My Art Analysis

I was tasked with analyzing a piece of Greek art of my choice from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. After searching for the piece that spoke to me I decided on the storage vessel shown below.

At first glance I noticed two men engaged in some type of game. They look a little suspicious because of how they are stooped over. It may just be the eye on the side of their head though. It looks like there is a King standing in the background. He looks intimidating. I also noticed the rich colors, the swords off to the side, the headpiece behind the man on the left.

            After further evaluation I came up with a historical analysis based off the information I learned in Humanities class this semester. This is indeed a piece of Greek art. It dates back to 510 BC and was created by painter Exekias. The figures on the piece are actually suited up like warriors because they are two Greek heroes by the name of Ajax and Achilles. They have swords, headpieces, armor, and shields. This moment captured is a small portion of their leisure time. The main color used is a warm orange-brown tone. There are also spots of white and black used in the art. Athena, who stands in the background, divides the painting down the middle giving it symmetry. The objects all seem to relate in size creating even lines and portions. Although Ajax and Achilles are in the forefront of the painting, Athena’s has a strong contrast of color with added highlights of white.

            The correct name for the piece is a black-figure neck-amphora which was a Greek storage vessel during that time. There is a side B to this piece which displays an old man with warriors. It was created during the period when Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey may have been first written.

There are many other versions of this piece of art. Many other storage vessels that portray the same artwork and even different art work. Most of the art is still depictions of things that happened during that era. This piece not only intrigued me in the museum, but after doing a little more research, it has continued to intrigue me according to the things I have found.