When we were asked about how best to bring the ancient and modern worlds together, one of the first things we thought of was vase painting: tens of thousands of Greek pots survive, some of which are in our own Ure Museum. They are also a familiar and influential form of ancient art, influencing art and film to this day. Animation in particular has emerged as an ideal vehicle for the bold colours and flattened style of much Greek vase painting.
Left: Frame from the Death of Pentheus, the film version of an art installation inspired by a Greek cup
Right: Frame from Disney’s Hercules
The familiar orange-red colour used on many Greek pots is the natural colour of the iron-rich clay found around Athens, a major producer and exporter of pottery. To create striking black, painters used a slip – a mixture of clay and water – made of the same clay as the body of the pot, which turned black during firing; other pigments were used in addition to black, red and white in particular but also a range of vivid colours, none of which tend to last as well as black. Drawing techniques varied and developed over time.
While we are fortunate enough to have pottery at the Ure from a variety of locations in Greece, and from various periods and styles of painting, we are most interested in the pots which tell a story.
Disney’s inspiration: Heracles returns with the Erymanthian Boar, a black-figure vase by the Antimenes Painter
As well as illustrations of the myths we know from literature, Greek vase paintings give us a glimpse into everyday life which ancient writers rarely showed: scenes of wool-working, games, hunting, and parties appear on pots, though because everyday life can blend so easily into myth in the paintings, it is difficult to be sure about what they can tell us about real life in ancient Greece.
Even so, whether mundane or supernatural, we love the vivid stories that play out so beautifully on a single panel of a vase, and it is a style we hope to make good use of in our Stories of the World project.