Hermonax was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

vase painter Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has ex ...

working in the

red-figure Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure va ...

style. He painted between c. 470 and 440 BC in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Ten vases signed with the phrase "Hermonax has painted it" survive, mainly stamnoi and lekythoi. He is generally a painter of large pots, though some cups survive.

Background

Forming the beginning of the 'early classic' generation of vase-painters, Hermonax was a pupil of the

Berlin Painter The Berlin Painter (active c. 490–460s BCE) is the Notname, conventional name given to an Attica, Attic Ancient Greece, Greek vase-painter who is widely regarded as a rival to the Kleophrades Painter, among the most talented vase painters of t ...

and a contemporary of the

Providence Painter The Providence Painter is the conventional name given to a painter of the Attic red-figure style. He was active around 470 BC. The Providence Painter is considered to have been a pupil of the Berlin Painter. His reputation is that of a careful ...

. Sir John Beazley attributed just over 150 vases to his hand. His work has been found all over the ancient Greek world from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

to Southern Russia. Hermonax entered the Berlin Painter's workshop towards its end. As a pupil of the Berlin Painter Hermonax adopted the practice of painting large figural scenes on large vessels. His meander patterns, unlike those of his master, can be careless, as with the Providence Painter. A characteristic of his style is his depiction of the eyes with a concave bottom and a convex top. The largest share of Hermonax' surviving work depicts Dionysiac themes.

Appraisal

As Beazley states, "Sound and able as Hermonax's work generally is, he only once shows himself a remarkable artist, and that is not on any of his signed vases, but on the Munich stamnos...with the Birth of Erichthonios - Hauser has pointed out what was modern in that vase when it was painted; how the painter rejects the old-fashioned agreements of figure, face, and dress, and turns to a new kind of simplicity and truthfulness: new in his day, and fresh still, because the artist put his own thought, his own feeling into his shapes, and that keeps them alive and green." As the 'brother' of the Providence Painter, he is seen as less technically proficient.

Selected works

Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...

, Museo Civico :fragments of a bowl B 34 • fragments of a bowl B 296 • fragments of a bowl B 785 *

Agrigento Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one o ...

, Museo Archeologico Regionale :lekythos * Altenburg, Staatliches Lindenau-Museum : amphora 289 •

oinochoe An oenochoe, also spelled oinochoe ( grc, οἰνοχόη; from grc, οἶνος ''oînos'', "wine" and grc, χέω ''khéō'', "I pour," sense "wine-pourer"; plural ''oinochoai''; New Latin ''oenochoë,'' plural ''oenochoae,'' English plura ...

297 *

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, Museo Archeologico Nazionale :two fragments of different bowls *

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, Archaeological Museum :bell krater C 909 *

, Agora Museum :fragment of a loutrophoros P 15018 • hydria P 25101 • fragment of a stamnos P 25357 • fragment P 25357 A • fragment of a krater P 30017 • fragment of a bell krater P 30019 • fragment of a bowl CP 11948 • fragment of a

lekythos A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditiona ...

P 30065 • fragment of a hydria P 30134 • fragments of a pelike P 8959 *Athens,

Acropolis Museum The Acropolis Museum ( el, Μουσείο Ακρόπολης, ''Mouseio Akropolis'') is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found o ...

:fragments of several loutrophoroi *

, National Archaeological Museum :fragment 2.692 • lekythos 1632 *

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:amphora 48.55 *

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, Museo Arqueologico :lekythos 581 • fragment of a bowl 4233.6 *

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig :pelike BS 483 • oinochoe KA 430 *

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, Historisches Museum :pelike 26454 *

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, Museo Civico Archeologico :oinochoe 344 *

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, Museum of Fine Arts :stamnos 01.8031 * Boulogne, Musée Communal :amphora 125 *

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, City Museum :hydria H 4631 *

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, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium :pelike A 1579 • hydria A 3098 * Bryn Mawr,

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:fragment of a bowl P 199 • fragment of a bowl P 209 • fragment of a bowl P 989 *

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:fragment of a bowl 1995.18.42 * Catania, Museo Civico :hydria 706 *

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, University of Chicago :pelike 171 *Christchurch, University of Canterbury :amphora *Cologne, Cologne University :amphora 308 *Columbia, Missouri, Museum of Art & Archeology :amphora 83.187 *Corinth, Archaeological Museum :fragment of a krater C 66.40 *Dresden, Albertinum :fragment of a bowl *Ferrara, Museo Nazionale di Spina :oinochoe 2461 • oinochoe B 31.5.1958 • lekanis T0 • oinochoe T 216 CVP • oinochoe T 607 • oinochoe T 897 *Florence, Museo Archeologico Etrusco :fragment of a stamnos 14B5 • fragment 14B53 • stamnos 3995 • fragment of a stamnos PD 421 *Gela, Museo Archeologico :lekythos N 115 *Glasgow, Museum & Art Gallery :pelike 1883.32A *Gotha (town), Gotha, Schlossmuseum :amphora 50 *Göttingen, University of Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität :fragment of a bowl H 74 *Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum :lekythos 1930.184 *Heidelberg, University of Heidelberg, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität :fragment of a stamnos 170 • pelike 171 • fragment of a lekythos 172 • fragment of a bowl 173 *Innsbruck, Innsbruck University, University :fragment of a bowl II.12.66 • fragment of a bowl II.12.67 *Istanbul, Istanbul Archaeology Museum, Archaeology Museum :fragment A 33.2322 • fragment of a bowl A 33.2350 *Karlsruhe, Badisches Landesmuseum :fragment of a bowl 69.35C • two fragments of a bowl 86.360 A-B • fragment of a bowl 69.35 C *Kassel, Schloss Wilhelmshöhe, Museum Schloß Wilhelmshöhe :amphora T 696 *Łańcut Castle, Lancut, Castle Museum :neck amphora S 8176 *London, British Museum :amphora E 312 • pelike E 371 • pelike P 374 • stamnos E 445 *London, Victoria & Albert Museum :hydria 4816.1858 *Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, County Museum of Art :pelike A 5933.50.41 *Madrid, Museo Arqueológico Nacional :amphora 11098 • amphora L 172 *Mainz, University of Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg Universität :fragment of a pelike (?) 144 *Manchester, City Art Gallery & Museum :pelike III.I.41 *Mannheim, Reiss-Museum :stamnos 59 *Marseilles, Musée Borely :stamnos 1630 • pelike 3592 • pelike 7023 *Melfi, Museo Nazionale del Melfese :amphora (''loan'' → Metaponto) *Metaponto, Museo Civico :amphora 20113 *Montreal, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Fine Arts :fragment of a bowl RS 470 *Moscow, Pushkin Museum :amphora 601 • amphora 1071 *Munich, Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Glyptothek and Antikensammlung :stamnos 2413 • lekythos 2477 • lekythos 2478 *Münster, Archaeological Museum of Münster University :lekythos 668 *Naples, Naples National Archaeological Museum, Museo Archeologico Nazionale :amphora 81481 • amphora H 3385 • pelike SP 2028 *Naples, Palazzo di San Nicandro (Museo Mustilli) :pelike *New York City, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art :lekythos 26.60.77 • lekythos 41.162.19 • bowl 1972.70.2 • fragment of a bowl 1972.257 • fragment of a bowl 1973.175.4A-B *Norwich, Castle Museum, Norwich, Castle Museum :amphora 36.96 *Orvieto, Museo Civico (Collezione Faina) :bowl 43 • lekythos 66 A *Oxford, Ashmolean Museum :amphora 1966.500 *Paestum, Museo Archeologico Nazionale :oinochoe 57799 *Palermo, Collezione Collisani :amphora R 33 *Palermo, Museo Archeologico Regionale :lekythos 1445 • lekythos V 672 *Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Cabinet des Médailles :lekythos 489 *Paris, Musée National du Louvre :pelike CP 10765 • fragment of a pelike CP 10766 • bowl CP 10955 • fragment of a pelike CP 11060 • fragment CP 11061 • fragment of a pelike CP 11064 • fragment of a stamnos CP 11065 • fragment of a stamnos CP 11067 • fragment CP 11068 • fragment of a bowl CP 11944 • fragment of a bowl CP 11945 • fragment of a bowl CP 11946 • fragment of a bowl CP 11947 • fragment of a bowl CP 11948 • fragment of a bowl CP 11949 • fragment of a bowl CP 11950 • fragment of a bowl CP 11951 • fragment of a bowl CP 11952 • fragment of a bowl CP 11953 • fragment of a bowl CP 11954 • bowl G 268 • stamnos G 336 • pelike G 374 • amphora G 376 • stamnos 413 • stamnos G 416 • pelike G 546 • oinochoe G 573 *Rhodes, Archaeological Museum :hydria 12884 *Rome, Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia :stamnos 5241 • pelike (Beazley Nr. 33) • pelike 50459 *Samothrace, Archaeological Museum :fragment of a bell krater *St. Louis, St. Louis Art Museum :amphora WU 327

*San Simeon, Hearst Corporation :amphora 12359 *St. Petersburg, Hermitage Museum, Eremitage :amphora 696 • pelike 727 • stamnos 804 • stamnos 2070 • stamnos 4121 • fragment of a stamnos NB 6463 • amphora ST 1461 • amphora 1672 • amphora ST 1692 • stamnos ST 1694 *Sarajevo, Zemaljski muzej Bosne i Hercegovine :fragment of a hydria 31 • loutrophoros 389 • fragment of a loutrophoros 425 • fragment of a loutrophoros 426 *Stockholm, Medelhavsmuseum :bowl G2334 *Syracuse, Italy, Syracuse, Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi :lekythos 24552 *Tampa, Tampa Museum of Art :kylix 86.89 *Trieste, Museo Storia ed Arte :stamnos S 424 *Tübingen, University of Tübingen :fragment of a bowl E 43 • fragment of a loutrophoros E 90 • fragment of a loutrophoros E 99 • fragment of a pelike S101583 *Vatican City, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco Vaticano :stamnos 16526 *Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum :pelike 336 • pelike 1095 • pelike IV 3728 *Vienna, Vienna University :fragment of a bowl 503.50 • fragment *Wiesbaden, Landesamt :amphora *Würzburg, Martin von Wagner Museum :Amphora of Hermonax in Würzburg, amphora L 504]

*Zürich, University of Zurich, Zurich University :fragment of a stamnos 3550 • bowl L 95

Bibliography

* Hanns E. Langenfass: ''Hermonax. Untersuchungen zur Chronologie''. München, Univ., Diss. 1972. * John H. Oakley: Athamas, Ino, Hermes, and the Infant Dionysos. A Hydria by Hermonax. ''Antike Kunst'' 25 (1982), p. 44-47. *Cornelia Isler-Kerényi: Hermonax in Zürich, 1. Ein Puzzle mit Hermonaxscherben. ''Antike Kunst'' 26 (1983), p. 127-135. * Cornelia Isler-Kerényi: Hermonax in Zürich, 2. Die Halsamphora Haniel. ''Antike Kunst'' 27 (1984), p. 54-57. * Cornelia Isler-Kerényi: Hermonax in Zürich, 3. Der Schalenmaler. ''Antike Kunst'' 27 (1984), p. 154-165. * Cornelia Isler-Kerényi: Hieron und Hermonax. In: ''Ancient Greek and related pottery. Proceedings of the international vase symposium, Amsterdam 12–15 April 1984'' (Amsterdam 1984), p. 164. * Cornelia Isler-Kerényi: Hermonax e i suoi temi dionisiaci. In: ''Images et sociétés en Grèce ancienne. L'iconographie comme méthode d'analyse. Actes du Colloque international, Lausanne 8-11 février 1984'' (Lausanne 1987), p. 169-175.

External links

Works by Hermonax
in the Louvre
Vases by Hermonax at Perseus
{{Authority control 5th-century BC deaths 5th-century BC Athenians Ancient Greek vase painters Year of birth unknown