Achilles Painter
Encyclopedia
Pottery of Ancient Greece
As the result of its relative durability, pottery is a large part of the archaeological record of Ancient Greece, and because there is so much of it it has exerted a disproportionately large influence on our understanding of Greek society...
active ca. 470-420 BC. His name vase
Name vase
In classical archaeology, a name vase is a specific "vase" whose painter's name is unknown but whose workshop style has been identified. The painter is conventionally named after the selected "name vase" that embodies his characteristic style, or for one of its distinctive painted subjects, or for...
is an amphora
Amphora
An amphora is a type of vase-shaped, usually ceramic container with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body...
in the Vatican museums
Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums , in Viale Vaticano in Rome, inside the Vatican City, are among the greatest museums in the world, since they display works from the immense collection built up by the Roman Catholic Church throughout the centuries, including some of the most renowned classical sculptures and...
depicting Achilles. Sir John Beazley
John Beazley
Sir John Davidson Beazley was an English classical scholar.Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Beazley attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he was a close friend of the poet James Elroy Flecker. After graduating in 1907, Beazley was a student and tutor in Classics at Christ Church, and in 1925 he...
attributed over 200 vases to his hand, the largest share being red-figure and white-ground lekythoi
Lekythos
A lekythos is a type of Greek pottery used for storing oil , especially olive oil. It has a narrow body and one handle attached to the neck of the vessel. The lekythos was used for anointing dead bodies of unmarried men and many lekythoi are found in tombs. The images on lekythoi were often...
. In his middle phase (ca. 450-445 BC), he decorates more open forms. The Achilles Painter was a late pupil of the Berlin Painter
Berlin Painter
The Berlin Painter is the conventional name given to an Attic Greek vase-painter who is widely regarded as a rival to the Kleophrades Painter, among the most talented vase painters of the early 5th century BCE .The Berlin Painter along with the Kleophrades Painter was educated by a member of the...
.
The Phiale Painter
Phiale Painter
The Phiale Painter was a painter of the Attic red-figure style. He was active around 460 to 430 BC. The Phiale Painter is assumed to have been a pupil of the Achilles Painter. In contrast to his master, he liked to depict narrative scenes...
became the Achilles Painter's most prominent student after he assumed the Berlin Painter's workshop. Almost a dozen other recognizable painters passed through the Achilles Painter's workshop as well. Notable painters include the Westreenen Painter, the Persephone Painter
Persephone Painter
The Persephone Painter, working from about 475 to the 425 BCE, is the pseudonym of an ancient Attic Greek vase-painter, named by Sir John Beazley after investigating a red-figure bell-krater vase of the artist's work. This namepiece of the Persephone Painter currently resides at the Metropolitan...
, the Clio Painter, Loeb Painter, and the Dwarf Painter. The Kleophon Painter
Kleophon Painter
The Kleophon Painter is the name given to an anonymous Athenian vase painter in the red figure style who flourished in the mid-to-late 5th century BCE...
, the Sabouroff Painter, and the Painter of Munich 2335 all spent time at the workshop as well.
Appraisal
Beazley describes him thus:- "He is the great master of the white lekythos. His red-figure vases nearly always have a sober beauty, but few of them–like the pointed amphora in the Cabinet des Médailles–reach the height of his best white lekythoi, which are among the masterpieces of ancient drawing."
In 1962, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
issued a stamp featuring the decoration of an Achilles Painter white-ground lekythos.
Findspots
- Acropolis, Athens
- Ceramicus, Athens
- Capua, Italy
- Pisticci, Italy
- Taranto, Italy
- Selinis, Sicily
- Enna, Sicily
- Attica
- Eretria
- Euboea