Lekythos by Morgan A. Mucha
Lekythos (410-400 B.C.E)
Anonymous Painter, 410-400 B.C.E, Lekythos, Athens, White-Ground, Terracotta, 46.4 x 13.4 cm., Art Institute, Chicago.
Innumerable Greek cemeteries were filled with offerings to dead relatives, hoping to be seen and cherished in the afterlife. Many fall into the categories of terracotta containers and tombstones consisting of stone and marble. This specific vessel held oil, decorated in a unique process called white ground, named after the light coating on the shoulder and overall shape of the jar. Figures on the lekythos were first planned through a slight sketch technique, and then after were detailed in bright colors. Due to the main purpose of these receptacles, the images on them usually demonstrated burials, tombs, and departures from those who passed away. On this specific lekythos, a youth is seen wrapped in a bronze-colored garment, supporting himself with a walking stick, offering a brown-haired bearded man a helmet. His body sits in his blue upper body covering. The details that have remained after all this time are glorious, providing the world with a view into the impact the afterlife had on the development of Greek art through all periods.
About the Author!
Morgan A. Mucha is a double major in the history of art and architecture and generalized history. She is a first-year student and is pleased to share her art and art history knowledge with her fellow honors students!
Art A-Bloom is an ongoing series by Morgan Mucha in which she discusses works of art and their historical significance.
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