Apulian Vase-painting in Context:
A Reconsideration of Dramatic Scenes

Johanna M. Hobratschk (Washington University)

Past scholarship has commonly interpreted the dramatic scenes that appear on fourth century B.C. Apulian red-figure vases as being influenced by, if not directly reflecting, the South Italian dramatic stage itself.  This paper argues, to the contrary, that the conventions used for depicting dramatic scenes on fourth century Apulian vases may not have been influenced by the dramatic stage so much as by the red-figure Apulian funerary art that developed in the same period.

These vases have most often been examined on an individual basis and little attention has been given to how they fit into the larger context of Apulian vase painting during the fourth century as a whole.  When viewed within that larger context, however, changes in artistic convention over the course of the fourth century and their relationship to vessel form and function emerge more clearly.  Focusing specifically on kraters from that period and their funerary associations, I demonstrate how at the beginning of the century, dramatic scenes and funerary scenes are iconographically distinct, but by the end of the century, the conventions used for painting both types of scenes mirror each other.  For example, a funerary naiskos is sometimes balanced by a nearly identical “stage building” on the opposite side of a vase.

Given their close connection with Apulian funerary art, these scenes are more appropriately understood as mythical subjects painted for a funerary purpose than as illustrations of the ancient stage.