White-ground Lekythos

Lekythos is a vase for oil and ointments. If the lekythos had a white ground then it was used exclusively as a burial vessel. Burial lekythi are found almost exclusively in excavations of necropoleis in Attica. Such finds are extremely rare in other centres of the ancient world. One leading exponent of painting on a white lekythos in the middle and second half of the 5th century BC was the Thanatos Painter. For this, one of the best lekythi in the Hermitage collection, he made use of a subject typical of objects of this kind: a youth stands by the burial rocks, one leg on the step of the sepulchre, his body inclined towards it. His hand stretches out towards the stele, his locks of hair have fallen around his shoulders. The whole figure expresses sorrow and mourning. The same feelings can be felt in a woman who approaches the tomb from the other side. Her clothing has been lost, since the paint used to indicate her robes was very fragile, as the lekythos was not intended for use. Characteristic of this master's style is a tendency towards painterly effects. We can judge of this from the surviving dress of the youth, whose deep red cloak contrasts with the white wall and background. The drawing, free and precise, easily conveys the complex poses, and the proportions of the figures are evidence of an acquaintance with the canons for the human form established by the sculptor Polycleitus.