Attic Hydria of the Berlin Painter
Attic Hydria of the Berlin Painter
Apollo is seated on a large tripod with wings, with which he flies over the sea escorted by two dolphins in the act of diving. The god, crowned with laurels, holds a bow with a quiver, while also supporting a lyre he plays with a pick. The figure, ideally isolated, is presented in relation only with the choppy surface of the sea, populated with a dark mass of fish and therefore painted in black figures. The rare subject of Apollo journeying on the Oracular tripod contains symbolic references linked to the worship of the same deity: the tripod, used in reality by the priestess of Apollo at Delphi in proffering the Oracles, is transformed here into a fantastic flying machine; according to the Homeric Hymns, Apollo assumed the guise of a dolphin, a the symbolic and sacred animal, to reach Delphi. This masterpiece, painted by the Berlin Painter in a young phase, offers us one of the most beautiful and evocative representations of Apollo in Greek art.