Lucanian vase painting was substyle of

South Italian , altname = , states = Italy , region = Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise , ethnicity = ''Mezzogiorno'' Ethnic Italians , speakers = 5.7 million , dat ...

red-figure Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting. It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure va ...

vase painting Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

, produced in

Lucania Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto. It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttiu ...

between 450 and 325 BC. It was the oldest South Italian regional style. Together with Sicilian and

Paestan vase painting Paestan vase painting was a style of vase painting associated with Paestum, a Campanian city in Italy founded by Greek colonists. Paestan vase painting is one of five regional styles of South Italian red-figure vase painting. Development The Pae ...

, it formed a close stylistic community. The

n vase painting tradition began around 430 BC, with the works of the

Pisticci Painter The Pisticci Painter was a vase painter who lived in the second half of the 5th century BC. Many of his artistic works were discovered in Pisticci, a small town a few kilometers from Metaponto, Lucania, Italy. Ceramics of typically Attic taste b ...

. He was probably active in

Pisticci Pisticci ( Metapontino: ; la, Pesticium) is a town comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Pisticci is the fourth most populous town in the region and the most populous in the province after Matera. It is k ...

, where some of his works were discovered. He was strongly influenced by Attic tradition. His works rarely depict mythological scenes, probably reflecting the local tastes. Most of them were made as grave offerings. Other early production centres were at

Policoro Policoro ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. With some 17,000 inhabitants, is bounded by the towns of Rotondella, Scanzano Jonico and Tursi. Situated on the coast, its po ...

and

Metapontum Metapontum or Metapontium ( grc, Μεταπόντιον, Metapontion) was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus (modern Basento). It was distant about 20 km from ...

. The Pisticci Painter's successors, the Amykos Painter and the

Cyclops Painter In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...

had a workshop in

. In 1973, archaeologists were able to prove the existence of such a workshop by discovering a pottery kiln associated with fragments of vases by the Amykos Painter, the Kreusa Painter and the Dolon Painter. They were the first to paint the new ''nestoris'' (see

Typology of Greek vase shapes The pottery of ancient Greece has a long history and the form of Greek vase shapes has had a continuous evolution from Minoan pottery down to the Hellenistic period. As Gisela Richter puts it, the forms of these vases find their "happiest expres ...

) vase type. Large quantities of Lucanian vases were exported to

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

. The Dolon Painter may have emigrated there during his career, as his late work reflects an influence by the Apulian

Tarporley Painter The Tarporley Painter was a Greek Apulian red-figure vase painter. His works date to the first quarter of the 4th century BC. The Tarporley Painter is his period's most important representative of the so-called "Plain Style". He is considered to h ...

. Around 370 BC, the workshops in Policoro and Metapontum ceased to function, and production moved to the hinterland. After the mid-4th century, the quality of Lucanian vases deteriorated increasingly, and the range of painted motifs became more and more monotonous. Exports to Apulia also stopped nearly entirely. Around 325 BC, production ceased; the last important representatives of Lucanian vase painting were the Primato Painter (strongly influenced by the Apulian Lycourgos Painter) and the Roccanova Painter. A total of about 1,500 Lucanian vases survive. In terms of motifs, mythological or theatrical scenes are common. For example, the Cheophoroi Painter, named after the Cheophoroi by

Aeschylos Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, wikt:Αἰσχύλος, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre be ...

showed scenes from the tragedy in question on several of his vases. The influence of Apulian vase painting becomes tangible roughly at the same time. Especially

polychromy Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

and vegetal decor became standard.

External links

* {{Greek vase painting Ancient Greek vase-painting styles

Further reading

External links