The Achilles Painter was a vase-painter active ca. 470–425 BC. His

name vase In classical archaeology, a name vase is a specific "vase"In the study of ancient Greek pottery a "vase" is a general term covering all pottery shapes. whose painter's name is unknown but whose workshop style has been identified. The painter is co ...

is an

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

, Vatican 16571, in the

Vatican museums The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

depicting

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

and dated 450–445 BC. An armed and armored Achilles gazes pensively to the right with one hand on his hip. The other hand holds a spear. On the opposite surface a woman performs libation. J. D. Beazley attributed over 200 vases to his hand, the largest share being

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 ...

and

white-ground White-ground technique is a style of white ancient Greek pottery and the Greek vase painting, painting in which figures appear on a white background. It developed in the region of Attica, dated to about 500 BC. It was especially associated with ...

lekythoi A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil. It has a narrow body and one handle attached to the neck of the vessel, and is thus a narrow type of jug, with no pou ...

. In his middle phase (ca. 450–445 BC), he decorates more open forms. The Achilles Painter was a late pupil of the

Berlin Painter The Berlin Painter (active c. 490–460s 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 P ...

. The

Phiale Painter The Phiale Painter, also known as Boston 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 lik ...

became the Achilles Painter's most prominent student after he assumed the

'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 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 about 440 BC, which includes a mythological scen ...

, the Clio Painter, Loeb Painter, and the Dwarf Painter. The Kleophon Painter, 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,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

issued a stamp featuring the decoration of an Achilles Painter white-ground lekythos.Athens NM 1818.

Findspots

* Acropolis, Athens * Ceramicus, Athens * Capua, Italy * Pisticci, Italy * Taranto, Italy * Vulci, Italy * Selinis, Sicily * Enna, Sicily * Attica * Eretria * Euboea

References

External links

Works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
{{Authority control Year of birth unknown 5th-century BC deaths Ancient Greek vase painters Anonymous artists of antiquity 5th-century BC Greek people

Appraisal

Findspots

References

Further reading

External links