Swing Painter (attributed to)
Greek

Black-figure Hydria (water vessel), 530 BCE ca.
ceramic
16 x 12 x 9.5 in.

SBMA, Gift of Wright Ludington
1955.3.4

RESEARCH PAPER

A hydria is a vessel for carrying water. They have 2 horizontal handles at the shoulder and a vertical handle between them at the neck, for pouring. The horizontal handles provide convenient hand-rests for the women who carry such vessels on their heads. Overall condition of the hydria is excellent. The attribution of the swing painter to this vessel and the date of ca. 530 B.C.E. were made by Sir John Beazley, professor of classical archaeology and art at Oxford University. Beazley adapted the art historical method initiated by Giovanni Morelli, to attribute the specific style of different workshops and artists. He then created a history of workshops and artists with specific names.

A red band is found inside the mouth and at the joint of the foot and the body, where a ray pattern appears. A chariot scene appears on the body of the vessel, an especially suitable subject, and not uncommon for this painter. The lyre suggests the scene is associated with the god Apollo, and this may be a scene of a divine or of an Apollo procession. The chariot is drawn by four horses and faces to the right. In the chariot a youth dressed in white carrying a lyre is with a bearded man as the driver. Behind the chariot, and directly in front of the horses, stand two bearded figures. Both figures face inwards, framing the scene. A second youth apparently nude with arm raised, faces to the right near the hind end of the horses. Also on the far side of the horses, two bearded males, one with white hair face towards the nude youth and the persons in the chariot. The panel is framed on the vertical sides by a double ivy and dot pattern; the base of the panel contains an elaborate palmette and lotus frieze. Nothing is more fundamental to the aesthetic of Greek vase painting than the interplay and balance between contrasting dark and light areas on a vessel, that is, between the black painted areas and the orange-red of the unpainted clay in black-figure pieces, the picture is framed by patterns sometimes on all four sides.

On the shoulder of this hydria the story of Achilles and Troilos is depicted. This theme is also found on another vase by the Swing painter, an amphora in the British Museum. In Greek mythology it was prophesied that Troy would not fall if Troilos, the youngest son of king Priam, reached the age of 20, so Achilles ambushed and killed him before this could happen. An overturned hydria is seen as Troilos’ sister, Polyxena, has dropped it as she flees ahead of her brother who is riding a horse as he attempts to flee from Achilles. The hydria that has fallen is similar in shape to the hydria on which these scenes are painted. Behind Achilles stands a female figure, with a spear, which is identified as Athena by the attributes of a crested helmet, and a shield.

Nothing is known about the Swing painter other than that he was active in Athens between 540 and 520 B.C.E. His name was given from a domestic scene on a vessel attributed to him in the Boston Museum of Art, which is shown below. There are a number of works attributed to him. But it is the opinion of Sir John Boardman, who followed Sir John Beazley as professor of classical archaeology and art at Oxford University that he is not a good painter as his style is never precise and easily becomes careless. His placid figures with their big heads, fashionably tiny noses, and often-clenched fists bring a smile to our lips (Athenian Black Figure Vases, 1974, page 63).

Terra cotta (clay) vessels such as this hydria were made on potters’ wheels. Typically the potter and the painter were two different artists. The black figure technique involves painting on figures with a slip, which turns black during firing onto the red or pale clay background, and then incising through the black all details so that the pale clay shows through the applied black. Touches of red and white paint are added if necessary, all applied before the vessel was fired, which was possibly a revolutionary method of decoration at the time. The black-figure technique of vase painting was invented in Corinth around 700 B.C.E., by 630 B.C.E., the style was practiced in Athens and it dominated the market in the Greek world for the next 150 years.

The Swing painter’s later work carried him into the red-figure style period, which began to replace black-figure painting around 530 B.C.E. In red-figure pottery the effect is the reverse of or the negative of the black figure technique. The figures are drawn in outline and left in the pale color of the clay, while the background was painted all black. This threw the figures into a more vivid relief than black figure vessels.

Over 20,000 black-figure vessels have been found. Of these, there are about 150 works that have been attributed to the Swing painter. The best examples have been found in graves.

Prepared for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Docent Council by
Jay Frederick, January 2014


Bibliography
Boardman, John, “Athenian black figure vases”, Oxford Univ. press, New York, 1974
Burke, Susan,” Greek vases At Yale”, Yale Univ. Art Gallery, 1975
Clark, Andrew; Elston Maya; Hart, Mary,” Understanding Greek Vases”, Getty publications, Los Angeles, 2002
Del Chiaro, Mario,” Classical Vases in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art”, vol. 68, no. 2, April, 1964
Osborne, Robin, “Archaic and Classical Greek Art”, Oxford Univ. press, 1998
Vickers, Michael,” Ancient Greek Pottery”, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1999
Swing Painter (attributed to Boston Museum of Fine Arts

COMMENTS

This vase, in an almost perfect state of preservation, and the largest in the SBMA collection, is attributed to the Swing Painter. The three handles, one placed vertically on the neck, the other two horizontally at the shoulder, illustrate the Greek potter’s superb sense of design and function. While the vertical handle served for pouring and guiding, the horizontal ones provided convenient hand-rests for the women who carried such jars on their heads. A chariot scene, a popular subject for the Swing Painter, appears on the body of the vase, while on the shoulder is depicted an episode from the Trojan War, this time the Achilles and Triolus story. Achilles, in battle dress is in hot pursuit of the hapless Trojan youth, Troilus who, mounted on one horse, seems to be leading another as indicated by the four legs, front and rear. Troilus, in his unsuccessful attempt to escape ambush, has turned back with raised, clenched fist. Notice that the hydria, which has fallen on the ground from the fountain, at the point of ambush, is similar in shape to the hydria on which these decorations appear.

- SBMA catalog on Greek and Roman antiquities by Mario A. Del Chiaro

SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS

Many images show women in ancient Greece meeting at public fountains to gather water using
pots like this one. The three-handled design allows it to be carried and used for pouring, while
the large size provides ample surface for decoration. The main scene here probably represents
a chariot procession of the god Apollo who wears white and holds a stringed musical instrument
known as a lyre. Above there is an episode from the story of the Trojan war which occurred at a
fountain house outside Troy’s walls. The Greek hero Achilles has ambushed the young Trojan
prince Troilos. With Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, watching, Achilles lunges forward
with his sword. Troilos’s horse rears back and his sister Polyxena flees having dropped the
water vessel she was carrying. Achilles will pursue Troilos to the altar of Apollo, where he will kill
him and anger the god. The use of interlocking themes to weave together the two scenes and
the function of the object itself is typical for vase painting from this period. A later Roman
sculpture of Achilles chasing Troilos can also be viewed in Ludington Court.

- Thayer Reopening, 2021