Athens ANM 804 - II: The Dipylon Amphora
The dead woman for whom the vase had been commissioned is shown lying on a couch surrounded by mourning relatives and friends. This figural composition harmonizes well with the overall decorative scheme of the vase, being organized along the same basic horizontal-vertical lines as the framing bands of abstract ornament; some of the rhythm set up in the encircling zones of meander is picked up by the repeating motif of the mourner; the balance of dark and light elements of the abstract decoration is also preserved across the figural panel by the filling of the intervening spaces around the figures with Geometric motifs.
Even more remarkable than the formal quality is the subject matter of this scene. The events of the funeral are related in a simple and readily comprehensible manner. The deceased lies on a tall couch enveloped in a large checkered shroud, while mourners wait in file to raise the shroud for a last view of her. Grief is portrayed symbolically by an already conventional gesture of raising the hands to the head. The mourners are not all anonymous ciphers, even those waiting in line, some of them with weapons, portrayed as knights. In suggesting this relationship to the deceased, and in portraying the emotion of grief by both conventional and unconventional means, the Dipylon Master introduced a note of pathos into Greek art. He had not the formal means at his disposal to progress further in this direction, but one suspects from this attempt that he was an extraordinarily sympathetic individual. It may well be that he was influenced by another medium, namely oral poetry. Sympathy for the suffering of fellow men and a desire to portray their grief are intrinsic aspects of Homer's Iliad, which, I feel sure, must have been composed by this time.
Source: Barbara E. Bohen, “The Dipylon Amphora: Its Role in the Development of Greek Art”
Athenian geometric belly-handled amphora
H. 83 cm; D. 29 cm
Attributed to The Dipylon Painter
760 – 750 BC
From Kerameikos cemetery, Athens
Athens, National Museum, inv. 804
Athens ANM 804 - II: The Dipylon Amphora
The dead woman for whom the vase had been commissioned is shown lying on a couch surrounded by mourning relatives and friends. This figural composition harmonizes well with the overall decorative scheme of the vase, being organized along the same basic horizontal-vertical lines as the framing bands of abstract ornament; some of the rhythm set up in the encircling zones of meander is picked up by the repeating motif of the mourner; the balance of dark and light elements of the abstract decoration is also preserved across the figural panel by the filling of the intervening spaces around the figures with Geometric motifs.
Even more remarkable than the formal quality is the subject matter of this scene. The events of the funeral are related in a simple and readily comprehensible manner. The deceased lies on a tall couch enveloped in a large checkered shroud, while mourners wait in file to raise the shroud for a last view of her. Grief is portrayed symbolically by an already conventional gesture of raising the hands to the head. The mourners are not all anonymous ciphers, even those waiting in line, some of them with weapons, portrayed as knights. In suggesting this relationship to the deceased, and in portraying the emotion of grief by both conventional and unconventional means, the Dipylon Master introduced a note of pathos into Greek art. He had not the formal means at his disposal to progress further in this direction, but one suspects from this attempt that he was an extraordinarily sympathetic individual. It may well be that he was influenced by another medium, namely oral poetry. Sympathy for the suffering of fellow men and a desire to portray their grief are intrinsic aspects of Homer's Iliad, which, I feel sure, must have been composed by this time.
Source: Barbara E. Bohen, “The Dipylon Amphora: Its Role in the Development of Greek Art”
Athenian geometric belly-handled amphora
H. 83 cm; D. 29 cm
Attributed to The Dipylon Painter
760 – 750 BC
From Kerameikos cemetery, Athens
Athens, National Museum, inv. 804