The Reed Painter is an anonymous Greek vase painter

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...

 of white-ground

White Ground Technique

White-ground technique is a style of ancient Greek vase painting in which figures appear on a white background. It developed in the region of Attica.-Technique and style:...

 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...

, a type of vessel for containing oil often left as grave offerings. Works are attributed to either the "Reed Painter" or his atelier.

The vessels of the Reed Painter are typical of white-ground lekythoi in that they often focus on real people, in contrast to the earlier black-figure

Black-figure pottery

Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic is one of the most modern styles for adorning antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BC, although there are specimens dating as late as the 2nd century BC...

 tradition that featured scenes of mythical figures pertaining to Dionysiac cult

Dionysian Mysteries

The Dionysian Mysteries were a ritual of ancient Greece and Rome which used intoxicants and other trance-inducing techniques to remove inhibitions and social constraints, liberating the individual to return to a natural state. It also provided some liberation for those marginalized by Greek...

. The purpose of the lekythos is often reflected in its subject matter. This artist's most common theme is a scene depicting a visit to a tomb. The figures, usually a woman bringing offerings or a youth leaning on a spear, display quiet dignity rather than emotion. The tomb, topped by a pediment

Pediment

A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...

, provides important evidence for funerary monuments in Attica

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...

 at the time. The artist takes his name from his characteristic use of reeds

Reed (plant)

Reed is a generic polyphyletic botanical term used to describe numerous tall, grass-like plants of wet places, which are the namesake vegetation of reed beds...

 in the landscape, particularly in depictions of Charon

Charon (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. A coin to pay Charon for passage, usually an obolus or danake, was sometimes placed in or on...

, the ferryman of the dead in Greek mythology

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...

.

A lekythos by the Reed Painter is one of only a few white-figure examples that depict a horseman at a tomb; unusually, the youth sits at the tomb with his horse rather than riding it. He may be an ephebe

Ephebos

Ephebos , also anglicised as ephebe or archaically ephebus , is a Greek word for an adolescent age group or a social status reserved for that age in Antiquity....

 in training for the cavalry, as he wears the black cloak (chlamys

Chlamys

The chlamys was an ancient Greek piece of clothing, a type of cloak....

) that was characteristic attire for the Athenian ephebe at certain processions and festivals. He also wears a helmet in the shape of the petasos

Petasos

A petasos or petasus is a sun hat of Thessalian origin worn by the ancient Greeks, often in combination with the chlamys cape. It was usually made of wool felt, leather or straw, with a broad, floppy brim. It was worn primarily by farmers and travellers, and was considered characteristic of rural...

, a hat typically worn by travelers, the metal version of which appears on Athenian relief

Relief

Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...

s and is known from archaeology. He carries two hunting spears, and not the kamax, the long thin spear principally used by Greek cavalry.

Around the turn of the 20th–21st centuries, a number of the artist's lekythoi were discovered in a mass burial of plague victims in Athens

Plague of Athens

The Plague of Athens was a devastating epidemic which hit the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year of the Peloponnesian War , when an Athenian victory still seemed within reach. It is believed to have entered Athens through Piraeus, the city's port and sole source of food...

. Work from the atelier of the Reed Painter is concentrated in Attica, though a few examples have been found as exports to Gela

Gela

Gela is a town and comune in the province of Caltanissetta in the south of Sicily, Italy. The city is at about 84 kilometers distance from the city of Caltanissetta, on the Mediterranean Sea. The city has a larger population than the provincial capital, and ranks second in land area.Gela is an...

 and Corinth

Corinth

Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...

.

The Reed Painter worked in true white-ground technique

White Ground Technique

White-ground technique is a style of ancient Greek vase painting in which figures appear on a white background. It developed in the region of Attica.-Technique and style:...

, in which polychrome

Polychrome

Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...

 figures are outlined on the white ground, first in a dilute brown glaze

Ceramic glaze

Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...

 and then in a more-fluid matt black or red. Women's skin was painted white on white, with solid colors on garments. The colors — including bright red, yellow, purple, blue, and green — were added after firing

Pit fired pottery

Pit firing is the oldest known method for the firing of pottery. Examples have been dated as early as 29,000–25,000 BCE. Kilns have since replaced pit firing as the most widespread method of firing pottery, although the technique still finds limited use amongst certain studio potters.Unfired...

. The unstable pigments have flaked away and often left figures on surviving vases with the appearance of nudity when they were intended to be clothed.