Lydos
Encyclopedia
Lydos was an Attic
vase painter in the black-figure style. Active between '’circa’’ 560 and 530 BC, he was the main representative of the '’’Lydos Group’’’ .
The name Lydos, preserved in the form ό Λυδός (ho Lydos, the Lydian) on two vases, is informative regarding the origin of the artist. Either he immigrated to Athens
from the Lydian empire
of King Kroisos, or he was born in Athens as the son of Lydian parents. In any case, he learnt his trade in Athens. It is difficult to definitely recognise his work, since he was the centre and main artist of a highly productive Attic pottery workshop. For that reason, many vases are simply described as in the style of Lydos. Several other individual artists within his circle can be identified, including the Painter of Vatican 309 and Painter of Louvre F 6. These works are quite homogeneous in style, but doffer considerably in terms of quality.
The style of Lydos strongy resembles that of older artists, such as the painters of Siana cup
s, of which he himself painted many. He was the last Attic painter to decorate large vases entirely with polychrome animal friezes in the Corinthian style. His human figures resemble the works of Klitias, and later painters, whose humans appear “wrapped” in cloth. Sometimes they have dotted garments, such as preferred by the Amasis Painter
. His figures exude a dignity nearly akin to those by Exekias
. The Lydos Group did not only paint large vases, but also known for miniature work. For example, they painted ittle-master cups and eye-cup
s. Ascribed to Lydos himself is a band cup
potted by Nikosthenes
. Works ascribed to Lydos can be found on all types of vase shape then produced in the Athenian potters’ quarter, including a seriesof grave pinakes
.
One of the two signed vases is a dinos
, preserved only in fragments and found on the Athenian Acropolis. In style it resembles the works of the Painter of Acropolis 606
and Nearchos. The main frieze depicts a very carefully designed gigantomachy
. Subsidiary friezes show a procession a hunt and various animals. Especially striking aspects of the work are a number of details and the colouring. This, Lydos painted a wasp as a shield emblazonment and dangerous-looking knives in the rocesion scene. These martial aspects are balanced by the high-quality animal friezes. Another well-known work by him is a column krater, now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York
. It is nearly as large as the François Vase
, but decorated only with a single frieze, so that the figures reach a height of nearly 25 cm. The painter focused not so much on the depicted narrative (return of Hephaistos), but on the gestures of thefigures Dionysos and Hephaistos, and even more so of the accompanying satyr
s and maenad
s. He omitted circumstantial detail, as used e.g. by Klitias, and failed to present the satyrs genitals as the Amasis Painter
would have. Instead, his satyrs are depicted as “gentlemen”.
Lydos frequently panted mythological
scenes and newly introduced several specific motifs of that genre to Attic vase painting. The quality of his paintings varies. He often painted so-called “penguin women”, wearing a cloak held together by the chest, probably by a kind of sash, and terminating in a tail-like feature at the back.His men often ere a himation
, painted in diagonal stripes, so that they appear as if bandaged. An oinochoe, the vessel itself made by the potter Kolchos (Berlin, Antikensammlung
F 1732) depicts mannerist figures. Athena
(supporting Herakles who is fighting Kyknos is rendered as a silhouette figure in the stale of the Amasis Painter, while the figures of Ares
and Zeus
(who joins the fighting) represent an attempt to utilise the new three-dimensiol drawing style, developed around 540 BC. Lydos’s palmette
s, placed on neck and handles of the vessel are stylistically transitional: they can be seen as a late form of the earlier black-figure style, but also as a the beginning of the decorative styles that were to folourish in red-figure vase painting. His best works also include several plates decorated with flying or running figures. One of his plates is decorated with a gorgoneion
covering the entire surface. His early works show a tendency to use colour, which decreased throughout his career. Similarly, at an early stage he paid much attention to certain details, such as the hairy backs of cat-like animals, whereas later he concentrated more on gesture. His animal figures appear somewhat stiff, but are usually highly decorative.
Lydos painted vases by a variety of potters, including Nikosthenes
, Kolchos, Epitimos and Amasis. Hisn workshop’s style can be described as out-of-date but was used well into the 520s BC. It is not clear why that is the case; perhaps the material was aimed at older or poorer customers. The last artist to resemble Lydos in style was the Ready Painter.
Attica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
vase painter in the black-figure style. Active between '’circa’’ 560 and 530 BC, he was the main representative of the '’’Lydos Group’’’ .
The name Lydos, preserved in the form ό Λυδός (ho Lydos, the Lydian) on two vases, is informative regarding the origin of the artist. Either he immigrated to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
from the Lydian empire
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
of King Kroisos, or he was born in Athens as the son of Lydian parents. In any case, he learnt his trade in Athens. It is difficult to definitely recognise his work, since he was the centre and main artist of a highly productive Attic pottery workshop. For that reason, many vases are simply described as in the style of Lydos. Several other individual artists within his circle can be identified, including the Painter of Vatican 309 and Painter of Louvre F 6. These works are quite homogeneous in style, but doffer considerably in terms of quality.
Siana Cup
The term Siana cups describes a type of Attic cups decorated in the black-figure technique. They are named after one of their find locations, the necropolis of the ancient city of Siana on Rhodes. During the second quarter of the 6th century BC, Siana cups were the predominant cup shape in Athens...
s, of which he himself painted many. He was the last Attic painter to decorate large vases entirely with polychrome animal friezes in the Corinthian style. His human figures resemble the works of Klitias, and later painters, whose humans appear “wrapped” in cloth. Sometimes they have dotted garments, such as preferred by the Amasis Painter
Amasis Painter
The Amasis Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter of the black figure style. He owes his name to the fact that eight of the potter Amasis's manufactured marked work are painted by the same painter, who is therefore called the Amasis painter...
. His figures exude a dignity nearly akin to those by Exekias
Exekias
Exekias was an ancient Greek vase-painter and potter, who worked between approximately 550 BC - 525 BC at Athens. Most of his vases, however, were exported to other regions of the Mediterranean, such as Etruria, while some of his other works remained in Athens. Exekias worked mainly with a...
. The Lydos Group did not only paint large vases, but also known for miniature work. For example, they painted ittle-master cups and eye-cup
Eye-cup
Eye-cup is the term describing a specific cup type in ancient Greek pottery, distinguished by pairs of eyes painted on the external surface. Classified as kylikes in terms of shape, they were especially widespread in Athens and Chalkis in the second half of the sixth century BC.The bowl of the...
s. Ascribed to Lydos himself is a band cup
Band cup
Band cups are a form of ancient Greek Attic Little-master cups.The lip of a band cup is black and slightly concave. At the joint between vase body and foot, there is often a red ring. The external figural decaration is in the area of the handles, often framed by palmettes. Internal images and...
potted by Nikosthenes
Nikosthenes
Nikosthenes was a potter of Greek black- and red-figure pottery in the time window 545-510 B.C. He is thought to have been associated with the work of the painters Oltos, Lydos, Epiktetos and the Nikosthenes-Painter....
. Works ascribed to Lydos can be found on all types of vase shape then produced in the Athenian potters’ quarter, including a seriesof grave pinakes
Pinax
In the culture of ancient Greece and Magna Graecia, a pinax or a "board", denotes a votive tablet of painted wood, terracotta, marble or bronze that served as a votive object deposited in a sanctuary or as a memorial affixed within a burial chamber. In daily life pinax might equally denote a...
.
One of the two signed vases is a dinos
Dinos
In the typology of ancient Greek pottery, the dinos is a mixing bowl. Dinos means "drinking cup," but in modern typology is used for the same shape as a lebes, that is, a bowl with a spherical body meant to sit on a stand...
, preserved only in fragments and found on the Athenian Acropolis. In style it resembles the works of the Painter of Acropolis 606
Painter of Acropolis 606
The Attic artist known by the convetional name '’'Painter of Acropolis 606’’’ was a black-figure vase painter, active around 570-560 BC.His name vase is a dinos discovered on the Athenian Acropolis and now on display in the National Museum at Athens . On its main frieze, it depicts a battle between...
and Nearchos. The main frieze depicts a very carefully designed gigantomachy
Gigantomachy
In Greek mythology, Gigantomachy was the symbolic struggle between the cosmic order of the Olympians led by Zeus and the nether forces of Chaos led by the giant Alcyoneus...
. Subsidiary friezes show a procession a hunt and various animals. Especially striking aspects of the work are a number of details and the colouring. This, Lydos painted a wasp as a shield emblazonment and dangerous-looking knives in the rocesion scene. These martial aspects are balanced by the high-quality animal friezes. Another well-known work by him is a column krater, now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It is nearly as large as the François Vase
François Vase
The François Vase, a milestone in the development of Greek pottery, is a large volute krater decorated in the black-figure style which stands at 66cm in height. Dated at circa 570/560 BCE it was found in 1844 in an Etruscan tomb in the necropolis of Fonte Rotella near Chiusi and named after its...
, but decorated only with a single frieze, so that the figures reach a height of nearly 25 cm. The painter focused not so much on the depicted narrative (return of Hephaistos), but on the gestures of thefigures Dionysos and Hephaistos, and even more so of the accompanying satyr
Satyr
In Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus — "satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing....
s and maenad
Maenad
In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus , the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones"...
s. He omitted circumstantial detail, as used e.g. by Klitias, and failed to present the satyrs genitals as the Amasis Painter
Amasis Painter
The Amasis Painter was an ancient Greek vase painter of the black figure style. He owes his name to the fact that eight of the potter Amasis's manufactured marked work are painted by the same painter, who is therefore called the Amasis painter...
would have. Instead, his satyrs are depicted as “gentlemen”.
Lydos frequently panted mythological
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
scenes and newly introduced several specific motifs of that genre to Attic vase painting. The quality of his paintings varies. He often painted so-called “penguin women”, wearing a cloak held together by the chest, probably by a kind of sash, and terminating in a tail-like feature at the back.His men often ere a himation
Himation
A himation was a type of clothing in ancient Greece. It was usually worn over a chiton, but was made of heavier drape and played the role of a cloak.The himation was markedly less voluminous than the Roman toga....
, painted in diagonal stripes, so that they appear as if bandaged. An oinochoe, the vessel itself made by the potter Kolchos (Berlin, Antikensammlung
Antikensammlung Berlin
The Antikensammlung Berlin is one of the most important collections of classical art in the world, now held in the Altes Museum and Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. It contains thousands of ancient archaeological artefacts from the ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Cypriot civilizations...
F 1732) depicts mannerist figures. Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
(supporting Herakles who is fighting Kyknos is rendered as a silhouette figure in the stale of the Amasis Painter, while the figures of Ares
Ares
Ares is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent aspect of war, in contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and...
and Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
(who joins the fighting) represent an attempt to utilise the new three-dimensiol drawing style, developed around 540 BC. Lydos’s palmette
Palmette
The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has an extremely long history, originating in Ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art of most of Eurasia, often in forms that bear...
s, placed on neck and handles of the vessel are stylistically transitional: they can be seen as a late form of the earlier black-figure style, but also as a the beginning of the decorative styles that were to folourish in red-figure vase painting. His best works also include several plates decorated with flying or running figures. One of his plates is decorated with a gorgoneion
Gorgoneion
In Ancient Greece, the Gorgoneion was originally a horror-creating apotropaic pendant showing the Gorgon's head. It was assimilated by the Olympian deities Zeus and Athena: both are said to have worn it as a protective pendant...
covering the entire surface. His early works show a tendency to use colour, which decreased throughout his career. Similarly, at an early stage he paid much attention to certain details, such as the hairy backs of cat-like animals, whereas later he concentrated more on gesture. His animal figures appear somewhat stiff, but are usually highly decorative.
Lydos painted vases by a variety of potters, including Nikosthenes
Nikosthenes
Nikosthenes was a potter of Greek black- and red-figure pottery in the time window 545-510 B.C. He is thought to have been associated with the work of the painters Oltos, Lydos, Epiktetos and the Nikosthenes-Painter....
, Kolchos, Epitimos and Amasis. Hisn workshop’s style can be described as out-of-date but was used well into the 520s BC. It is not clear why that is the case; perhaps the material was aimed at older or poorer customers. The last artist to resemble Lydos in style was the Ready Painter.
Works
- Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum
- Amphora 86.AE.60
- New York, Metropolitan Museum
- Column Krater 31.11.11
- Paris, Louvre
- five vases