.

Shape: Belly Amphora Function: Storage of wine, oil or honey Painter: Euthymides Potter: Unknown Technique: Red-Figure Date: c.510-500 BC

Dimensions Diameter of neck: 29.7cm Height: 60cm

Inscriptions All the figures on the vase are named Euthymides signs himself seven times, including three times as “Euthymides, son of Pollias the sculptor”

He also named several contemporaries on the vase, including Megakles, who was, apparently, “beautiful”. Finally, Euthymides also adds “As never Euphronios”, a sign of a friendly rivalry.

Side A

The 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.

The mood of this frieze is sombre, as Hector says goodbye to his parents

Priam, an aged figure with a bald head and a stubbly beard, is wrapped up in a cloak. He leans on a knobbled stick with his left hand, and seems to be gesturing to Hector with his right.

The Trojan hero, Hector, is in the centre of the frieze, preparing himself for the battle with Achilles. He is putting on his leather corselet. His shield is shown leaning up against his mother He already wears his metal greaves

She holds Hector’s helmet ready above his head Queen Hecuba stands at the right of the frieze, holding Hector’s spear. She holds Hector’s helmet ready above his head

Drapery There is a mixture of stiff, unrealistic-looking drapery, and loose, flowing folds in light cloth. The loose folds in Hecuba’s chiton and himation. The stiff folds at the back of Priam’s cloak.

Pose Hector’s pose still looks unrealistic and awkward, but Euthymides is experimenting with foreshortening, and mixing frontal with profile figures. Hector’s body is painted in frontal view. This means his left foot has to be foreshortened. However, his head and his right leg are shown in profile.

Composition 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.

Side B

Komachos Teles Euedemos Note interest in and depiction of human forms The mood of this frieze is happy, as 3 drunken revellers return from the symposium

Drapery The drapery on these figures is purely decorative. The folds of the cloth hang loose, in zigzag folds.

Pose Komarchos stands in profile with ¾ torso Euedemos has profile right leg, ¾ buttocks, profile shoulders and face – not a stationary position Teles is frontal with a face in profile

Composition The main friezes are bordered on all sides: Handles are decorated with ivy leaves Enclosed red-figure palmettes Linked black-figure pomegranates Euedemos’ walking stick interrupts the upper border Stylised black-figure buds Ray bands around the base

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.

The borders of the frieze follow the contours of the shoulder of the vase, and line up with the handles.

Painting Technique 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! Realism was new in greek art – an interest in showing not just what happened, but also how it happened.

Limitations to Realism 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.