Volute Krater Attributed to the Kleophrades Painter in the Getty Villa, July 2008

Red-Figure Volute Krater
Kleophrades Painter
Greek, Athens, about 490 B.C.
Terracotta
22 3/8 x 16 3/16 in.
77.AE.11

Scenes from several Greek myths run around the neck of this enormous red-figure volute-krater, which was broken and reassembled from many fragments. On the front of the vase, the top row of decoration depicts a mythological battle against the Amazons. Much of this scene is missing, but Herakles, identifiable by his lionskin, grasps the hair of a fallen Amazon and prepares to deliver the fatal blow with his sword. The lower row shows excerpts of three Labors of Herakles: the Lernean Hydra, Geryon, and the Apples of the Hesperides. The better preserved back of the vase shows the Amazons preparing for battle and a scene with Peleus and Thetis, the parents of Achilles.

The complexity of the decoration and the scale of this vase are unusual. In fact, this is the only surviving volute-krater with two rows of decoration on the neck. At this time, Athenian potters worked in close proximity and painters were very aware of each other's work. A showpiece like this vase may have been a response to the Kleophrades Painter's main competitor at this time, the Berlin Painter, who had been producing large volute-kraters with one frieze on the neck.

Text from: www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=8713