Lecture on Greek Vase-Painting.

The lecture on Greek vase-paintings given last night in Upper Boylston by Dr. Julius Sachs was greatly enjoyed by all his hearers, owing to his excellent presentation of this novel subject. The doubt as to the value of classical studies has intensified the ardor of those who pursue them, and has given a new turn to their investigations. Modern archaeology tries to reconstruct the life of the ancients from their monuments, and the Greek vases are perfect storehouses of knowledge about the private life of the Greeks. These vases have been preserved by being enclosed in tombs, and were not, as some have thought, especially designed for funeral purposes, but were articles in daily use. Their graceful shapes, combined with their lightness and durability, would excite our wonder even without the pictures with which they are decorated. The Greek artist was above all a craftsman, and delighted in showing his skill on household vessels. By means of the 20,000 or more specimens which we possess, we can trace the progress of art from the stiff archaic types up to the highest perfection. There are two color schemes: the earlier consisted of black figures on the red surface of the vase, and later, the vase was covered with a black glaze upon which the figures were incised so that the lines were in red. The date of manufacture can be determined with considerable accuracy by the form of the letters in the inscriptions. The subjects were taken mostly from the Homeric poems and also from other similar epics which are now lost. The artist seldom follows the text closely, often departing widely from it according to his fancy and his knowledge of the limitations of his art, and not from ignorance of the legends. The themes which most attracted the Greek artist were not those which fascinate us, and the treatment of an episode by different artists varied greatly. This variety of conception was illustrated by selected stereopticon pictures of vases of different periods, all, however, treating subjects taken from the Iliad. Dr. Sachs was introduced by Professor Goodwin, and richly deserved the hearty applause with which he was greeted at the close of his most interesting lecture. The second in the series will take place tonight and will be a continuation of the same subject.