Achilles Painter

Achilles Painter
flourished 5th century BC

Greek vase painter, named for an amphora decorated with a painting of Achilles and Briseis attributed to him.

He was active in Athens in the time of Pericles and was a contemporary of Phidias. His Achilles vase (с 450 BC) is among the finest surviving examples of red-figure pottery from the Classical period. He is also known for his lekythoi (funerary vases with coloured figures on a white background), which are regarded as the most reliable documentation of monumental Greek paintings. Over 200 extant vase paintings are attributed to him.

* * *

▪ Greek painter
flourished c. 470–425 BC

      Athenian vase painter known by and named for an amphora attributed to him with a painting of “Achilles and Briseis.” The amphora is now in the Vatican Museums. His period of activity coincides with the Parthenon sculptures and with the administration of Pericles.

      The “Achilles and Briseis” amphora is a red-figure vase (that is, the figures are painted in red against a glazed black background). The vase dates from about 450 BC and is among the finest surviving examples of vase painting from the Classical period.

      The Achilles Painter also is praised for his white-ground lekythoi (lekythos) (funerary vases with the figures painted in colour against a white background). The white-ground lekythoi are believed to be the most reliable source information about monumental Greek paintings of the Classical period. The original monumental paintings do not survive and are known only through the writings of the ancients.

      About 300 vase paintings have been attributed to the Achilles Painter on the basis of the style of the “Achilles and Briseis.” Among them are: lekythoi of “Girl Bringing a Casket to Her Mistress” (Boston Museum of Fine Arts); “Youth Bidding Farewell to Wife” (Athens); and “Warrior Arming” (British Museum). The Achilles Painter is usually cited for his delicately drawn, gentle, pensive, almost melancholy figures.

Additional Reading
Donna Carol Kurtz, Athenian White Lekythoi (1975), pp. 41–48; John H. Oakley, The Achilles Painter (1997).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Achilles Painter — The Achilles Painter, working from the 460s to the 420s BC, is the pseudonym of an ancient Attic Greek vase painter of outstanding quality (see Pottery of Ancient Greece), whose refined figure of Achilles on a red figure amphora of ca. 450 445… …   Wikipedia

  • painter — painter1 /payn teuhr/, n. 1. an artist who paints pictures. 2. a person who coats walls or other surfaces with paint, esp. as an occupation. 3. (cap.) Astron. the constellation Pictor. [1300 50; PAINT + ER1; r. ME peyntour < AF peintour] painter2 …   Universalium

  • Achilles (disambiguation) — Achilles is the name of the Greek mythological hero of the Trojan War.Achilles may also refer to: * Achilles (play), a trilogy of plays written by the Greek tragedian Aeschylus Science and technology * Achilles tendon, a posterior tendon of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Achilles and the Tortoise (film) — Infobox Film name = Achilles and the Tortoise caption = director = Takeshi Kitano producer = Masayuki Mori writer = Takeshi Kitano narrator = starring = Beat Takeshi Kanako Higuchi Omori Nao Aso Kumino Ren Osugi music = Yuki Kajiura… …   Wikipedia

  • Berlin Painter — flourished 500–460 BC, Athens, Greece Greek vase painter, the outstanding vase painter of the late Archaic period. He is best known as the decorator of an amphora now in Berlin. Whereas it had been customary to frame the groups of figures on each …   Universalium

  • Berlin Painter — The Berlin Painter (active c. 490s c. 460s BCE) 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 (see… …   Wikipedia

  • Phiale Painter — The Phiale Painter was a painter of the Attic red figure style. He was active from circa 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. He …   Wikipedia

  • 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. He is thus named because one of the works attributed to him bears an inscription in praise of… …   Wikipedia

  • Brygos Painter — The Brygos Painter was an ancient Greek Attic red figure vase painter of the Late Archaic period. Together with Onesimos (vase painter), Douris and Makron, he is among the most important bowl painters of his time. He was active in the first third …   Wikipedia

  • Douris (vase painter) — Peleus abducts Thetis, who is shape shifting into a lioness to fight back, medallion of a cup of Phase IV, border with double meander, Cabinet des médailles, BNF (Inv. 539) Douris (Ancient Greek: Δοῦρις / Doũris) was an ancient Athenian red… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”