Panathenaic prize amphora, ca. 525–500 b.c.; black-figure
Attributed to the Kleophrades Painter, Greek, Attic, Terracotta

H. 25 in. (63.5 cm), Rogers Fund, 1916 (16.71)

Reverse: pankration (athletic contest) and judge            Obverse: Athena

This splendid Panathenaic amphora is inscribed with the words "from the games at Athens." On one side is the figure of Athena, the presiding goddess at the Panathenaic games in Athens, and on the other side, shown here, is the pankration, the contest at which this vase was awarded as a prize. The object of the pankration, a combination of boxing and wrestling, was to bring one's opponent to the ground. A favorite trick was to seize a contestant by the leg and force him to fall backward, such as depicted here. One athlete has grasped the other's foot and is trying to throw him by placing an arm under his opponent's thigh. A trainer stands nearby, closely watching the struggle to see that all rules are properly observed

The pankration was the toughest and most dangerous of all athletic events. One could twist, strangle, hit, and pound one's opponent; in fact, the only things forbidden were biting and gouging the eyes. Injury to the competitors was unavoidable since they sought to win by all possible means, heedless of the life of their opponents.

Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Attributed to the Euphiletos Painter, Greek, Attic, Terracotta

H. 24 1/2 in. (62.23 cm), Rogers Fund, 1914 (14.130.12)

This Panathenaic amphora would have been filled with oil from the sacred olive groves in Attica, and would have been awarded as a prize to some worthy victor in one of the Panathenaic games held in Athens every four years. With its typically fat body and small neck and foot, the prize vase is, perhaps, the best example of a vase shape made to serve an official function. Each Panathenaic amphora was made according to a standardized shape and capacity of one metretes (approximately 42 quarts), and was decorated in black-figure technique. The principle decoration is always in the panels of the body of the amphora, with an armed Athena typically on the front and an illustration of the featured competition on the back.

Foot races, the earliest competitions of the Olympic games, were undertaken over varying distances. The stadion, probably the original race, was a fast sprint over one length of the track (over 200 meters), while the diaulos and the dolichos, both introduced somewhat later, covered distances of approximately 400 meters and 1,400 to 3,800 meters, respectively. The painter of this vessel has neatly fit five sprinters—five men and a youth—into the panel of the pot. Notice the wealth of incised lines depicting musculature, a preoccupation of Greek artists for centuries to come.

Orders for Panathenaic amphorae were placed with leading artists of the time. On the basis of style, this vessel has been attributed to the Euphiletos Painter. An inscription on the front of the amphora gives not only the official designation of the vase as a prize, but also the signature of the potter, Nikias, a rare occurrence on pots of this shape.

Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Source:  Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Seated in a leather chair is a middle-aged man. He seems a neat sort of person, with his short beard and bright, alert glance. His clothes are made of a black, shiny material. The ring on his index finger and his gloves reveal his wealth. This is Thomas Gresham, a merchant, in his forties. He was the financial representative of the English Crown in the Netherlands. The portrait was painted in 1564 by the Utrecht artist Anthonie Mor van Dashorst.   www.rijksmuseum.nl

Anne Ferneley is wearing a dress with a gown under which her cream-coloured sleeves can be seen. That she is a wealthy woman is obvious from the expensive fabrics and her gold jewellery. She is wearing a chain with a pomander about her waist. Little is known about many of the women portrayed in paintings. All that we know about Anne Ferneley, for example, is that she married in 1544 and died in 1596. By then she had been a widow for seventeen years.  www.rijksmuseum.nl

Philips William was the eldest son of William of Orange. But having been held hostage in Spain since the age of 14, he was passed over in favour of his half-brother of Maurice when the new stadholder was appointed. Philip William had to make do with the title Prince of Orange. Because he had been raised as a Catholic and a Spanish aristocrat the Dutch distrusted the Prince. Michiel van Miereveld portrayed him as a nobleman, dressed in the opulent fashion of a courtier. In contrast, Van Miereveld depicted Maurice, Frederick Henry and Spinola in their armour. A recurring feature in each of these portraits is a plumed helmet on a sidetable. In 1599 Philip William was made a knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece. Since the painting shows the Prince wearing the insignia of the order, it can be dated to after 1599.     www.rijksmuseum.nl

This well-dressed man eyes the viewer with a serious and self-confident expression on his face. He is portrayed from the waist up, standing in front of a balustrade, his arms resting lightly on a chair. Behind him is a red curtain with a large tassel. Beside it are the contours of a twilight landscape. This is Jan Steen's only serious self-portrait. He regularly depicted himself in his own paintings, usually in company, in a comical role, as a drunkard, a victim of deception or - as in the 'Merry family' - playing the bagpipes.   www.rijksmuseum.nl

These chestnut vases were made by Theodorus Gerardus Bentvelt, a silversmith working for the firm of Bonebakker in Amsterdam. He drew inspiration from the Gothic style. The octagonal base with lobed rim was borrowed from medieval monstrances and chalices of the Middle Ages, while the rest was his invention. This is typical of the nineteenth century love of earlier styles. Bentvelt also worked in the Dutch Renaissance style. The chestnut vase was first produced in the third quarter of the eighteenth century and was probably intended for roasted or pureed chestnuts. The curved surfaces of the round vase arose from the lobes at the base, producing a magnificent reflective effect. The only additions are a small border to the body and a natural branch of acanthus leaves on the lid.   www.rijksmuseum.nl/

In the eighteenth century French fashions were keenly followed in the Netherlands. Not least among these devotees were the Dutch cabinetmakers. In The Hague Matthijs Horrix was the leading craftsman producing furniture in the French mode. He made this commode in the Neoclassical or Louis XVI style. Typical features are the straight lines and surfaces as well as marquetry ornamentation based on ancient motifs such as the classical vase in the portrait medallion. Yet Horrix was not slavish in his devotion to French fashions. The form of the commode - with a single large door in the centre, concave sides and a gilt bronze base line - is certainly not French. Indeed, the inlay on the central door is characteristic of earlier Rococo decorations, with its irregular rock formations and flowers.  www.rijksmuseum.nl/

Here is a portrait of a small girl in a blue dress painted in 1641 by Johannes Verspronck. At this time, Verspronck was a leading portrait painter in Haarlem. 'Girl Dressed in Blue' is his most famous work and one of the best loved portraits of a child from the seventeenth century. The girl has been portrayed as a real adult. Only her child-like face betrays the fact that she cannot be more than about ten years old. In those days, young girls were dressed in the same way as their mothers. It is not known who this girl is, although we can be certain she came from a wealthy family. This can be seen from her dress decorated with gold lace, her excessive jewellery and the feather fan she is holding.    www.rijksmuseum.nl/