Art History Illustrated, Gods and Men of Clay: Ancient Greek Vase Painting
Thursday, July 20, 2023
New time! 5:30-7:00 PM
Decorated clay vases are the only paintings to survive from Ancient Greece. There any many thousands of them, in museums all over the world, and their subjects range from the divine to the mundane. In this talk, you’ll learn about the different shapes of these vessels, each of which had its own distinct function. Then, art historian Brenda Edgar will trace the evolution of style and technique from black-figure ware to red-figure ware and beyond, and look closely at examples that depict scenes as various as heroic stories from epic poetry, dramatic vignettes from tragic plays, and unbridled displays of drunken revelry.
Join us for our “Art History Illustrated” talk series, held the third Thursday of every month at 5:30 p.m. This monthly illustrated talk series is presented by art historian Brenda Edgar, in collaboration with the Carnegie Center for Art and History.
Image: Exekias, Achilles and Penthesilea, c. 540-530 BC, British Museum.