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Southern Italian Vase Painting

• 

  Centuripe vase, 3rd–2nd century B.C.
  Greek, Sicilian, Centuripe
  Terracotta; H. 15 5/8 in. (37.7 cm)
  Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1953 (53.11.5)

• 
  Calyx-krater depicting a phlyax masquerading as a reveler, ca. 400–390 B.C.; Red-figure
  Attributed to the Konnakis Group
  Greek, South Italian, Apulian
  Terracotta; H. 12 3/8 in. (31.5 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1951 (51.11.2)
  
• 

  Column-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water), ca. 350–320 B.C.; red-figure
  Attributed to the Group of Boston 00.348
  Greek, South Italian, Apulian
  Terracotta; H. 20 1/4 in. (51.51 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1950 (50.11.4)

  

  Obverse: artist painting a marble statue of Herakles
  Reverse: Athena surrounded by other deities

• 

  Calyx-krater (mixing bowl) with theatrical scene, ca. 400–390 B.C.; red-figure
  Attributed to the Tarporley Painter
  Greek, South Italian, Apulian
  Terracotta; H. 12 1/16 in. (30.63 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1924 (24.97.104)

  

  Obverse: scene from a phlyax play
  Reverse: three youths

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For nearly 300 years, Greek cities along the coasts of southern Italy and Sicily regularly imported their fine ware from Corinth and, later, Athens. By the third quarter of the fifth century B.C., however, they were acquiring red-figured pottery of local manufacture. As many of the craftsmen were trained immigrants from Athens, these early South Italian vases were closely modeled after Attic prototypes in both shape and design.



By the end of the fifth century B.C., Attic imports ceased as Athens struggled in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War in 404 B.C. The regional schools of South Italian vase painting—Apulian, Lucanian, Campanian, Paestan—flourished between 440 and 300 B.C. In general, the fired clay shows much greater variation in color and texture than that which is found in Attic pottery. A distinct preference for added color (53.11.5), especially white, yellow, and red, is characteristic of South Italian vases in the fourth century B.C. Compositions, especially those on Apulian vases (50.11.4), tend to be grandiose, with statuesque figures shown in several tiers. There is also a fondness for depicting architecture, with the perspective not always successfully rendered.

Many of the paintings bring to life stage practices and costumes.

Related

Timelines (2)

• Ancient Greece, 1000 b.c.–1 a.d.
• Italian Peninsula, 1000 b.c.–1 a.d.

Primary Thematic Essays (5)

• Athenian Vase Painting: Black- and Red-Figure Techniques
• Etruscan Art
• Funerary Vases in Southern Italy and Sicily
• The Art of Classical Greece (ca. 480–323 B.C.)
• The Five Wares of South Italian Vase Painting

Other Thematic Essays (13)

• Africans in Ancient Greek Art
• Ancient Greek Bronze Vessels
• Ancient Greek Colonization and Trade and their Influence on Greek Art
• Ancient Greek Dress
• Architecture in Ancient Greece
• Food and Drink in European Painting, 1400–1800
• Greek Gods and Religious Practices
• Greek Hydriai (Water Jars) and their Artistic Decoration
• Hellenistic and Roman Cyprus
• List of Rulers of the Ancient Greek World
• Scenes of Everyday Life in Ancient Greece
• The Symposium in Ancient Greece
• Theater in Ancient Greece

Maps (2)

• Europe, 1000 B.C.-1 A.D.
• World, 1000 B.C.-1 A.D.

Index Terms (30)

Art Movement/Style

• Attic Style in Greek Art
• Classical Period in Greek Art
• Red–figure Style in Greek Art
• Etruscan Art in Ancient Rome

Artist

• Darius Painter (Greek, active ca. 340–330 b.c.)
• Group of Boston 00.348
• Konnakis Group (Greek, active in Apulia, ca. 375–350 b.c.)
• Tarporley Painter (Greek, active ca. 400–380 b.c.)

Geography/Place

• The Balkan Peninsula
• The Italian Peninsula
• Southern Italy and Rome

Material and Technique

• Ceramic from the Balkan Peninsula
• Ceramic from the Italian Peninsula
• Painted Ceramic from Europe

Object

• Chariot
• Deep Vessel (Cup or Bowl)
• Deep Vessel from Europe
• Vessel from the Balkan Peninsula
• Vessel from the Italian Peninsula
• Tall Vessel (Vase, Pitcher, or Bottle)
• Tall Vessel from Europe

Subject Matter/Theme

• Athena or Minerva
• Herakles or Hercules
• Hermes or Mercury
• Nike or Victory
• Zeus or Jupiter
• Genre Scene from Europe
• Literature and Literary Connections
• Theater
• Trade (1000 b.c.–1 a.d.)

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Almost from the beginning, South Italian vase painters tended to favor elaborate scenes from daily life, mythology, and Greek theater. Many of the paintings bring to life stage practices and costumes. A particular fondness for the plays of Euripides testifies to the continued popularity of Attic tragedy in the fourth century B.C. in Magna Graecia. In general, the images often show one or two highlights of a play, several of its characters, and often a selection of divinities, some of which may or may not be directly relevant. Some of the liveliest products of South Italian vase painting in the fourth century B.C. are the so-called phlyax vases (24.97.104), which depict comics performing a scene from a phlyax, a type of farce play that developed in southern Italy. These painted scenes bring to life the boisterous characters with grotesque masks and padded costumes.



Colette Hemingway Independent Scholar

Citation Hemingway, Colette. "Southern Italian Vase Painting". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/sivp/hd_sivp.htm (October 2004) Further Reading Cook, R. M. Greek Painted Pottery. 3d ed.. New York: Routledge, 1996. Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. 3d ed., rev.. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Trendall, A. D. "A New Polychrome Vase from Centuripe." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 13 (January 1955), pp. 161–66.. n/a: n/a, n/a. Trendall, A. D. Phlyax Vases. 2d ed., rev. and enl.. London: University of London, Institute of Classical Studies, 1967. Trendall, A. D. South Italian Vase Painting. 2d ed.. London: British Museum Publications, 1976. Turner, Jane, ed. The Dictionary of Art. 34 vols.. New York: Grove, 1996. Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)

These related Museum Bulletin or Journal articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship. Cohen, Beth "The Literate Potter: A Tradition of Incised Signatures on Attic Vases." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 26 (1991). JSTOR | PDF Oliver, Andrew "The Lycurgus Painter: An Apulian Artist of the Fourth Century B.C.." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 21, no. 1 (Summer, 1962). JSTOR | PDF "Greek Vases in the Recent Accessions Room." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 19, no. 5 (January, 1961). JSTOR | PDF